PROJECT STORY · CONNECTED INTERIOR RENOVATION

Coordinating Smooth Ceilings, Hardwood Floors and a Curved Staircase

We removed popcorn ceilings, installed hardwood flooring and converted a carpeted curved staircase to red oak, sequencing the dust-heavy work before the new finishes went in.

Connected ceiling, hardwood flooring, staircase and painting renovation

Project: Connected ceiling, flooring and staircase renovation
Ceiling: Popcorn and medallion removal, skim coating and smooth finishing
Flooring: New hardwood installation
Stairs: Red-oak capping, new risers, upper-floor nosing and stringer finishing
Railing: New posts, leaf-knuckle metal balusters and refinished railing components
Dust control: Tool-connected Festool extraction during major sanding stages
Finishing: Ceilings, crown moulding, walls and stair components painted or refinished
PLANNING A CONNECTED RENOVATION?

One connected scope

Planning three dust-heavy trades together

This home had popcorn ceilings with decorative medallions, older flooring and a carpeted curved staircase. We began with the ceiling removal and sanding before installing new hardwood and red-oak stair caps.

Wide completed room showing a smooth ceiling, painted walls, hardwood floor and curved finished staircase. — Smooth ceilings, new hardwood and the renovated staircase meet within the same finished room.

Original ceiling

Removing popcorn texture and medallions

We removed the popcorn and ceiling medallions together. The existing crown moulding remained around the rooms, ready for paint after the ceilings were smoothed.

Ceiling before renovation with popcorn texture and a decorative medallion. — Before

Smooth painted ceiling without the original popcorn texture or decorative medallion. — Before

Wide original room view showing a decorative ceiling medallion and popcorn texture across the connected ceiling. — Popcorn texture and a decorative medallion continued through the adjoining room.

Surface correction

Preparing the ceilings for a smooth finish

After removing the texture, we skim coated and sanded the ceilings in several passes. Low spots and ridges needed further correction before the surface was ready for primer and paint.

Broad drywall compound coverage across the ceiling around recessed-light openings and crown moulding. — Broad skim coating corrected the ceiling plane before further sanding, inspection, primer and finish paint.

A second room ceiling during a full skim-coat correction stage with protected walls below. — Skim coating continued across the room instead of ending with isolated patches.

Dust-controlled preparation

Controlling dust through several sanding stages

Plastic sheeting enclosed the rooms during ceiling preparation. Festool sanders connected to dust extractors collected dust at the tool during ceiling and wood sanding. We completed the heavy preparation before the new floors and stair finishes went in.

Plastic containment separating the ceiling preparation area from adjoining rooms and the staircase. — Containment isolated the ceiling correction area before repeated skim coating and dust-controlled sanding began.

Protected hallway and ceiling work zone enclosed with plastic during sanding-heavy preparation. — Plastic sheeting covers the hallway walls below the ceiling work.

Paint and crown moulding

Painting the ceilings, walls and crown moulding

We painted the ceilings, crown moulding and walls after the ceiling repairs and sanding.

Room before renovation with popcorn ceiling texture and the older wall finish. — Before

Room after renovation with a smooth painted ceiling, crown moulding and freshly painted walls. — Before

Hardwood installation

Connecting the hardwood and staircase

New hardwood runs up to the curved stair opening. The boards, upper-floor nosing and new posts meet here, so the floor layout had to be settled with the staircase work.

Completed hardwood upper floor surrounding the curved stair opening and finished metal railing. — New hardwood meets the posts and nosing around the stair opening.

Stair preparation

Preparing the carpeted staircase

We removed the carpet and the railing parts being replaced, then repaired and prepared the stringers along the stair edges. Each step changes shape as the flight curves, requiring the caps to be fitted individually.

Overhead before view of the curved carpeted staircase with white wood balusters and the original railing. — Before work, carpet covered the curved flight and the heavier white balusters enclosed the stair opening.

Red-oak capping

Fitting red-oak caps through the curve

Red-oak caps cover the prepared steps, with new white risers between them. The curved handrail was retained and refinished; new posts and slim metal balusters replace the old white wood balusters.

Curved staircase before renovation with carpeted steps and the original railing. — Before

Curved staircase after renovation with red-oak caps, white risers, new posts and metal balusters. — Before

Floor-to-stair transition

Finishing the curved floor edge

We fitted the upper-floor nosing around the curved opening and the new posts. This rounded edge finishes the hardwood where it meets the open stairwell, including the tight return beside the baseboard.

Wide hardwood-floor and upper-nosing transition visible through dark metal balusters. — Hardwood boards meet the stair nosing and new balusters around the curved opening.

Portrait view following the hardwood floor around the curved stair opening beside the baseboard. — The curved floor edge meets the baseboard cleanly beside the stair opening.

Railing design

Completing the staircase with a new railing

Leaf-and-knuckle details decorate the new metal balusters. Their narrower profile leaves more of the curved staircase visible, while the retained handrail keeps its original sweep.

Finished curved guard with a refinished wood handrail and dark metal balusters featuring leaf-knuckle details. — Leaf-knuckle metal balusters add restrained detail while the refinished handrail maintains continuity around the curve.

Overhead finished view of the curved stair opening, hardwood floor, new posts and metal balusters. — From above, the new posts and dark balusters align with the hardwood floor and curved opening.

Wide completed interior showing the smooth ceiling above the hardwood floor and renovated curved staircase. — The smooth ceiling, hardwood floor and renovated staircase share the same finished room.

Completed curved staircase viewed from above with red-oak surfaces, white risers and dark metal balusters. — Flooring, upper nosing, stair caps, handrail, posts and metal balusters meet around the curved opening.

FINISHED PROJECT

The completed ceiling, hardwood and staircase renovation

Wide completed interior with smooth ceiling, hardwood flooring and the full curved renovated staircase. — Smooth ceilings, hardwood flooring and the curved red-oak staircase complete the renovated interior.

Smooth painted ceiling with recessed lighting and crown moulding above the finished room. — Removing the texture and medallion allowed the ceiling to be skimmed and painted as one smooth surface.

Wide finished room with smooth ceiling, painted crown moulding, walls and hardwood flooring. — Fresh ceiling, crown and wall paint finish the room around the new hardwood floor.

Finished upper landing with hardwood flooring, refinished curved handrail and dark metal balusters. — Hardwood, new posts and the refinished handrail meet at the upper landing.

Curved finished guard viewed from above with leaf-knuckle metal balusters and new wood posts. — Slim metal balusters keep the curved guard open, with leaf-knuckle details adding restrained ornament.

Close finished view of red-oak stair caps meeting crisp white risers along the curved flight. — Fitted red-oak caps and consistent nosings meet the white risers cleanly.

Finished curved staircase viewed from below with the underside, wood caps and metal railing visible. — The finished stair and guard follow the original curve from below.

Wide finished interior showing the smooth ceiling and renovated staircase across the same room. — Ceiling, wall and staircase finishes come together in the same room.

CONTINUE EXPLORING

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Planning several connected interior upgrades?

Strataline coordinates ceiling, flooring, stair and painting work throughout Toronto and the GTA.

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