DIY ROPE STAIR RAILING

Hello! Second blog post, look at me! This one is all about the DIY rope stair railing we did to our 3rd floor staircase. Whenever I share it on my Instagram, I often get asked for a link for the rope and the hardware. For some reason, I never have that info handy and then I feel bad it takes me forever to get back to the people that are inquiring. So, I’m putting together a blog post on it so that if you are one of those people, you’ll find the links here and soon you too can have a rope railing like this one if you so please!

The parts

First off, the materials we used to create this railing:

1. the bracket - It’s technically a curtain rod bracket but functions perfectly fine for this project. I chose the brass but looks like it comes in satin or polished stainless steel. You could even spray paint it if you like!

2. the rope - This is the exact rope I used. It comes in blue and red too, which could be fun! To figure out how much I needed, I took a piece of string and pretended it was the rope and draped it down the stairs. Then I added an extra couple feet to factor in the length I needed for the knot. I didn’t opt for the end splice or the whip end. Instead, I wrapped white duct tape around the ends to keep them from unraveling.

Installing

This is the part where I won’t be so helpful as I am just the creative mind around here and not the drill and saw wielding one in the house. Once Chris and I figured out the spacing of the brackets, he drilled them into the wall and I stood on the sidelines and cheered him on. Then, we threaded the rope through the three brackets and gaged how much slack we wanted between each bracket. We could have made the rope super taut which is just a different look but I preferred there to be a bit of a swag between each bracket. Personal preference! Lastly, we knotted both ends and wrapped the duct tape around where we wanted the rope to end. There was a little bit of excess beyond the tape so we had to trim the rope. This is the part where Chris stepped in as you can’t cut this rope with a scissor because it’s so thick! Instead, I think he used some kind of handsaw to trim it. That guy is a keeper.

Final Thoughts

I love how this project turned out. I think it’s fun and playful, a bit nautical, and it wasn’t too expensive or difficult to do. My kind of DIY if you ask me! As for the painted stripe up the stairs, that was another DIY I did which I can’t elaborate much on it now as time is a tickin’ and I have a baby that will be waking up from her nap shortly! However, if you have any questions on this project, please shoot me an email or drop me a DM on Instagram!

Serena & Lily Newport Lounger Review

Welcome to my first blog post in a loooong time…I’m talking like 5 years! I took a hiatus from blogging after I had our second son because wrangling two boys under 2 was proving to be a challenge leaving me feeling exhausted. The thought of creating a blog post at the end of the day felt like a chore and I chose a glass of wine and Bravo TV at night instead. Sharing my projects in Instagram posts and stories has been a really great creative outlet and way to connect with you all and I will keep going with that but I’m also going to dust off my blogging pants and give it a try again, this time with 3 kids in tow (we welcomed our third in January 2020)! So, I probably have less free time than ever but I do enjoy this and have things to share, and this space gives me more of an opportunity to do that. I hope you are able to check in here and find what I have to say helpful/inspiring/entertaining!

Anyway, I’m kicking off my reintroduction to the blogging world by partnering with Serena & Lily to give an open and honest review of a product I’ve had for some time now and that I love: the Serena & Lily Newport lounger.

Whenever I share our third floor playroom on Instagram, my most asked question is about our our loungers: “Do you love them?” “Are they worth it?” So, today I’m going into detail and sharing my thoughts on them.

We purchased two of the Newport loungers for our 3rd floor playroom in 2018, so we’ve had them for about 3 years old now . We have 3 kids (7, 5, and 1) and I wanted a comfy place for them and us (the adults) to sit when hanging in the playroom. Originally we had a sectional in the space and although it was comfy, it took up a lot of room in our playroom, leaving not a lot of floor space for the kids to play. So, I sold the sectional and looked into the S&L Newport lounger as an alternate option for seating that would be comfortable but not eat up a lot of floor space. After debating whether or not to get them and asking a friend who also had one if she loved it, I decided to go for it! And I’m so happy I did and here is why.

Form

In my past experience with loungers or bean bag chairs, I’ve found that they can quickly get sloppy looking the more they are sat on. You know, they go from looking full and cozy to looking like flattened pancakes. But I am happy to report this is not the case with our Serena & Lily loungers. The beans have settled slightly over the past 3 years but do not look like sloppy sad pancakes that other loungers take on after some time.

Aesthetic

In addition to how they keep their shape, I just love the look of these loungers! They’re as beautiful in person as they appear online. The whip-stitching on the sides and the rope handle on the back are some of my favorite details. Our Newport loungers are the bark color and it is a really pretty soft textured gray that goes perfectly in our coastal inspired playroom. It’s also a forgiving color because…ya know, kids. I should mention that the covers do not unzip so you can’t throw them in the wash but we’ve had our share of stains here and there but I was able to simply by spot cleaning with mild soap and water.

Comfort

Looks aside, these loungers are incredibly comfortable. My kids relax on them if they’re reading a book or watching a show but to be honest my husband and I also love to sit on them when the kids are playing in the playroom. They’re large enough for adults (about 32” wide and 40” deep) and super comfy. I’ve even had my boys snuggle up with me on the lounger while I’ve read them a book. And even though they’re generous in size, they only weigh about 10 pounds each. So our kids are able to easily drag them over to the tv by the rope handle in the back to cuddle up for a movie or show.

The verdict

So, with all that said, my answer to the questions “Do you love the Newport lounger"?” and “Are they worth it?” are “yes and yes!”. Between their durability, aesthetic, and comfort, it’s no wonder they’re a Serena & Lily favorite and a staple in our playroom that have proven to stand the test of time. I’m such a fan that I’ve also used them in a recent project I designed for a client (pictured below) and this family too has been very happy with their lounger.

If you’re considering the Newport lounger for your own space but have a question you’d like to ask that I haven’t answered, please feel free to reach out and ask! And if you’re local and want to come over and test them out, come on over! I’m happy to answer all your questions.

*This post is sponsored by Serena & Lily and contains commissionable & affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own!