Walnut is more neutral however it depends on what else is happening in the house, specifically flooring?

We will replace the carpet, not sure about the color yet , it can be white, light gray or light taupe...

I would advise you to coordinate the new carpet and railing stain at the same time. If you can't do that due to budgetary constraints then pick a neutral stain like the walnut, you'll have more choices in matching carpet colors.

Another question about this project. We are torn between installing carpet on the stairs as it is now or wood look tile. The picture is taken from the entrance, which has tile at this moment. Also on the right side there is another stair that goes to the garage and basement. The actual stairs are carpet, the entry next to the garage is linoleum. We would like to put tile from the garage entry until the end of the stairs, and then continue with carpet because right now the carpeted stairs get dirty pretty fast since they are next to the entry. But I am aware that hard surfaces don't go that well on the stairs...

a few more pictures ...

is that railing raw wood or does it already have a finish on it? what color are you painting the walls?

why not do wood treads for the stairs? You could choose to do a runner or leave them as the wood.

I don't know how the wood look tile would actually look. which ones were you looking at using? I would not have white tile on the entry and then wood tile on stairs. Do the entry the same as the stairs, be it wood or tile.

The railing is one of those maple/honey oak 90's railing, it is finished. I was thinking of restain it maybe a walnut color.
The walls are going to be a greige/taupe.
I was thinking tile because it's easier to maintain, and wood at the entrance when you come from outside with wet shoes doesn't sound too good. Not sure about the color though....

Oana,,, ok,,here's my opinion. I hope you're willing to take up the white entry tile, otherwise the tile on the staircase is going to make it look choppy. It's a small space to demo and you can even do the new tile yourself.

This is what you DON'T want when choosing a tile for the stairs.

the floor part is ok, but the staggered layout on the stair tread is not. So what you want is a larger/longer tile so you have as few pieces as possible on those stairs.

something like this. You will also want to keep your risers either white, or another decorative tile to help delineate the stairs and keep people from tripping. this is just an example. you can leave them white, gray, tile, stencil, whatever you want.

this is a nice porcelain tile, below. If you want it to look good and look like wood, be prepared to spend a bit more for the actual tile. It will be worth it.

Porcelain is colored completely through the tile. If it gets chipped, you won't see it unlike ceramic, you will see the white 'inside'.

Another option, remove the carpet and paint the treads white and get a heavy duty runner in sisal or something.

Have you thought about doing the bannister in a nice black paint or Espresso stain, and white spindles? If you did that, you could get a walnut colored porcelain tile for the treads and the entryway, and paint your risers white.

above is stained, below is painted black. If you got the dark tiles and did the gray walls, it would look similar to this pic. beautiful.

http://timelessandtreasured.blogspot.com/2016/01/diy-how-to-stain-and-paint-oak-stair.html?m=1

this link shows you how she transformed her staircase.

Hi. I also did my stair and here are the pictures of my reno. Maybe it will give you ideas. My spindles are going to be black iron and only my handrail will be a dark wood.

Beth H, I like the black and white ones, but I think I like your fourth picture the most. I measured my stairs and with carpet they are 11x34, and I saw wood tile comes in sizes similar to this so I should be good.

Would something like this work on my stairs:

https://www.flooranddecor.com/porcelain-tile/bricola-noce-wood-plank-porcelain-tile-100190644.html

to get this look?

I think it would. it's 12x48,,,,that's a very large tile. you will also need something w/an edge. if you just put the tile on the step, the unfinished side will show. You could use a Schluter Edge trim piece, or see if this company makes bull nosed pieces. I also like how they did the spots on the wall. Check with a tile setter (unless you're doing it yourself) and see what he things about doing it w/that tile. Go grab a few boxes and bring them back to your house. lay them out in the entryway (are you going to take out the white tile?) and see how they look.

Yes, if I am doing tile I want to go with the same tile from top of the stairs up to the garage entry...

ok great. your stairs are 11x34 you said, so this tile is plenty large enough. You just need to find something for the edges that face out. Look around and search products for tread edges or stair nosing. something to that effect. I know they have metal edge you can use. This is if the tile company doesn't have a finished edge tile, bullnose.

what you want is something like this

if not, you'll have to find something else for the trim.

Will you tile the risers as well or paint those? the designs on the riser in this pic are vinyl decals. you could also do a stencil w/paints

The more I read about it the more complicated it seems. Most forums don't recommend tiling stairs because they are made of wood and that moves, which will lead to cracking...

I looked into adding wood treads and painting the risers, an unfinished wood tread is around $30, I have 14 of them that means $400 only the treads, then I have to get some unfinished hardwood from the same wood and stain everything the same color....This looks like it adds up very quickly...

Why don't you just put wood????its the easy solution, classic and beautiful!!!!

I would do this color palette:

Handrail only: ebony
The rest : white
Floor and stairs: oak wood (very resistant) stained this color as the pic.
Add runner if you want or just remove your shoes. No shoes in the house!!!

yes, it does. But it's a good investment as you will have it for decades. And your tile is going to come in very close to that as well. Whatever you decide, make sure you take up the white square tile in the entry way.

shop around for treads.I think they have red oak treads here for $26.

http://www.stair-treads.com/red-oak-unfinished-landing-tread-36-in.html?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=CjwKCAjw_dTMBRBHEiwApIzn_BpE378SmGwzTfR24UUhkAbFbfJGNuyUsT3Z1E5d3IuR8Nc6qNUc1hoCxBkQAvD_BwE

I can't vouch for quality, but you can check.

Floor and Decor, Home Depot and Lumber Liquidators has them.

Have you checked to see what's underneath the carpet? you may be able to refinish those. click on this link to see how she did it:

http://www.remodelaholic.com/under-100-carpeted-stair-to-wooden-tread-makeover-diy/

Also, check craigslist for deals on tile, or wood treads. sometimes you get lucky and find exactly what you need.

It's all a matter of cost. I am trying to update the house to sell it, so the question is if it's worth the cost of the wood, installation, staining...or I should just replace the tile with a nicer one and change the carpet...

I may have missed it but what's actually under the carpeting?

I don't know but I suspect it's plywood. The house was built in 1998, so I doubt I will have one of those nice surprises you have with old houses where you find perfectly good hardwood under the carpet...

Under the carpet same wood as floor.

Oana: everybody loves wood, so you will get your money back. And for the wood, I find it way easier to install compare to tiles. You can do the stain job yourself, you put white risers and worst case just look at YouTube video. Wood is best for selling the house!

@oana pull up a few steps and see.... it's a 50/50 shot and will give you enough information to make a real plan! Good luck!

So this is what's underneath the carpet. Is this plywood?

it looks like oak. if so, you scored. pull back the whole thing. You're removing it either way.

are you sure?I mean it looks like solid wood, but I am no expert...

Could it be pine? It is used a lot in contraction.

it's pine on the risers, possible fir on the tread. I can just see the grain. hard to tell w/out seeing the entire thing. It is solid wood. Pretty sure that's douglas fir or oak on the tread. Peel it back some more

Is the edge of the tread rounded? If it's got a nosed edge, it's not plywood but some type of paintable/stainable wood. The riser could definitely be pine.

Take the rest off, it's very encouraging so far. Way better than mine was under the carpet!

yes, the end of the stairs is rounded. I don't care about the risers as I think I am going to paint them white (especially if they are line which stains unevenly) but it would be great if the treads would be stainable...

yes.. they are solid fir. totally stainable. remove the staples and any nails. get an orbital sander,,,start at 80 grit and work your way to 220. get a pre conditioner to wipe on before you stain. use a good stain like varathane or general finishes.

this is one example w/a dark stain. this fir is circular sawn, so it has more character than yours. your's will look similar, but w/less color variation.

this is closer to yours, except yours is round nosed

Congratulations! They're definitely stainable!

omg! that's the best news I got in I don't know how long! Thank you!!!!!

Do you think it's possible to get the same color on the rails and the treads considering they are 2 different types of wood?

yes. oak and fir take stain pretty close. just keep the color in the walnut family,,oak will go very dark and fir,,,pretty close. walnut, espresso,,,,should be fine. try a gel stain. Don't forget the pre stain conditioner!! One coat only. wood absorbs stain on the first coat. if you want darker, go darker, don't apply multiple coats of stain.

trying reading these how to's from 3 bloggers

the first one is good, just don't use Minwax!

http://www.remodelaholic.com/carpet-hardwood-stair-remodel/

http://www.jennaburger.com/2012/06/staircase-makeover-filling-holes-and-staining-treads/

http://simplydesigning.porch.com/staircase-make-over-part-2-and-it-all/

I was so excited I forgot I will have to get hardwood for the landings...I guess oak or fir would be the logical choice, but I couldn't actually find fir online to see some prices.

just use the oak for the landings. it will match the railing. if getting un-stained, you can stain everything at the same time. if pre finished, try to match the color to the stain.

About gel stain color...I tried(and failed) to restain the handrail of our stairs with general finishes brown mahogany. I applied it wrong, so I ordered a sander and plan on redoing it. The brown mahogany though is too red, so I am not sure what color should I choose, antique walnut or nutmeg? Or maybe candlelite?

And do you have any recommendation on pre stain conditioner?

dark walnut or spiced walnut. candlelite is a light, golden red. brown mahogany is too red. Walnut or java are a dark brown.

you must remove the current finish on the handrail. there is probably a clear coat varnish on it. Handrails are very difficult for a novice to stain. You need to strip or sand off all of the existing clear coat and stain. It really isn't a DIY job. just paint them.