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I put new hardwood flooring in my living room. The color of the flooring is golden oak. The problem is that the stairs and the fireplace have a darker wood that does not match. I am thinking about painting the stairs and the fireplace white. Is this a good idea? Especially if I want to sell my house in the near future.

Paint on stairs is not a good idea; it wears off rapidly. However, you can create a nice effect if you paint the stair risers and/or railing spindles. This creates a whole new look!

It may be possible to stain over what you have on the stairs if they are a lighter color. If they are not lighter, you would have to remove the existing stain - at least partly - and start over. It is unlikely that you could match the floor color no matter what you do.

Fireplace? Depends upon the design. You can paint a fireplace mantle or side posts ok. I sure wouldn't use pure white as it is too stark. If you go to a paint store and ask for their white color brochure, they will hand you a two page brochure of "whites". We used a lot of "Swiss Coffee" in SoCA. By itself it looks white, but if you put it next to a pure white, it is obviously very mellow and attractive.

About painting stairs: I worked on one long flight of stairs once where a pro painter had started and then "got lost". The risers were tiled in a blue/white Scandinavian pattern. The stair spindles were painted a mellow tan color and the handrails were stained the color of the stair treads. The effect was striking!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bob Fleming,