DIY Stair Makeover: How to Update Stair Treads & Risers (Beginner-Friendly Guide)

Give your stairs a fresh new look with simple DIY updates! Learn how to transform stair treads and risers using paint, stain, wood caps, and beginner-friendly tips. Perfect for budget-friendly home makeovers.

Updating your stairs is one of the quickest ways to make your home feel fresh, modern, and more put together—without taking on a major renovation. Whether your stair treads are worn down, your risers are scuffed, or your whole staircase feels dated, a simple DIY stair makeover can completely transform the look for a fraction of the cost of replacing it.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how we updated our stair treads and risers, the tools and materials that make a big difference, and the tricks professionals use to get a clean, durable finish. If you’re ready to give your staircase a whole new look, you’re in the right place.

Why Update Your Stair Treads and Risers?

Stairs are one of the first things guests notice, and when they’re worn out, scratched, or mismatched, it can make the whole space feel older. Updating your staircase comes with big benefits:

• Increases Home Value: Fresh stair treads and risers instantly elevate your home’s overall look, helping your space feel newer and more cohesive.
• Improves Safety: Addressing loose treads, uneven surfaces, or worn finishes can make your staircase much safer for everyday use.
• Budget-Friendly Transformation: You don’t need a full renovation to make a big impact. A little sanding, stain, or paint can go a long way.

How to Update Stair Treads and Risers

1. Your first step is going to be getting your wood prepared. If you’re not keeping the existing risers and stair treads (ours were just cheap particle board that had been covered with carpet), you’re going to need new risers and stair treads. I bought unfinished risers and treads from Lowe’s. Keep in mind, I used pine stair treads; pine is a softer wood and more susceptible to dings. If it’s in your budget, I would recommend spending a little more money on your stair treads and go with oak stair treads. I decided to paint my risers black (Tricorn black by Sherwin Williams) and went with a light wood paintwash for my treads. After I did three coats of paint and paintwash, I then sealed all my boards with several coats of polycrylic. 

• Pine stair treads I used
• Oak stair treads
• Risers I used

2. Next, you’ll need to remove your old treads and risers. Most of the time, they’ll be glued with a few screws, so just a little muscle and you’ll be able to get them off. 

3. Now you need to measure your stair treads. This is much easier with a stair tread template because your walls will not be square. You could also use paper or another method, but we loved using our template. 
4. Line up your template to your stair tread, then measure. You’ll want to measure twice and cut once! Cut your wood down, lining your mark up with the edge of your blade instead of the center. If you center it, your treads will be short. Make sure to keep in mind which stair tread goes on which step. It’s likely they won’t match perfectly. 
5. Add glue to your stairs. You’ll want to use quite a bit! Be sure to get all the edges where the treads will touch the stairs. 

6. Place your treads on the stairs, securing with 3 screws, through to the stringers underneath. 

7. I painted my risers black. My risers were pre-sanded and primed, so this was very easy to do. 

8. Now it’s time to get the risers on. We used little pieces of backer board behind the risers so that our risers would cover the holes from the screws that we used to secure the treads. If your holes are far enough back, or if you don’t mind filling in and staining all the holes, you could add your riser directly to the stairs. 

9. We used the same template tool to measure the length of the risers. Be sure you are cutting the risers the same way that you did the tread, lining the blade up with the edge of your measurement to ensure that you have the correct measurement. 
10. Attach the risers with a little glue, and nails. I didn’t mind filling the nail holes and repainting because it’s easier than staining wood filler. 
11. When your risers are on, your stairs are done! 

Tips and Tricks

• DIY projects are always about learning! You pivot when something comes up. We weren’t planning on adding the backer board, but needed to cover the holes, so we pivoted. This always happens with a DIY project. Don’t worry about it! 
• I highly suggest grabbing yourself a stair tread template tool. This made everything so much easier and we were able to get through all our cuts without needing to buy more wood because of bad cuts! 

How do you modernize your stairs? 

I think that this project is perfect for modernizing your stairs! Even just removing your carpet takes it up a step. Adding a high contrast riser like black and a light wood tread is a great way to add a modern touch to your stairs. These small projects can make a huge difference. 

Can you put new stair treads over old treads?

I think there are specific products made to do this, but I have never used them. This was our first stair project and we were going from carpet with particle board stairs underneath, so we needed to do all our treads from scratch. It wasn’t too hard to pull up the wood that was under our carpet, and it was fun to completely transform the space. 

If you have a middle landing like our staircase has, this is how I used the same treads to create a matching landing: DIY Stair Landing with Stair Treads

What is the easiest way to update old stairs?

Paint and stain are the simplest DIY methods. Painting risers + refinishing treads creates a big transformation for very little money.

Should stair treads be darker or lighter than the floor?

Most designers choose slightly darker treads to ground the staircase visually, while risers stay light.

Do you have to sand stairs before painting them?

Yes—light sanding helps paint adhere and prevents peeling.

What type of paint should I use on stair risers?

Semi-gloss or satin trim paint works best. It’s durable, washable, and resists scuffs.

Can you paint stair treads?

Yes! Just choose a floor or porch paint designed for heavy use.

How long does a DIY stair makeover take?

Most projects take 1–2 days, depending on drying/curing time

There you have it! Updating stair treads and risers really is a very doable DIY project. If you decided to update your stairs, we’d love to see how it turns out! If you have carpet to remove first, as we did, you might find this post to be helpful! Be sure to use #howwedoandyoucantoo on Instagram so we can see your beautiful space. And check out this one-minute video of the entire stair transformation from start to finish!