We moved into a house with carpet and it is office industrial. The stairs are end-capped and I find it hard to dust them. I would like to have all-wood treads and a runner that can be replaced fairly easily. Just end-capping limits your options. We also have your rail, posts and stringers. They painted everything cream but the handrail (oak) and it looks awful. Our house is described as contemporary Arts and Crafts style (heavy emphasis on the word "style") and I really want an arts and crafts staircase, something you too might contemplate. This would require larger boxed newel posts and square or rectangular stringers; it would provide a much stronger visual presence. What I dislike most about our staircase (aside from the location) is the visual lightness of the colonial style. I think modest changes may not give you the satisfaction you want, particularly if you have high ceilings as we do. If you are redoing it completely, I suggest looking for an Arts and Crafts flavour. As for the railing, I have had wrought iron railings and they are cold to the touch. They are best in warmer climates.

In our previous home, we had carpeted stairs for 15 years, then replaced with hardwood when doing a first floor remodel. The only time I slipped on the stairs was when they were carpeted. Ended up breaking my elbow. If you can swing it, go with hardwood. You won't regret it.

I removed the carpet from or stairs and finished the treads and painted the risers - I was lucky to have them under the carpet. I have stair tread rugs (which do not move - are held down by carpet tape - and I also used to slip more often on the carpet.

There is nothing wrong with the spindles as far as being "dated" I see them in pretty new homes all the time and they go back over a hundred years. Changing them out for wrought iron will be very expensive. That is your choice, but it is a design change, not an update.

My stairs with stair tread rugs - in cottage style home:

Here are some similar spindles - in newer design pics:

We have had several bad falls on our all-hardwood stairs (especially while wearing socks), but plush carpeting going over the edges is super-slippery, too. The inlay might be a good bet so long as it provides a bit of texture without being to soft/slick, or tread rugs (not going over the edges) would provide another design option to consider that wouldn't need to be as permanent as an inlay if you like carpet.

In my last house, I had all-hardwood stairs, and I had a runner cut and bound from a sisal-look loop pile carpet so the dogs wouldn’t slip. Never had a problem for 15 years we lived there. I plan on doing the same in our new house soon.

A house I lived in years ago had shag on the stairs. I used to fall down the stairs about twice a week and finally ripped it out.

The end capped stairs seem unfinished to me. IMO the spindles on this type of railing look better painted, as in the photos above.

I prefer a runner on on hardwood. I had bare hardwood steps for awhile and then got a dog who had bad eye sight and he kept tripping down the stairs. So a got a runner. That was at least 15 years ago. I like it.

I like the look of white spindles and even the risers painted white.

I have a bare staircase and like it well -- easier to clean IMO. BTW, mine is oak as well.

Mine are bare and I like them so I vote for bare as well. If you find out that you don't like it, you can add a center runner later easily. I used to slip on the shag carpet but I never slip on the wood.

Thanks for all the feedback. We are definitely going with solid wood stairs. Leaning towards keeping the wood balusters, instead of the wrought iron. I'm not sure about painting them white, though. We do have a white kitchen, but the rest of the woodwork in the house is oak, so I think it might look out of place to have white balusters in the entry, where everything around it is stained. Thoughts?

There is nothing wrong at all with leaving it. Most of my friends and family have oak staircases and have left them alone. I have left my staircase to the basement alone. My upstairs trim was pine, not oak, so easier to paint.

I've even seen the stairs kept oak in design pics:)

The changing out of spindles is more expensive then many realize.