Restoring Stairs
When I bought my home it had light tan carpet EVERYWHERE. There was a strip of light tan carpet down the stairs that was more than just a little stained. The carpet had to go!!!! Check out my stairs going BARE!!! :)
Bare the Stair
First step is to peek and see what kind of wood is under the carpet. Make sure there is solid wood that can be refurbished before tearing up the carpet. You need a hammer, pliers, flat bar, and butter knife. I made the mistake of just grabbing the carpet and pulling which turned into a bloody mess. There are tack strips and staples everywhere so be careful. May be best to wear gloves. Use the flat bar to pull the carpet up. Once you get it started the carpet comes up pretty easy.
Remove Tack Strips
Once you pull the carpet back it's time to remove the tack strips and staples. I found it easiest to use butter knife to pry up the tack strips. Use pliers to pull the staples out. Any nails that are poking out hammer down.
Play with Paint
I wanted to add something unique to my stairs, really dress them up. I recently painted the rail posts black so I decided to continue with the theme and paint the back to the stairs black, too. Use a semi-gloss paint.
If you would rather just keep the stairs wood, sand the stairs and choose the desired stain.
Add the Finishing Touches
My stairs were in pretty good shape so I just took a little bit of black semi-gloss paint and smeared it over the stair to let in get in any cracks or divots to add a little darker varnish. If needed, re-stain the stair.