In 1992, George Selarón started renovating some steps of the staircase, which was in a bad state of conservation and which passes in front of his house. At first, the neighbors scoffed at the bizarre combinations of colors as he mixed the steps with pieces of tiles in blue, green and yellow, that is, the colors da Brazil's flag. It started as a hobby for his main passion, a painting, but soon became an obsession. Selarón was almost always without money and so he sold paintings to finance his endeavor. It was a long and tiring job, but the artist continued with the work and finally covered the entire set of steps in tiles, ceramics and mirrors.