How To Use Colour and Texture to Spruce up Your Stairs

If you need to hire repair services in Winnipeg to fix your stairs, you may consider sprucing them up as well. Is your staircase a focal point of your home, or would you prefer it to blend into the background? This question deserves careful consideration because it informs the decisions you make about the colours to use on your staircase as well as the textures that you might want to add.

1. Two Tones

You don’t have to choose one single colour for your staircase. Some people choose one colour for the risers and another for the treads, but you needn’t stop there. You can alternate between two different colours on the risers. This adds visual interest and gives an impression of fun and whimsy while still remaining within a traditional framework.

You can use this technique to make the stairs coordinate with the surrounding room. For example, say the room has a chair rail with one shade below and one shade above. You can use the two colours in an alternating pattern on the stair risers to make the stairs mesh more into the existing space.

Be careful not to go overboard with this technique, or it may become too visually busy. For example, the stair treads should all be the same colour to create a sense of cohesion.

2. White

If the room is a small space that you would like to make look bigger, white is a good choice because it reflects light around the room. A glossy white is even more effective at this. White is also a very versatile colour choice. It can be spare, minimalist, and modern or dignified, classical, and elegant. This depends partially on the shade that you choose; white can be tinted with hints of warmer or cooler shades.

If you want your staircase to be the focal point of the room, white can create a dramatic contrast with dark-coloured walls. On the other hand, if you want the stairs to be less obtrusive, white can blend into the background in a room with light-coloured walls.

3. Neutrals

Like a hallway, a staircase is a connector space. Connector spaces can be challenging to decorate because they connect different rooms, each of which often has its own colour, and you do not want the connector space to clash with any of them. For this reason, many people choose neutral shades for connector spaces because they go with anything. White is one example of a neutral, but the downside of white, for all its many advantages, is that it can be hard to keep clean. Many neutrals have a similar effect to white and avoid clashing with the colours of the rooms they connect but don’t show dirt and scuffs as plainly as white typically does. Neutrals can be light or dark, warm or cool. Not all neutrals are earth tones, but there is some overlap between the two. As a subset of neutrals, earth tones may be appropriate to use on a heavily trafficked staircase to look beautiful while hiding imperfections.

4. Rustic Accents

This kind of addition is more about texture than colour. Rustic elements, such as raw, distressed, or reclaimed wood may add some visual interest to your staircase. This works especially well for farmhouses and other country styles. You do have to be smart about how you use rustic elements, however. For example, distressed wood could be a safety issue on stair treads or railings, but a reclaimed wooden newel could make a striking visual statement.

Refurbish Your Stairs With the Help of Handyman Connection

Whether you need a painter to change the colour of the stairs or a carpenter in Winnipeg to do installation or repairs, Handyman Connection can help you. Learn more about all the services we offer.