Painting myself in a Corner

(pardon the dusty steps, we are still a bit under construction, but i just had to share the progress!)

Actually, I have been polyurethane-ing myself upstairs, every night for the past 4 nights.  It is a funny feeling to be stuck in your upstairs for 8 hours, but, with 5 people living here, is the only way to live in the  house, and still do the stairs.  The stairs are really taking shape now.  It was touch and go there for a few days, wondering if i would need to just order new carpet in the end.  But now that they are gleaming from gloss and that rich honey color has sunk in, I am starting to look past some of the imperfections (like the one pictured below. . . that i found on the second to last step that I stained) that were bugging me while i was pulling out staples, and sanding the heck out of the treads. 

Since the weekend, Hubby also put up chair rail in the hallway and stairwell, and put bead board or wainscoting on the risers.  It is really taking shape now, and I am so glad i pushed passed the staining and poly stage to give it a chance, because I have hardly noticed the stairs that seemed so glaring with uneven stain soak-age, or surface blemishes.  We are still trying to decide on a color for the top half of the wall.  I want something in the brown family, but it can't be to dark, and I want it to match the existing tan that goes throughout the main level. . . . AND. . . I want to have it all done by Saturday.  Hubby and I are exhausted at the end of each night.  Not because of how much of the day we are spending on it really, but because now that school is out and the kids are home,and it is a main traffic area, only time to work on the hallway is after the kids go to bed, which lately has been 9:30-10 at night.  So, we will be glad when it all comes together. 

And since ADD always gets the best of me during projects and I can't just focus on one thing at a time; i started looking up some entryway benches wishing i had a cuter one than the one i removed to paint.  It is one of those things i got years ago at a yard sale and painted black and set there, and haven't taken a second glance at since.  But now that it is out, and everything else is looking so upgraded, I started thinking a nice cushioned, pottery barn type bench would be nice.  So I sent my hubs THIS link, and last night before i went to bed, it was put together just waiting for me to sand and paint.

 I can't wait to go to the fabric store to look for a cushion fabric!  Isn't my hubbers the best?  I love a guy that loves a good spontaneous project!  Thanks Babe!