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Garage Steps Can Be Pretty Too

54 Comments

With the warmer weather arriving, it was high time I did something about the pathetic state our garage had fallen into during the winter months.  A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I power washed the heck out of that thing.

Do you have a power washer?  It is so choice.  If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up (name that movie!).   You could have eaten off that garage floor when we were done.

Anyway, after it was all clean, I started looking at ways I could spruce up the place aesthetically.  Is the garage immune to looking nice & pretty?  I say no.   And I had my sights set on the steps.

Stencil Your Garage Steps! Why not? {landeelu.com}

Here is a before picture.  So blah.  And unnecessarily so.

I went and got myself a pint of turquoise paint to match my glorious wall of bins (which I will post about soon) and painted them.
Ah, much better already!  Even my garage can’t escape my complete and utter obsession with that color.
But I wanted them to be a little something more.  I wanted them to be personal and welcoming.  So I had Shelly at Say Anything Expressions (my fab SIL, btw) send me the negative space of some vinyl lettering for stenciling purposes.   I wanted a little saying that would make everyone who walked up those steps feel glad they were there.  (***Stencil now available in my Etsy shop!  HERE is the listing)
I lined up the phrase where I wanted it to go and then took off the backing and applied it to the steps just like I would if it were the positive space of the letters.
I then mixed these two whites (one flat and one with a little shimmer)…
And began painting/stenciling with a foam brush.
When it was (sorta) dry I peeled off the vinyl.
I think I probably should have taken my own advice and sealed it with Mod Podge or even the turquoise color first.  There were some spots where the white paint seeped under the vinyl that I needed to touch up later.  It makes sense since those steps are not exactly nice & smooth.   Learn from my mistakes, people!
But, after a little touching up and a quick shot of clear acrylic spray paint to help protect it I got this!
I finished this, made dinner and then had to run to a church meeting.  And I have to admit, even though I had done this just a couple of hours before, it was nice to read this when I got home.  Isn’t that funny?  I was like “Yay!  Someone is so happy I’m home!”  I hope my kids and husband feel the same way when they get home from their various activities throughout the day.
It’s the little things, right?

Comments

  12. Mimi says

    These are wonderful – I’m a big Turquoise fan and wish I had garage steps! Just so I could make them cute like yours. Great job!

    Reply

  17. Qtpies7 says

    What a super idea! I wish I had a place I could do that! My back door, the one we use 99% of the time, is a wooden deck. The front stairs would work, but they are rarely used, even by guests. Although, maybe if I painted them a bright color guests would USE the front door, lol.

    Reply

  19. Two Shades of Pink says

    OK. This is my second attempt to comment. 🙂 I saw your clock and my mason jars featured together on another blog and I had to come over and peek in on you. How adorable are your garage steps now? So happy! I would love to see this every day when I walk through the door. I am inspired…this is a great idea!

    Reply

  35. D+B says

    Love your blog!! Its so cute!!! I am your newest follower!!! i would love to feature you on my blog. so let me know!! 🙂 So if you would like to go and check out my blog and follow me too! That would make my day!!! 🙂 I am so excited to start blogging and share my ideas on food, crafts, and mineral make-up. I will also be doing giveaways on stuff, like mineral make-up. So look out for it!
    Thanks!
    -Brooke
    For-the-luv-of.blogspot.com

    Reply

  39. Tauja @ Simply Mod Mom says

    This is amazing! Such a clever idea! Love it…and wish that we had garage steps so I could pretty them up!

    Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  41. Being Creative to Keep My Sanity says

    I just love your blog. As I was checking it out I noticed how organized your Link Parties/Participate In: is. How did you do that? I checked out inlinks.com but could not figure it out. I am still trying to figure all this blogging stuff out.

    beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com Thanks!

    Reply

  43. The Unfinished Room says

    Great idea! I have the same kind of landing in the garage or really lack of a landing. I can’t tell you how many people (including myself) have fallen down the stairs because they aren’t expecting to immediately step down when going into the garage. Do you have that same problem or are we just clumsy? 🙂 I’m definitely putting this one on my to do list.

    Reply

  44. Anonymous says

    Stumbled upon this through PINTEREST – THANK YOU – so excited to do this at our home! FANTASTIC IDEA!

    Reply

  45. Anonymous says

    I’d be interested in how the paint is holding up after a year. Is there anything you’d do differently? I’m ready to go paint mine NOW!

    Reply

  46. PY says

    LOVE THIS! I also curious. How has this held up? Is there anything you recommend for protecting the decals so they last under all the foot traffic? Is there some type of sealer that can be used?

    Reply

  47. Dawn says

    hello happy steps!! So, I’ve been scouring Pinterest for projects using negative space and there aren’t any!! I finally found yours!!! Ok, what am I doing wrong? When I try this, my painted letters peel off when I take the vinyl off 🙁

    Reply

    • Debra Ruffing says

      You have to seal the item you are painting. DO not use Mod Podge craft stuff. Use a real sealer. It is good from Minwax. Spray or paint it on. Let it dry for a long time. I wait a week…but 2 days might be ok. Then I use the stencil. If you have a cricut machine you can make your own stencils. You can look under cricut stencils and youtubes are available, etc. If you don’t own this machine you need to get one! Great. I cut out my vinyl and use the positive part. I don’t seal it and it has been on my mailbox for almost 3 years. By the road… : )

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] Share on Facebook Tweet Your garage doesn’t necessarily have to look like a garage. You can paint and add a bit of color if you want to help brighten up that space. If you have steps going into your home for instance, you can paint them a bright color and add a little message to anyone who steps over them. This is a great way to brighten up an otherwise dull and boring space. Via: Landeeseelandeedo – Garage Steps Can Be Pretty Too […]

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  3. […] Your garage doesn’t necessarily have to look like a garage. You can paint and add a bit of color if you want to help brighten up that space. If you have steps going into your home for instance, you can paint them a bright color and add a little message to anyone who steps over them. This is a great way to brighten up an otherwise dull and boring space. Via: Landeeseelandeedo – Garage Steps Can Be Pretty Too […]

    Reply

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