Ideas for cheap decoration of staircase

Ally_37

Hi, please can anyone give me any advice or ideas on how to really spruce this staircase up, without spending alot of money! Many thanks
Can I add a picture? It's a solid bannister, with flaky bits of paint coming off, that bumpy kind of wallpaper on solid bit.

DigForVictory

Seems you're a little new to be allowed to post photos (yet) - but with Christmas coming, you can get away with a glorious tasteless tartan of tinsel?

As for the bumpy wallpaper, if it is anaglypta held on with the traditional mix of glue faith & spite, you may need to sand it off, or just scrub it with sugar soap (take Ages but at least it's clean) and develop a pride in the feature. Whilst meditating on a flamethrower someday.
(You'd never guess I lived with the stuff for years & sold the house "with period fittings"?!)

Right now, Christmas is your ally.

AndyCF

Mine was coated in about a dozen coats of old paint as its very old. What I did a couple of years ago to tidy it up as previously it seemed that someone simply threw a new coat of white on it was this:

Painted the handrail and the 'ball end fitting' in that 'Country Beige' gloss, having masked off the erm vertical parts (unsure on correct names sorry) , and let that dry. I then used gloss bright white on the 'vertical parts' and finally after letting that dry the beige again on the 'wood floor' part of it.

I thought it would look horrible but even though its about due a coat on the handrail again it looks semi decent.

I decided against removing the old paint given some of it may of been very old indeed, a bit of a shortcut I know but simply the slight contrast in the paint worked a treat.