A DIY-able Upgrade for Your Staircase
Some Background
One thing I’ve always told my clients is that while we might have a few very specific home details we love, there tends to always be a more general, overall theme or aesthetic we’re drawn to. In the end, as you make changes to your home (especially the more permanent ones), aim to keep your decisions within the wheelhouse of that general aesthetic you love rather than going on a total limb and getting the one über-trendy piece you thought you had to have.
Case in point: When Jason and I first moved in to our current home, one of the first things we did was replace all of the 20-year-old carpet and vinyl with wide plank white oak engineered hardwoods and replace the drywall stair wall with a black steel railing to lend a more updated look. While nearly all of the stair railings on my Pinterest account share some striking similarities (black metal balusters—horizontal or vertical—with a wood banister and a sleek, modern look), I went out on a limb and designed a different style of railing. It had ovals between two horizontal rails, sturdy (read: thick) newel posts, and it was all metal.
While I did love it, as did many people who follow my Instagram account @nest.out.west, the look just wasn’t me, and as Jason and I remodeled and redecorated more and more of our home, this railing felt less and less like it belonged here.
When we removed the final wall that separated the formal dining room from the rest of the main living areas, we were left with a wide, open gap. With a two-and-a-half year-old boy, a dog, and two zombie adults walking around holding a newborn, we knew we needed to fill that big opening as quickly as possible, and no, a dining table on its side was not going to cut it.
Jason and I had installed our own modern cable railing from L.J. Smith Stair Systems (a Novo Building Products company) in our first house, and it was the one weekend project that made the greatest impact on that home’s cool factor, light-and-airiness, and resale value.
We reached out to L.J. Smith again when this opportunity came up to replace the metal railing with one more aligned with the style direction our home was moving toward, and sure enough, they had just the product for us!
The New Railing
As I mentioned, this summer, we removed one final wall separating the formal dining room from the rest of the main living space. It was the one wall keeping our home feeling stuck in the ‘90s, and it felt incredible to tear it down (after of course getting confirmation that it wasn’t load-bearing). The thing is, this wall was along the open stairway to the basement, so once it came down, we had a drop-off from the main level down the stairs. I originally asked the company that made the iron railing for an estimate for the cost of continuing that railing around to the open side, but it came out to be much more than I had wanted to spend for something I wasn’t head-over-heels about.
I contacted the sales team at L.J. Smith that I had worked with for the cable railing we installed in our first house, and they had just the product for the look I was going for! How did we come to this conclusion? Easy! I sent them a screenshot of my Pinterest board for stairs!
The Technology
Novo and L.J. Smith made it easy to get that minimalist, open, modern vibe without complicating things too much (if at all). Basically, the balusters fit snugly over a double-headed screw that’s half in the floor/your stair treads. Then, the wood banister fits onto the tops of these and is secured with wood glue inside each baluster hole and sturdy newel posts that are planted about 12” deep into the floor.
The Installation
Jason and I had always intended on doing this project ourselves, but when the kitchen gut renovation was taking twice as long as we had predicted AND now there’s a newborn baby in the mix, we decided to hire a local carpenter friend of ours (Casey Bozcon of Magpie Custom Carpentry) and his team to knock this project out in one day. Boy, were we glad we did, because while we could have absolutely DIYed this, it would’ve taken at least twice as long, and that was time we couldn’t afford to spend (our toddler had no fear walking up to the open ledge over the staircase).
Essentially, the steps the team took were the following**:
1) Lay-out the parts and make sure everything is accounted for.
2) Measure and cut. More importantly, measure twice, cut once, as they say. I say measure 3-5 times haha :D
3) They followed the easy-to-understand manufacturer’s instructions:
This kit is for use with 1/2" square hollow iron balusters. Before starting the installtion, balusters should already be trimmed to length from the bottom and the cut edge deburred.
1. Drill a 3/16" hole into the tread 1-1/2" deep at the baluster centerpoint.
2. Install the dowel screw into the hole using vice grips positioned at the bottom of the top threads, or use a power drill runner* until the tread surface just reaches the smooth center portion of the dowel screw.
3. Slide the narrow end of the plastic insert into the bottom of the 1/2" square hollow iron blauster until the insert is flush with the baluster bottom.
4. Thread the baluster with insert onto the dowel screw until it contacts the tread/floor on all four corners and is turned to the desired position.
Tools Needed: Power Drill, 3/16" Twist Bit, vice grips or drill runner*
*Suggested drill runner: Item 2496N11 from McMaster-Carr
4) Drill a hole for the iron newel post, place it down into that hole, then secure it.
5) Repeat step 3, but this time on the under-side of the banister.
6) Attach banister, make sure everything is secure, and voila! You have a beautiful new wood and metal stair railing from Novo x L.J. Smith Stair Systems!
**I’m not a licensed contractor or carpenter, and this writeup is a high-level summary. While I am wholly confident that anyone who enjoys DIY home remodeling can tackle this install themselves, there’s much more to these instructions. Please be sure to get the fine-tuned, deeply descriptive installation instructions from the manufacturer if and when you decide to try this at home.
A Whole New Vibe
We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Novo and L.J. Smith, as well as for their faith in us as a partner. They make quality, stunning stair systems, and I’m happy to be associated with them as we incorporate their products into the homes we live in and grow our families in. Here are some before and after images of this space and the impact the beautiful new railings have made in it:
