apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Painted stairs are no different than painted floors in any other high-traffic area - It will wear and have to be renewed from time to time...

As far as the idea of paint itself: I assume you've seen homes with wood floors and paint on the walls and woodwork? You may have even seen tables or kitchen islands with painted bases and natural-finished tops? What's the difference, other than the surface?

In the 1980's, I had an apartment in NYC that my friends painted for me....they were experts at all paint finishes and did lots of restoration projects nationwide on places like Mt Vernon and historic private homes. I had them paint a faux linoleum design in white on white with grey and beige on my hardwood floors. They taught me that over time the paint will wear down and the wood will peek through and add another dimension to the beauty that is coveted by designers. I lived in that place for 8 years, had lots of parties, yet the paint held up and I never got to experience that worn off beauty they spoke of. Perhaps a staircase is used more and would break down faster.
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

We painted our basement stairs white (ok, dumb in retrospect) with porch paint. There are grey skid-type marks already, in a few weeks. Is there anything else we could/could have done?

I love the look of natural (but stained/sealed) wood treads with only the risers painted (usually white). The risers can get scuffed after a while but it's easy to touch them up.

We have white painted stairs, they got so dirty, so scuffed and sorry looking right after we re-painted them. They had a high gloss white paint when we bought the house. When I re-painted I primed first and went over it with porch & floor paint. It stayed somewhat clean for a week. Now it's bad. The only way to clean them is with a magic eraser.
I am thinking of applying epoxy floor paint now. OR finding a tough vinyl wallpaper and putting that down as a runner.

wear and tear and having the wood come through from traffic is the beauty of it all!

It's cheaper to repaint than to buy new carpet, no?

PS: You could probably paint several clear coats of sealer on top of the paint after it dries and before you use the stairs...
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com

"Is there anything else we could/could have done?"

You could have painted the steps dark grey or black - or stopped wearing shoes.

We have painted stairs and they're gradually wearing down and it looks very nice. The color is a milk-chocolate brown (newly painted when we bought the place 3 years ago). My only recommendation would be to use a color that's in the medium range (not too dark) because dust shows up really quickly (and I'm kind of a neat freak). We're moving soon, but if I was going to repaint them, it would be a light blue-gray (that beautiful Swedish blue). Also, the paint that was used was designed for stairs and has a low gloss (for safety).

We used Boat Paint--more expensive, and fewer color selections--but it is far more durable than anything else out there. And we have a puppy....that stuff does not come off.