Stairway

**THE STAIRS TO THE 2ND FLOOR**
	At left is the opening to the upstairs. It started as a doorway but at some point whacked the stairway open and did a crummy framing. The triangle and hash marks indicate what was removed. Right click and select "view image" for larger view. The wallpaper is ugly ferns, the carpeting the same ugly tan. There was an ugly tile dropped ceiling. We hung the drape to keep the warm air from flowing up the stairway to the uninsulated upstairs and out! This actually worked quite well. We dont want to re-enclose it does make moving furniture up the stairs possible. Instead, I am planning on covering the opening with a sliding bookcase on casters to make a secret door. When we popped up a tile to try to fix the "light" in the middle of the ceiling, we discovered the stairs had high vaulted ceiling hidden by the disgusting tile. At left are the residual "runners" that held the tile. The stairwell has definite possibilities for hanging artwork.

**THE STAIRWELL before and after**
	On the left, the round thing with the wire was how the light below the tile was held. The light was just plugged into an extension cord plugged in the original light at the top of the stairs. A window was cut to the outside to fit the stained glass window and let light into the stairwell. DeDe (DeDe's Home Repair) fixed all the plaster problems, built and stained the bookcase cherry (my design), and painted the stairs and stairwell. She installed the light track. The two upper shelves of the bookcase will soon hold sculptures. Soon the art work will be hung. Right click to see a larger image. There is no color difference along the stairwell, that is my camera and cut and splicing. The handrail will be installed soon.