Wow, that is the most wood I think I have ever seen in one house. I'm speechless. Hope the design angel swoop in to help!

I can tell you one thing, that staircase will never ever pass code, you have to have a railing on the other side, OMG, you could fall off and kill yourself. I hope your pets and children are safe.

Hi! Lots of great potential...you're right! There are a few directions you can go depending on the design of the rest of the room. The stairs are a big focal point so it can either be toned down or played up. You could use that back wall going up the stairs as an opportunity to bring in color for the modern side of things and keep the stairs light similar to this https://www.houzz.com/photos/ny-duplex-contemporary-staircase-new-york-phvw-vp~38344

The another option is to bring in a dark tread with light risers that will then be crisp and clean with the metal/cable railing (the railing in this picture isn't what you're describing but you can see the concept) https://www.houzz.com/photos/1920s-brookhaven-renovation-transitional-staircase-atlanta-phvw-vp~6778373

Yet another rustic/modern option is keeping the stairs the same wood as the flooring (re-staining to darken what you have now if that's an option) and the railing is the modern touch. https://www.houzz.com/photos/pavilion-house-contemporary-staircase-charlotte-phvw-vp~19822477

The rest of the room would need to be in tune with the stairs so you could bring in more modern touches or more rustic with the combination of furniture, paint, art etc. Fun project!

Thanks, Hue Designs! We like the light floors and will be keeping those. An accent wall is a good idea, but it does go up well beyond the staircase. I don't have a good photo of what the looks like, but here is the opposite wall to show you the height of the whole thing. Would be a LOT of color.

I like the dark and metal in the last one, but we do want to keep it light and airy. I just didn't know if it would look weird to have the ceiling be the only dark wood.

(stone and fireplace are on the reno list, too, but further on down the line). :)

I see what you mean. Definitely a tough call without being there to get the feel of the space beyond the pictures. If you pull colors from the wood that's existing, you will get a blend of tones that will work on the stairs since it's not introducing a different wood tone. The accent color might still work on the wall (of course it is a big design element if it extends so far into the other room) but it could be a less shocking color than the inspiration picture. Just something different to brighten your room. It would bring your eye down from the ceiling too. Your furniture, rugs etc will also help with that.

Here are some more photos of the room - with and without furniture (and dog).

The sets are definitely a feature, so we want to do it up right! Fun project - just so many options!!

My thoughts, a real fireplace of nice stone to ceiling with french doors on either side out to the beautiful deck. The window seem squatty but may just need proper trim. I'd take down the wood up to the first beam, make the beams slightly darker, put in LED lights to highlight the ceiling and enjoy your new home. No these are the colors I choose, its for illustrative purposes only.

Frighteningly dangerous as pictured.

After looking at the additional pictures and the amount of wood flooring plus the ceiling/beams that will stay, I think breaking the stairs up with the dark/white combo and metal/cable railings work if it's balanced with lighter paint throughout the room. The fireplace will also give you a modern/rustic feel once you tackle that later on. I don't think I'd keep the same color wood for the stairs; that might make it more cabin-y rather than rustic/modern. It's a balancing act for sure because other aspects of the room(s) need to coordinate with the design of the stairs. The flow into the other rooms is important. Carefully adding modern/rustic touches throughout will help to ensure one room isn't different than the rest of the house. It's a slippery slope!

She says the stairs aren't a danger to her, so why keep mentioning it? She already said that they plan on putting up a railing.

Really digging this staircase and railing. Light, clean and metal!

"She says the stairs aren't a danger to her, so why keep mentioning it?"

The lack of a railing is a danger to the dogs. And no children or elderly will ever visit? We see lots of goofy dangerous stuff on Houzz like debating whether or not to place a range right next to a combustible wall. I really don't care if you kill yourself, but if the fire in your place kills the kid next door, that pi$$es me off. Same when your dog falls off the landing.

Dark wood:

Flooring and wall a blend... but I thought if you remove planks, you'd drywall?

Idk if you can or want to - but this photo had me thinking - if you wanted to re-do it so that a breakfast bar/ banquette were within the door's entry? and freeing space where bottom of stairs is currently? for more furniture across from fp?? or a couple chairs....

Other colors too besides green... :)

Hi All,

Thanks for the concern on the step. As noted above, we are going to put up a railing. We've lived in the house for a year and a half now with no accidents and the previous owners were here for 20 years and apparently never had a problem with it. The dogs are no dummies and realize they don't want to walk off the landing (and they are older, so no crazy-stupid energy to watch out for.) That staircase only goes up to our master bed/bath, so generally guests/kids, etc aren't using the steps. The house was built in '72, probably before there were enforced codes in this county. While it was a little weird when we first moved in, we hardly think about the lack of railing now. No one is in danger - it will be fixed. Deep breath. :)

Everdebz - thanks for all of the inspiration photos. I do like the cable railings, but they are SO expensive. I think I've found some cheaper, but still cool looking aluminum rods, or metal conduit to use for the balusters.
Walls will be dry-walled and painted after the wood is removed.

We aren't sure about the steps, still... White riser, matching-wood riser... dark, light... In some photos I really love one, and then I see it in another setting and I'm not as big of a fan. Ugh. Husband is no help. I asked him about it last night and he said "I just want something that looks good." Yes, well.... ;)

Ha! yes, my husband says the same thing. Your goal to brighten it up is a good place to start. The pictures you like are great tools for inspiration and jumping off point. Yet, you're seeing the same look isn't successful in every application so it's confusing. Since the wood in your room is significant on the ceiling and floor, those existing wood tones will dictate the color on your stairs. Keeping it all light on the top with white risers will be more of a continuous look from the flooring. Dark on top with white risers separate the eye a bit from all the other wood. The metal will definitely add another material into the room which is needed for interest. You should get a sample of different stained wood and see how it looks in the space. Nothing compares to having it onsite! The darker stain also doesn't need to be black necessarily.

Yes, some samples will be helpful.. but until I get out to the store, I can play on the computer. :)

I like how the white risers break up all the wood. Since the ceiling is darker than the floor, perhaps find a common shade that's in both the floor and the ceiling similar to the darker tone you have pictured. If you go too light matching the floor, the ceiling might look out of place and it's a big part of the room.

I like the first picture with the dark treads and white risers.
Have you looked into DIY cable railings? You can buy the fittings and wire and put it together yourself.

I liked Hue's comment. Dark accents in stairs not necessary -- dark furniture pieces instead.... but thinking that you'll be adding furniture - I'd stick with all light wood up the stairs. Photoshop some railings and a bench 'under' the stairs and it'll start looking busy.

If you really want a fun accent, try similarly colored tiles on risers.

Lauren, it was a shot at planning [my moved staircase above] -- but did it come across that case would angle out and near kitchen for b.bar.... and creating a square-ish space for something... a rug etc. nearer the entry ??

Furniture selection will definitely depend on multiple factors and I wouldn't necessary suggest dark furniture for modern/rustic feel. The material selection for the fireplace (even if you're not ready to do that yet) will be very important to the stairs. That is a large focal point and it matters if you are turning that into a more modern feature or not. It's important that your large aspects of your room jive because they are the bones of the room. This forum is great to get quick ideas to start in a direction but overall, crucial details like budget, furniture layout, color likes/dislikes, functions of the room, keeping existing furniture or not, etc go into determining the overall design scheme.

We'll be using the brown leather L couch as pictured above. We don't plan on buying new furniture at this time. Will probably do a new area rug after we're all done.

For the fireplace, we're looking at this ledgestone and do plan to stack it all the way to the ceiling, as was suggested earlier. We want to put in a gas insert with black frame. Mantle will utilize the current hunk of wood, but refinish it to match the steps. It will be hung "floating."

I've got a pretty decent vision for this (I'm a graphic designer) but the steps are a stepping block (pun intended). ;)
We do live in Colorado, so rustic is always good, but we want to modernize it a bit, too.

I wasn't saying you need dark furniture....fyi distressed 6x6" .... 2 of?!

Great! Seeing there's a fireplace vision definitely helps. I think pulling the darker tones into the stairs after seeing the stone would work. It also carries the darker tone of your couch up the stairs so it's throughout in different aspects. Good luck! Can't wait to see what you decide!