staircase before (above). staircase after (below).

loft before (above). loft after (below).

when we first bought little green, the stairs to our master bedroom consisted of what we called a ‘sladder’ (staircase/ladder). because they were so steep and narrow and without a railing, we limited our trips up into our bedroom. whatever we needed for that day, we made sure that we would bring it down in the morning. it was always an adventure getting up in the middle of the night, and more than once our feet would slip and we’d have a small heart attack as we would grab onto the wall for support! are you surprised that these stairs (and our roof) did not pass our home inspection? we weren’t!

now the construction of our stairs was another matter entirely. when we finally did find workers to do the job, they assured us that it would only take two weeks. four months later, and nowhere near completion, we fired the contractors and got the help of my brother to finish the job. thank goodness for handy family members! he taught us how to add, mud, and patch drywall, install baseboards and trim, and build a railing. we gained about 4 feet of wall space, a closet, a unique landing, a longer and wider staircase, and a bigger opening to our loft. the end result is nowhere near what we originally wanted, but i love it just the same.

do you have any construction horror stories that you would like to share?