It’s usually radical beauty makeovers that get the viral treatment but a woman’s inspirational before and after pictures of her inexpensive staircase design has attracted thousands of admirers online.

When Nicole Kelly’s stair carpet got tatty she decided on an unconventional replacement. Kelly, from Southampton, bought monochrome vinyl tile stickers on eBay for the risers and used slate grey paint for the tops. She finished each stair with transparent textured grip stickers to make sure it’s not slippy.

The entire project cost £65.

Posting images of her handiwork on money-saving Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains Group UK, Kelly said: “My £65 staircase. Had to lift my old carpet (3 kids and a dog so it didn’t last long) but it was too expensive to replace the carpet and pay a fitter, so I did this myself instead. It’s so much easier to clean now.”

Sharing details of the materials and method she used, Kelly added: “£30 for paint (leyland trade heavy duty floor paint in slate), £20 vinyl kick board stickers (eBay) and transparent non slip stair grips £15 (amazon).”

“It took five minutes a stair to sand them. I kept the old paint on them, and just smoothed them down with an electric orbital hand sander.

“I borrowed the sander, however I’ve seen the same one in Asda for £15. I stuck the stickers right at the end of each stair. If you zoom in you should see them.”

There’s something truly satisfying about seeing an interiors vision through to completion and living in self-designed surroundings. 

Shaping the spaces we inhabit can positively impact our moods, as expressing our ideas invokes feelings of individuality, liberty, peace and ownership. It’s perhaps unsurprising then, that Kelly’s tasteful and relatively simple transformation has struck a chord with so many.

Plenty of homeowners confessed they were inspired to tear up their own stair carpets.

“Love it, I’m copying,” Dione McFayden said. 

Ann Anderson added: “Thanks for sharing, I’m going to pinch your great idea.”

Ashlea Louise Reid agreed: “This looks amazing I want to rip up my carpet now!”

Ingenuity can also come from the most unexpected of places. While Pinterest, Instagram and interiors magazines are the standard sources for interior achievements, Kelly chose to share hers on a money-saving group to help others who wanted to achieve the same look. 

When we’re often bombarded with sleek images of expensively designed and unobtainable homes, it’s refreshing to come across a desirable and accessible DIY project.

Images: Extreme Couponing and Bargains/eBay