d*s reader monica sent over this fantastic project from the sugar city journal‘s melissa. inspired by a friend’s home, melissa decided to “elevate” a corner of her home- in this case her stairs- by adding detail in an unexpected place. i love her idea to mod podge imagery (made of scanned fabric and photos) on the spaces between steps- it’s so subtle that from afar it just looks like wallpaper but when you get up close you can see little faces poking out. it’s so unique and personal it makes me feel like redoing the steps in my own apartment building hallway with pictures of the current tenants. i don’t think my landlord would get a kick out of that so for now i’ll just have to admire melissa’s incredible handiwork.
melissa gave a basic project outline on her blog but here are the steps in summary- they should be pretty easy to follow and customize as you like:
- scan fabric, photos or decorative details into your computer
- using photoshop or a similar program alter/arrange your images into your desired layout
- print your final layout onto paper (if you’re using several layouts just glue the pieces together how you’d like them to look)
- cut your paper to fit each stair slot
- laminate your final pieces of paper and glue them in place using mod podge.
20 Comments
WOW! Even without the “easter eggs,” this project is awesome. It really elevates the statement that the stairs make and plays up their rhythmic geometry. With the hidden photos, it forces you to change your vantage point to really examine the wallpaper, making the stairs into a destination rather than just a pass-through. I love this!
This makes me want stairs!
That’s such a creative way to spice up stairs without using a runner.
I love it.
i have the ugliest stairs, that i have neglected for years. i just love this idea, and it’d be perfect for my terrible staircase!
This makes me wish my stairs weren’t covered in carpet!
I’m like Christina R. …I want stairs!!! But this serves as great inspiration for approaching any area of one’s home with a fresh approach. Delightful!
Interesting idea… I desperately NEED to do something to my stairs… thanks… Fifi
I love this look. We do wallpaper on stairs a lot, but it’s mostly embossed paper that we paint and glaze. I love the look here, very fancy and pretty!
Wow! The stairs look fantastic. I’m blown away by their uniqueness.
I just saw this the other day somewhere and LOVE it! It is one of the coolest ideas I’ve seen in a long time – and she did it so well! The grandparents’ picture is so charming, and really, what’s more homey?
Such a great idea! Love the idea of the pictures ‘hidden’ within the look. Ace in my books!
do you think the laminating is necessary? I would think it might look better with a coat of matte polycrylic–but I’m not sure if it would be durable enough.
Not something I’d do in my own place, but I love it!!
That is soooo clever!
what a fantastic idea :) so fun & quirky!
I LOVE it! My stair are not my own – but this is definitely something I would do! LOL
NJT
I have a TON of that (now discontinued) removeable modpodge… i would so do this in someone’s home… hmmmm maybe Mom’s.. LOL
This is SO cool and cute. What a great idea.
Just wanted to let you know that I used one of these photos on my blog awhile back and could only track it to google images. It was just featured on Apartment Therapy and linked to me. So after 1/2 hour of searching I’ve tracked it down to you! I’ll leave a comment on Apartment Therapy so that they can appropriately make the link here ;).
Love this idea…….maybe not the actual wallpaper……..but thinking maybe there’s no reason why one couldn’t do the photo touch on just a painted riser!!!!
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