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Wallpapered Stairwell Reveal

Have you been wondering what has been going on with our lake house basement project? To tell you the truth, not much!

We are enjoying summer weekends there and will finish up the remaining projects sooner or later.

A project that I am very excited to share with you is our wallpapered stairwell.

Wallpapered stairwell in a lake house

Wallpapering our stairwell was a project that I thought we would DIY, but in the end, we decided to hire it out which was a great decision.

Wallpapered Stairwell

We are absolutely thrilled with the end result of having our stairwell wallpapered.

Come on down to our basement and see what the wallpaper looks like!

Wallpaper with a mountain and forest theme in a stairwell

The stairwell is very high and also difficult to photograph.

When I picked the wallpaper for this space, I wanted it to feel like you were going through a forest when entering the basement.

Wallpaper with a mountain and forest theme in a stairwell

The paper is Brewster Wallpaper in Range Light Grey Mountains. I’ve linked to it here but recommend buying it from a local wallpaper shop for a better price and also to support a local business.

I purchased this paper locally at Mahones Wallpaper Shop.

Wallpaper with a mountain and forest theme in a stairwell

The color of the paper in the picture is darker than it appears in person. The pictures taken from the family room show the colors more accurately.

Wallpaper with a mountain and forest theme in a stairwell

You may remember that the original handrail was on the wallpapered side. I was happy to finally get that removed.

Wallpapered stairwell leading to a basement in a lake house

The vintage office desk that we refinished is a great spot for Mr. SP to work from the lake.

Before and After

It’s always great to see the before and after of a project.

Here you can see where the old handrail was on the wall and where Mr. SP filled in the holes from the handrail’s hardware.

This picture was taken just before the wallpaper installer arrived.

Stairwell before wallpaper

Here’s an after picture taken from about the same position.

Wallpapered stairwell leading to a basement in a lake house

Just for kicks, this is what the stairwell looked like when we started the project last August.

Wallpaper Installation

I really did think that we could DIY this project but Mr. SP flat out refused to do it. He said, “Hire it out! I’m not doing it.”

I called Mahones Wallpaper Shop to schedule installation of our wallpaper.

Mahones sent an awesome brother/sister team who got this project done in just a few hours.

I am positive that it would have taken days for us to do the project. Wallpaper is expensive and we both feared that we wouldn’t do the job to our standards and ruin our expensive investment.

I tried to stay out of the way, but of course I kept peeping at the progress.

The first step was to prime the walls.

Priming walls for wallpaper

The wooden scaffolding that our installer used is old and it made me woozy just looking at it.

He purchased it when he was a young man from an elderly wallpaper installer that trained him. (I think that’s the story, regardless, the wooden scaffolding is old.)

Installing wallpaper

His sister set up a station in the bedroom and cut the wallpaper strips, applied paste to them, and then booked them.

Installing wallpaper

While they worked, I was on the patio working on this project and Mr. SP was at the kitchen table working.

Installing wallpaper with a mountain and forest theme in a stairwell

I could hear the brother/sister team talking and their stories were hilarious. I really enjoyed having them in my home!

Installing wallpaper with a mountain and forest theme in a stairwell

We are both so pleased with our wallpapered stairwell!

Wallpapered stairwell leading to a basement in a lake house

Rug / Desk / Flag

What’s Next?

I’ve mentioned before that I purchased two runners to use on the steps.

We still need to install them, but a nice surprise once the wallpaper was in place was realizing that the grey paint that the builder chose for our steps matches the wallpaper perfectly.

Now I feel no rush to tackle the runner project.

Wallpapered stairwell leading to a basement in a lake house

The bedroom still has no furniture other than a gliding rocker and ottoman that my friend no longer wanted. She asked me to take it to the dump for her but instead, I kept it.

My sister-in-law is letting us use a high back oak bed that my grandfather refinished in the bedroom and Mama has given us an antique buffet to use there. We just need to make a road trip to pick up these things.

We also need to finish the closet in the bedroom and also the hallway.

Finishing Our Basement Progress Posts

You can see how we turned our unfinished basement into a family room, bedroom, and bathroom in these posts.

28 Comments

  1. So nice to see your completed wallpaper wall! The stairway looks awesome! Glad you’ve been able to do some relaxing after all of that work.

    Liberty

  2. Gosh, that looks so good, Paula! It’s a perfect complement to the renovation of the space AND your geographical space in which you live! I would’ve been scared to death that guy was gonna fall on that old wood ladder and scaffolding!

  3. After seeing your wallpaper-er on that scaffold, I’m so glad you hired it out! It is beautifully done–and no worries about having to hang a picture over a mismatched area! That basement space is shaping up so nicely! Will you eventually hang pictures in the stairwell or live with it for a while? Having 2 homes to decorate is a lot! Love the wooden dog silouette, too.

  4. Paul, I love the wallpaper! I’m even inspired to consider wallpaper in our home after seeing your beautiful after photos. I really enjoy seeing the room progress. Your style is classic and thoughtful.

    1. Thank you, Sarah! I used to have wallpaper in our bedroom and I’m itching to select some for that room.

      Paula

  5. Beautiful wallpaper! It looks like a lovely hand-painted mural. I think it was a very good decision to hire that out. I can’t imagine trying to wallpaper something that high!

    1. Wallpaper this space would have been a really hard project, definitely not one that two people inexperienced in wallpaper installation should tackle. Plus, it would have taken us days and this guy had it up in hours.

      Paula

  6. The wallpaper is a beautiful finishing touch to the stairwell. Will the handrail go back up? Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s!

    1. Thank you, Ann! We cut a piece of the old handrail to put at the top of the stairs on the family room side (same side as the new handrail). We still need to screw it to the wall and hopefully can do that this weekend.

      Paula

  7. The wallpaper looks great. I think you have achieved that Vermont-y vibe. Yes, you were smart to hire out wallpapering the stairwell. I painted the stairwell to our basement at the lake and that was scary. Barry held on to the ladder – he was more scared than I was. ha ha –

  8. Paula, you definitely made the right call to hire out that job. It’s tricky enough to hang wallpaper, but I can’t imagine doing it on scaffolding to boot! It looks amazing. I love the forest motif…it’s perfect for a home on the lake. I’ve really enjoyed seeing the progress of your lake house renovation!

  9. Your wallpapered stairwell looks amazing! I don’t blame you for having it professionally done. It’s one of my features on the Little Cottage Link Party tomorrow. i hope you can drop by.

  10. Wow what a difference the wallpaper made Paula. I love the pattern you chose it is perfect for your space.

  11. PAULA! You know I love what you’ve done in your lakehouse basement, but honestly this is amazing! What a great choice of wallpaper you made–such a fun transition from upstairs to downstairs! And you were smart to hire the pros for this installation job, my friend.

    I’m so happy for you to have this amazing place! Enjoy!!

  12. Looks good. It’s fun to be brave with a pattern and when it really pays off that’s a great feeling. Personally, I would add wall decor, nothing too busy, maybe some all white frames or wood frames matching the banisters the desk in varying sizes and shapes with black and white family photos. Hung in ascending heights up the wall with the steps. For that long narrow space above the door, I would definitely do some kind of big letters like maybe wooden letters saying family, or your last name, painted or stained according to your liking. Just a few thoughts from a random stranger who happened upon your post😊. God bless you and your family.

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