akeszler gotcha thanks for the reply! May I ask about how much a system like that runs? (I know depends on size, but my staircase looks to be similarly sized)
John Lum Architecture, Inc. AIA There is a huge variant depending on where in the country you are, what type of steel, and steel prices at the time. This particular railing shown was part of a larger stair so I don't readily have a cost break-down. I think if you took the photo to a metal shop along with a picture of your stairs, they could give you a ball-park price
A fairly popular contemporary solution for guardrails is to use rods or cable that follows the slope of the stair. In comparison to vertical pickets, this approach minimizes the number of pieces that must interact with the stair treads. Here we can see that three vertical supports are mounted to the stair in each run. These pieces then receive the rods that follow the slope.