Here are the stairs with parquet effect floor and stair nosing. It took me two whole days to finish, and I’m reasonably happy with the finish. It’s not perfect, but it is a lot better than the white carpet stair covering with added cat hair (courtesy of Chico in part, pictured).
So: are you carpet or no carpet? Personally I’m very happy with the parquet floor which is not too cold on your feet whilst being easy to clean. Now that I’ve redecorated the stairs our apartment is a carpet free zone.
2/12/2005 at 10:24 am
Hi P,
The cool part about “stair nosing” is that it is translated in French as “nez de marche”. In fact, I learned the term in French first in Leroy Merlin and I was surprised to find the English equivalent also had nose in it :-D.
Chico likes the stairs.
-Fruey
2/12/2005 at 9:59 am
Good job welldone ! I’ve learnt a new word too”nosing”
I am a “no carpet” zone person ! Otherwise it’s 100% parquet household (other than the bathrooms, where there is tiling!)
2/12/2005 at 4:21 pm
Yep, Leroy Merlin and IKEA are responsible for a lot of the decoration in our flat. Conforama as well for the cheap and cheerful little boxes and furniture like the shoe holder by the door…
-Fruey
2/12/2005 at 3:35 pm
After Ikea I also love Leroy Merlin !
2/12/2005 at 5:02 pm
Hi nice blog you have here, I’m one of the editors for the Britblog Directory at http://www.britblog.com , your blog qualifies to be listed if you’d like to submit it please do.
2/12/2005 at 8:27 pm
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for your nice comment. I’ve been over to BritBlog and I’ve signed up, I’m quite proud that you’ve commented to suggest I do so.
-Fruey
2/12/2005 at 10:43 pm
That is a big improvement on the carpet – but will Chico and Suzi still chew the wallpaper? What were you doing up at nearly midnight though? Nice word, nosing. Stairs have all kinds of funnily named parts.
3/12/2005 at 3:52 am
Wonderful stairs…we, since you asked, are not carpet people. The little colonies of micropeoples that we feel sure live in there give us the heebies. And the dog hair that becomes entrapped and feeds them? Gross. And the boogers our youngest likes to wipe in it? Unspeakable. So, our home has hardwoods through out, in every room save the foyer, which is stone. Although your baby may get skinned knees and chins learning to crawl and walk, it will certainly be more sanitary. Good job!
3/12/2005 at 12:15 pm
Hi Mum,
The wallpaper has been strategically removed up to a height where cat claws can reach, and the wall repainted underneath. You can just about make that out in the photo, as the texture effect now starts a bit higher. It doesn’t look wonderful, but it’s a whole lot better than the scratched wallpaper effect.
Allison,
I feel like suddenly I have made a tribe of micropeople homeless, but it’s more hygienic :-). I very much enjoyed your comment.
-Fruey
4/12/2005 at 12:43 am
Looks fantastic! Definitely an inspiration to get our carpet off the stairs and get them looking beautiful. That might take some work but I think it’ll be worth it. After pulling up the NASTY carpet in our spare bedroom last winter and being covered with MITE BITES I’m such a non-carpet person!! WE’re working on getting rid of the rest of the carpet in our house…except maybe in the bedroom as that carpet is nice, flat-ish and keeps my toes warm in the cold winter mornings!!
4/12/2005 at 12:43 am
and thanks for blogrolling me! I’ve done the same over at my place. 🙂
4/12/2005 at 12:25 pm
Hi Carrster,
What with Allison’s micropeople and your mites, it sure sounds like a good idea to go carpetless.
The job on the stairs was the single longest job I’ve done in our apartment relative to the amount of space decorated. But looking at it now it feels totally worth it.
Carpet in the bedroom is fine for keeping toes warm, but programmed heating and a parquet floor is just as nice for me :-). It’s not even real wood as such, it’s a sort of wood effect composite. Harder wearing and doesn’t need varnishing, so fine by me!
-Fruey