Right There in Black and White

We've been painting nonstop around here for the past couple of months - upstairs, downstairs, trim, doors, cabinets, and almost every wall in the house. The railings and spindles of our split level entryway staircases were no exception. At one time, they were painted the same cream color that the rest of the upstairs trim used to be. Obviously, that wasn't going to fly with Crazy Paint Girl me, and the railings and spindles were treated to two coats of Behr's Swiss Coffee.

In the middle of Project Paint. Dave was just about to tackle
the high seas with his high ladder {and by "high seas" I mean high walls}.


Pretty, clean, and certainly a brighter white, but something was missing. The railings lacked character, and I thought they could bring more charm to the space. I wanted the staircase to really pop, to be an eye-catching detail that demands your attention as soon as you walk through the front door, but in a classy way. It had to be classy and elegant, not all flashy and loud and crazy. I thought for a bit about the best color, the classiest compliment to white, and the obvious answer was black. What's more natural than black paired with white? The combination is timeless but still fresh. If you've been reading about the bathroom and bookcases, you might be able to guess that I was about to go down a path I'd traveled before, one leading me into a Dark Cavern - Dark Cavern by Behr, that is.

It took three painstaking coats of Dark Cavern to fully erase any trace of Swiss Coffee on the railings. Painstaking because the slightest slip with the brush and the world can see where you screwed up and painted black where it wasn't supposed to be painted. Despite careful taping, there were lots of Swiss Coffee touch ups to be done where Dark Cavern didn't belong.

Finally {finally}, the railings and the spindles were painted and touched up in their rightful colors, and the staircase was finished.



Even the small hand rail leading to the
basement got the Dark Cavern treatment.


Character and charm are no longer missing from the staircase; the crisp white against the soft black adds dimension and energy to the space. Want in on an added bonus to black railings? No more wiping away countless fingerprints, smudges, and smears from all who use the stairs. They're still there, of course, but I can't see them anymore, so they really don't count. We're happy with the staircase now. In fact, I think it's safe to say we love it.

A strand of pearls with your little black dress; the dark sharps and flats against the piano's white keys; little bits of starlight in an inky black sky. It's bread and butter, jam and bread. They go together.

And there you have it, folks. It's right there in black and white. Well, I guess since Dave and I still can't agree that the color is black and not dark brown, I guess we'll say that it's right there for you in Dark Cavern and white.