It’s here! It’s here! I’ve been waiting for the One Room Challenge to start for months, especially since missing the Spring challenge. So settle in…this is gonna be a long one!

If you’re not familiar, the One Room Challenge is an event hosted by Linda at Calling It Home and House Beautiful where 20 designers make over a space from start to finish in just 6 short weeks. You can catch those designers each Wednesday, and the rest of us link up on Thursdays. I did my first Challenge last Spring and my second last Fall.

For this challenge, I’m going to be making over….drum roll…our stairs and upstairs hall!

In case you’re new around here, let me give you a brief history. My husband, Charles, and I bought our 1902 American Foursquare out of foreclosure 3 and a half years ago. We spent about 18 months restoring it top to bottom. It was a grueling process…one I don’t plan to repeat any time soon. But we absolutely love our forever home, especially since it’s been in the family for years! You can read the full story here, and get a home tour here.

When we bought the house, the trim was pea green, the stairs had terribly gross gold carpet, and the plaster walls were literally crumbling. Today, the trim has been painted, the carpet removed, and the walls repaired…but that’s about as far as we’ve gotten with these stairs.

Here’s a look at some of the Before and After’s… (Side note: most of these photos were taken quickly with my phone, so please excuse the quality. There will definitely be professional photos once this makeover is complete!)

And just a few more current shots…

As you can see, they aren’t in the best shape. I guess that’s what happens in 114 years!

In addition to the stairs, there is a segmented hall at the top of the stairs. For clarity, we’ll call the larger landing adjacent to the stairs the large hall (it’s 12’4″ by 7’2″), and the smaller section the small hall (it’s 5’2″ by 7’2″). Really technical, I know. Here’s a glimpse at the Before & After’s of the hall…

And here’s a look at the small hall, which isn’t all that visible in these…

Now for the good stuff!! Here are the plans, along with some inspiration photos. (Click on the photos for source.)

1. Paint the risers on the stairs. I think painting the risers white will make a huge difference and really give the stairs a clean pop.

2. Install a stair runner. I’m thinking a natural fiber rug in the tan family. I want it to be neutral enough to go with anything, but with some pattern so it’s not too boring.

3. Install electrical outlet in large hall. There currently is not an outlet in either hall, which means we can’t plug in lamps, chargers, or even the vacuum.

4. Install switch-operated ceiling light in small hall. Right now we just have a pull-chain light bulb fixture. We plan to install a fixture that matches the one in the larger hall that is currently being stored in the attic, and run electricity to a switch on the wall.

5. Add furniture, art work, lamp, rug, blinds, etc. I’m excited to gain some more storage when we put in a chest of drawers. It will be a nice change to walk up these stairs and see a pretty, styled area. I’m considering a gallery wall somewhere in this space, but we’ll see how far we get!

6. Create a guest suite station in small hall. Our guest bedroom is just off the back of the small hall, so I’d like to have a place to store linens, towels, and other guest room essentials.

Are you still there? That was a lot going on in just one post! I’m so excited to share this 6-week journey with you!

Be sure to check out these amazing designers’ projects. You can find them all here!

And to see what other bloggers are linking up, check out today’s post.