Carpeted Mess to Clean Trimmed-out Ledge

Day 22

This is one project I was really excited about. There is a ledge on the wall of our stairway to the upstairs. It was carpeted in the same carpet as the rest of the floor and the steps. That carpet got very dusty and dirty and there is no good way to clean it. It just looked ugly. Inspired by the Thrifty Decor Chick's stair remodel, I decided to take the carpet off and see what I could do. Under the carpet was a big mess, but I knew that from taking a peek underneath before I ripped it all up. I decided to build a ledge on top of what was there. I used a piece of primed mdf baseboard turned upside down for the bottom trim piece. I attached it with liquid nails and some real ones as well. A four by one inch long piece of mdf went on top, then on top of that, I used a nicer piece of 6" wide pine. I used a handsaw to cut the pieces to size and angle (in the corner the ceiling is at an angle). I used our sander to round off the edges of the top piece (the edges that would be sticking out anyway) and the part where I cut. I primed the top. Eventually I will also screw the whole thing in place and paint it all out. But the holidays came along, and I had other things to do. Since we don't have a mantle, this new ledge became a fun little spot to decorate for Christmas.