Updating Stair Baluster Spacing

This is the first of many home improvement posts!  We've closed on the house!!  We are so excited to get moved in before the end of the year.  There are a few things on our to do list before we move in.  The first project tackled was the stairs.  See the lovely popcorn on the ceiling?  That will be next!  And finally we will be painting (yes it really is that orange in person).

Here is a picture of the little man poking his head through part of the stairs.  Big problem! One of the first things we did was update the baluster spacing.  We opted to keep the majority of the existing wood to cut down on costs. 

This saved a ton of money.  They were able to only remove/replace the spindles.  The spindles were approximately $3/each for the straight and $5/each for the baskets.  Total cost was around $1,000.  Not too bad!  I was amazed at how much it updated the entry.  Love it!  And it sure beats the hubby's first suggestion of using netting around the entire entry! :)

One more time, here is the before:

 After:

 Before:

 After:

Popcorn removal starts Monday!!