I feel like there should be a railing, even if its on the wall side of the staircase. (the house isnt ultra modern, so it feels a bit out of place how it is now.

other than that, crazy difference, especially considering the only huge change I noticed was the painting of the walls

Awesome! I especially love the white paint job in the living room, which has made the room look a thousand times more welcoming and comfortable. I do like that you've left the red bricks unpainted. Well done!

Me too. That's making me dizzy just looking at it.

The lighting being so different in the two pictures makes it hard to tell how big a change the paint and bricks made to the living room - the after certainly looks lovely, but it's not fair to judge the before with such different lighting/exposure levels between the photos.

Still, congrats! The stairwell change looks like a big (and successful) undertaking (although I would have added a railing).

In Kate's comments she wrote, "We want to finish the stairs — we're planning on refinishing to match the stain on the outer edge, and ADDING A CABLE RAIL." The stairs are still a work in progress, and I think it's pretty exceptional what they were able to accomplish in such a short time.

I love that they left the original brick unpainted and made the place feel so much warmer and dwelcoming. Wonderful work!

You will definitely be called out on the lack of stair railing when it comes time to sell. Might as well put it in now, because you'll have to do it eventually anyway!

In the writeup, it says "We still have several things left on our list, some small, some big. We want to finish the stairs — we're planning on refinishing to match the stain on the outer edge, and adding a cable rail."

So there are plans for a rail.

I love how birght the living room is now, and how open the stairs are without the wall. I think the only thing I would have done differently is keep the wood paneling above the fireplace. I think the pattern is interesting!

I love the changes! The only thing I would change is the size of the rug in the living room. The rug is too small for the size of the room.

That's pretty damn impressive. Looks great.

Great change in the living room, nice and bright and airy. And I like that you've opened up the stairway. What a lot of work in a few short weeks... good job! But I question the choice of a modern cable rail in what appears to be a very traditional Craftsman space. Are you planning on putting other modern touches in there (and the rest of the house) as well? Otherwise that cable rail is going to look completely incongruous. Is it a specific design choice, or is it simply less expensive to install than a wooden railing appropriate to the room?

the fireplace is great!! whoever thought that paneling was a good addition? very nice

This space is so much brighter now and I love the artwork above the couch. I also like the white edge on the stairs, it is a nice touch. Great job!

It is amazing what the white paint in the living area does! LOVE it!

Living room looks great, but the stairway looks dangerous! I would at least put in a railing.

So I'm going to carry on about the lack of the railing – you should have done that first! You have a child who could go plunging over the edge. Or she'll have a friend over who will plunge over the edge. What if you yourself are heading down the stairs and just happen to trip (haven't we all done that?) and there's nothing to grab on to. All your other renovations are really lovely, but no one is going to potentially injure themselves if you don't replace the facade over your fireplace.

Wow! Nicely done! :)

without a railing, those stairs aren't to code. not to mention, pretty dangerous for children and inebriated adults. but otherwise, this looks really great.

This post is a wonderful test of who actually reads the post and who just jumps straight to "Post a comment" to criticize.

I love how much lighter and brighter it looks. And the beautiful brick that was hiding underneath the wood on the fireplace. Very nice.

It made a huge difference.

I completely agree. Not only does the post mention their intention of putting in a railing, but it notes the reason for removing the wood paneling above the fireplace and exposing the lovely brick. They did an amazing job. Read the write-up, people!

Exposing that brick above the fireplace and giving everything a fresh coat of paint did wonders. Congrats on your new home!

Much better!

I was completely guilty of not reading all the way through the post and missed the "adding a cable rail" before commenting. :(

To comment on the actual work: this is just wonderful. Kudos on getting rid of those shutters around the windows, and for wisely painting bricks around the fireplace itself white (I imagine they weren't nearly as lovely and soot-free as the newly-uncovered chimney stack). Having the mantel, opening brick, and ceiling paneling (?!?) all one color is so much more peaceful for the eyes. Likewise great touch not painting the wood shelves inside the built-ins, it highlights the shelves and the objects on them. The whole living room looks open and comfortable, not over-crowded.

Really amazing difference on that staircase! I'd much rather see a mix of distinct styles (Craftsman walls/framing and the planned modern cable railing) than something as tragic as the 80s/90s half-wall stairwell.

Absolutely beautiful! Love the white paint and the removal of the shutters on the windows. Your home looks cozy and inviting!

I feel like a complete lazy putz to see how much they accomplished in one-month. Great makeover!

Hello all!

First, we're so excited to be featured here on Apartment Therapy!

Second, thanks for all of the wonderful, supportive comments. Felt I should clarify that this is entirely progress that we wanted to share. This was our big January Cure project, and it's far from being complete. If you read through what I sent in my email to AT, you'll see that we do have plans to put in a staircase rail. Right now, our sweet, intelligent toddler knows to stay away from the staircase, and we don't use our attic space at this point, so we're doing okay for now with not having a rail as we figure out our next steps in this reno. We'd love some opinions on what to do there, we have only considered a cable rail, but we are looking at other options as well. The previous owners have greatly modernized the kitchen, and we're trying to (slowly, we've only lived here 6 weeks!) tie the living room and kitchen together, since they are right next door to one another. However, please do respect that we are responsible parents who know that there needs to be a railing for safety! As AT suggested, you can check out our blog to see more of the process and our thoughts on the next steps in accomplishing this big project.

Thanks again!! :)

Fantastic redo. What a big change. Fireplace area is so much lighter. Though I am sad to see that beautiful mantel painted, at least you didn't rip it out!

I do want to point out that falling down the stairs has zip to do with intelligence. No matter how smart a toddler or adult is, accidents happen, hence your comment "we are responsible parents who know that there needs to be a railing for safety!" So, you know there needs to be a railing for safety, but you figured that you'd just leave it as is for now? Were you planning on an accident not happening until next month on your calendar? As awesome as it is that you managed to open up your home and make it look wonderful for your party and friends, I do find it irresponsible that you undertook the stair demolition before you were able to complete it with a safe remedy.

@esz, we have considered other options, other than a cable rail. The home is actually not Craftsman, it's a 1947 Cape Cod style home. It is traditional, I agree, but we are trying to modernize the space. I do have my doubts about the cable rail, but our kitchen is fairly modernized and still works wonderfully in our home. Because there are two of us, with two different opinions, we are thinking through everything very carefully! I would like to go more traditional, while my girlfriend prefers modern. I'm sure we will come to a really nice compromise soon and get going on installing a railing. We've only lived here for 6 weeks and did all of this work in 25 days, so thank you for your sweet comments on a job well done. And thank you for your concerns, I love getting outside opinions, which is one of the reasons I shared the project. :)

The photos were actually taken at the same time of day, and the before (the top photo, anyway) was taken while sunny, and the after was taken while cloudy. It really was a difference in paint and lightening the space. It was very dark and dank and as our friends and family say, 'lodge-like'. But thank you, and if you read what we wrote to AT above, we do have plans for a railing. :)

I am in love with the detail on the stairs. They came out amazing!!! I've never seen that two-tone look on stairs before and just think it's beautiful. Great job. Even though I don't have any staircases I've pinned some recently (just because I like to see what people do) and have seen a bathroom, reading nook and built in storage as options for under the stairs. Looks like you now have some amazing space that opened up. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

I like the art grouping above the couch! Especially the large painting on the left, the one in shades of orange that sort of looks like impressionist birch trees.

I have seen art like that before and thought I didn't like it, but I think it looks great the way you've used it.

First words out of my mouth were "holy shit!"

As impractical as they may be, I love the look of staircases with no railing, and the progress you've made in such a short time is impressive. Gorgeous room!

Yay for light paint! Yay for you for not painting it grey, no matter how "warm"! Yay...for accomplishing this in 6 weeks (!?!) Amazing! Good job.

Especially love the brickwork above the fireplace!

Overall, I love it! SO much lighter, brighter and roomier feeling. (I think this is a good example of how dark doesn't equal cozy necessarily and white doesn't mean cold!)

But I'm in Camp Bring A Railing Back, I'm afraid. I like the two (three?) tone steps but I think it looks strange without a railing of some kind. Of course, it doesn't need to be completely enclosed again, that was too much.

Love the changes!

beautiful. I love the mix of styles. The brick is beautiful.

People don't read, do they?

Wow! It looks great!

I wonder is a cable railing would look out of place for the age of your house?

Maybe something that feels a little more traditional, but still light and airy...

Like this http://www.houzz.com/photos/654341/Entry-Staircase-contemporary-entry-san-francisco
or this
http://www.houzz.com/photos/89380/Case-Design-Remodeling--Inc--traditional-staircase-dc-metro

Thank you! That art piece is actually mine - it was a gift to my girlfriend. :)

I love both of those! Thank you!

Ooh nice, hdwk. Really like the second example with the tapered balusters. Kate,
if your girlfriend is really set on having some metal as part of the equation, the balusters on this one are aluminum:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/730564/Wrigleyville-Residence-contemporary-staircase-chicago

Oh come thorndale. Give these women a break on the stairs. They will put a railing up on the unused stairs before it becomes a hazard for the kid. This is an "in progress photo" and I think the progress looks great!

Oh, and by the way, a kid can fall down the stairs even with a railing present. (Mine have countless times.) Does this mean we should eliminate all two-story homes?

LOVE this!! Thank you! She's home from work now, and I can't wait to show her. :)

Thank you. :)

i like the evolving child play area under the stairs - great use of awkward space. if you pulled out any vertical stair support during the demo, i'd suggest adding some back - long term settling of stairs is a bitch to fix later. in regard to rail, cable is actually fairly pricey by the time you are done. if you're mixing periods and are willing to consider exterior applications, the clear glass deck rail may facilitate the open look you seem to be going for.

Personally I wouldn't have painted the ceiling trim and fireplace surround. The white looks great, but I think the contrast would have been very complimentary—everyone does white.

As for the stairs, kudos for the wall removal, though I'm absolutely against cable railing. I recommend ballusters that reach ceiling height so it'll still be open while suggesting a transition to private space. I'd have the balusters begin at the second stair to be inline with the ceiling trim and so the first step acts like a threshold; or better yet, have the stair to ceiling length baluster descend halfway down the stairway that changes to a traditional baluster height and rail for the lower stairway half. Lastly, be sure to change or modify the stairway ceiling trim too.

Oh, depending what you're wanting to achieve with the space, perhaps enclose the area beneath the stairs with doored paneling that matches the stairway wall...for storage space.

Great job! What a cure. Makes me look like a piker. Love your lamp next to the rocking chair. Not that many people seem to have rocking chairs anymore. Yours fits right in.

Oh come mamamamaqc. When do stairs without a railing start and stop becoming a hazard for a toddler? And yes, I have fallen down the stairs before too, just never from 6 feet straight down to the floor.

If you read Kate's comment above, she says they don't use the attic space right now so the stairs aren't even used. I'm sure by the time they use the attic space, and hence need to use the stairs, the railing will be installed. Relax.

How gorgeous- love everything! Let us know what railing you go with, I want to see more! Really beautiful and open so far, looks perfect! Finding that brick under the wood paneling is the reason to buy old houses!

I'm with thorndale on this one. Since when did a toddler always obey a parent's wishes? My son would've been up those stairs like a shot from the time he could couch surf (ten months old). The fact that they're there is temptation enough for a curious and energetic child.

Of course it is "lightness" now as they photographed the after-pictures with some decent lighting. I can see the point you are making, no need to hit me over the head with it. Like the new decor though.

@thorndale, @snoozy, thank you for your concerns. We are VERY cautious with this. The living room is kept closed and locked (via the French doors) when not in use. Our daughter is only allowed in the room with one of us. She does know to stay off the stairs - give her and her intelligence some credit. She even lets others know...'don't go on the stairs, they are dangerous!'. It's been over a month since the stairs have been open and she's not tried to climb them once. Other toddlers may have an issue, but she hasn't had one. The railing will be going in soon, and even then, she will not be allowed on the stairs. The last house I lived in was a rental and didn't have a railing either, and we lived there a year and never had a problem. The point of this post, as many others have said, was to check out the progress we've made on our living room. It's progress. It's unfinished. I've seen lots of other open staircases on AT and many other design sites. We all, as parents, have the same goal. We want to protect our kids. We are doing that, even in the middle of our renovation - by blocking off the room, not using the stairs right now (none of us), and keeping a watchful eye if we're using this room. Please, please be respectful. :)

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/babyproofing-a-railless-stairc-108453

Good gravy - they are putting in a rail. The idea was for us to look at the new, improved room as it is finished enough to give us an idea. That's it. And I like it, by the way.

@kateandsphoto "The last house I lived in was a rental and didn't have a railing either, and we lived there a year and never had a problem." That actually really surprises me because legally, in the United States at least, you cannot rent a dwelling that does not meet code baring some jurisdictions where electrical might be grandfathered in. Where were you able to find a house that didn't have rails installed?

Amazing job!! I am blown away! Look how light and airy and warm and welcoming the After photo is. Really lovely.

I can't get over the fact that you got all that done so soon after moving in. Very admirable.

Oh wow! This is really fabulous. Who knew that much light was possible in that room?? Our living room is pretty dark plus we don't get much natural light, so I am super inspired by this for when we buy a home later this year.