I am sharing with you an update on my front staircase, which finally has been completed!
Decorating your staircase with plants
So I don’t know about you, but I LOVE to decorate with plants. I think they add the perfect pop of color , freshness and just the right amount of ambiance to add to the boho-farmhouse vibe that I love.
Any chance I get to incorporate a plant in a space I jump! I found a few gold rustic hanging planters in my attic – which I totally forgot about – and I ran to my local greenhouse which was limited and of course to the chain home improvement stores to see what they had to offer. Although I was disappointed in their plant selection, to say the least.
I hear a lot of people these days are buying plants online… I was so skeptical! Because I mean – how does the plant not get all jumbled and destroyed in the box? I know what my plants look like sometimes on the short drive home from the store, I can only imagine what it looks like being shipped cross country! And are you really getting what you thought you were?
I decided to push my doubts aside and give it a go.
Choosing a fun wallpaper for your staircase
I knew I wanted to choose a fun wallpaper for my staircase, but I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go when it came to color or pattern. Check out my post here One Room Challenge Week 4: 3 helpful tips on how to apply peel and stick wallpaper with how I installed the wallpaper! The staircase is right in the middle of my rustic farmhouse dining room and our family sitting room.
Ultimately, I decided because both rooms were very traditional in design with lots of shiplap I wanted a bold wallpaper. If you’ve been following along you know that I love farmhouse/ boho themes. So I decided to go in the farmhouse direction for the wallpaper and what can be more farmhouse than buffalo check?
Add paint to freshen your staircase
As I said before, the stairs were in rough shape. They were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. I decided to go with the polished look of black not only for aesthetic reasons (i didn’t want the dirt to show if I painted them white) but because I love the way it looks with the black buffalo check.
The walls all around are white shiplap so It also adds a nice contrast and warmth.
Add Shiplap to accent you staircase
Shiplap can add so much character and texture to your home. I’m so drawn to it! I think it’s the perfect backdrop to farmhouse design.
The problem can be that it’s so expensive. Our first shiplap fireplace project was tongue and groove for our kitchen fireplace – and boy was that a pricey project! We knew we needed to go another route for our two large front rooms and decided to order rough cut lumber from our lumber yard.
My husband cut to size and ran each piece through a planer before hanging. This was much more affordable. But we had run out of wood before our front staircase was done and we weren’t able to order another load in time.
So for our staircase, we ended up using thin paneling and cut each piece to size. We were really unsure of how it would turn out and didn’t want it to look cheap. But after a few coats of paint, the shiplap wall looks great and you’d never be able to tell!
choosing the right light fixture to accent your staircase
Choosing the light fixture for me was so challenging and took way too much time. I wanted to offset the very farmhouse wallpaper with some lively color and some natural wood to add some boho to this space.
Even though I loved the beaded chandeliers in boho dining rooms I wondered if I could pull it off over a stair landing. I was so nervous, but I went for it!
And I’m so glad I did! We hung the beaded chandelier over the bottom stair landing which allows for the most clearance overhead. I didn’t want to chance any tall friends bopping their heads. That’s the thing about old homes.. they sometimes have low ceilings… and mine is as low as they get! Were people shorter in the 1700s???
Add finishing touches to your front staircase
The main themes in this space is very rustic farmhouse. Shiplap and buffalo check are again as farmhouse as it gets.
To help balance out this space I went with a lively bold color runner and a natural wood light fixture to add a little boho chic to this once very traditional space. I also added a few hanging plants and a buffalo print to really bring the boho theme home. You can go wrong with hanging plants and a buffalo print!
Designing your home can be an expensive task – but it doesn’t need to be! I try to pick timeless pieces that can help the longevity of my space. Then I add cheaper decor pieces that won’t break the bank when I want to interchange them season to season.
Kori is the creative force behind The Farmhouse Life. She is a devoted mom of three and happily married to her college sweetheart. Kori lives in Central New Hampshire and a 25 acre pig farm. When Kori isn’t working on her latest home project, she enjoys reading, shopping at Target, of course, and watching reruns of New Girl. She is also working on becoming a certified interior designer.
