Did you re-do the staircase yourself? If not, I'd be getting the contractor back to fix it. Unless you've got an ornate victorian house, those ornamental moldings will look too fussy.

You are so brilliant to think of this solution. Yet I would be inclined to pull the eye to artwork and ignore the stair ends. Or perhaps restain the entire area?

I would stain samew color as stairs ( use an extra one or two for trials). I don't like to call attention to "mistakes", so same color would just blend in.

Stain same color if you can.

Also, if you decide to use those moldings, will they still work if you turn them upside down and move them up a bit so they "point" down and the long side is up closer to the tread?

I would put the ornament upside down. Is this going on all the stairs? Just one would look odd.

Traditional stair ornaments are quite a bit simplier and followed the flat edge of the tread and the riser and has a simple scroll underneath. You might try something chunkier and less fancy.

It will be hard to get an exact match. I would go slightly darker--the grooved areas probably will be darker anyway.

I say match the best you can. Nice touch! Very creative!

you may want to use a stair bracket as an option.

So that's what they are called!

I might be better off sanding the side and restaining it. Do you think this would look better than adding the wooden ornaments? Thanks, Mary

Yes I would try sanding and restaining. I used a molding similar to the one in your picture, only it was a shell shape, and I regret doing it.

Why do you regret doing it?

Don't quite know how to explain it. I'll try to get a picture at home tonight and post it for you. My staircase is painted white. It looks like a DIY - not the finished look I was hoping for. I did it because I didn't like the heaviness of the stair bracket but thought it needed something. I think leaving it simple would have been a better option for me. You may like the look. The good news is that when I get ready to paint again, I can take them down and do some sanding and fix it.