House

Okay, first, that kind of House. The season finale last night? Was awesome. Best television I've seen all week. Of course, there was very little competition, since we watched University of Arkansas baseball on TIVO all weekend at the in-laws' house. I heart House and his grumpiness.

But I really mean the other kind of house, like the one in which I live.

It's not a done deal yet, but there's a good chance our house is going to be on the Downtown Home Tour this fall. We were invited to be featured last year, but the timing didn't work out.

This means I have some work ahead of me. Yes, our house is only two years old, but we have children. And pets.

The walls along our staircase aren't working for me. Along the wall without the rail, I hung a triptych I had painted as my senior project in college. I put it there when we first moved in because the wall needed something and I couldn't figure out how to make the ladder cooperate to hang anything higher. The paintings don't work there at all. It's a high-traffic area. So the paintings get bumped all the time, so they're askew all the time, and my low-grade OCD can't handle that.

The staircase walls are immense. At the bottom of the stairs, the ceiling is vaulted (for lack of a better word). So the walls go from the floor of the first floor to the ceiling of the second floor, over twenty feet. Repainting the entire wall is not an option. But I'm thinking of painting the area under the rail (roughly 3 feet, from the stair treads to the rail). Something interesting. Maybe stripes (the current color and a slight variation? or something more dramatic?). And I've looked at wall words. But how would they look going uphill? Maybe just several different words, rather than a phrase? Wallpaper is not entirely out of the question, since the area below the rail is not huge. I've hung paper before, and while it's not fun, it's not the worst thing in the world. (Taking it off, however, might be the worst thing in the world. Which is a good argument to skip that idea entirely, despite how awesome this or this or this might look.)

So, the goal is this: interesting wall treatment for staircase. Needs to be durable and cleanable. And needs to match the carpet (greenish tan). And be accomplishable by Craig and me this summer.

Open to suggestions.....