paint it all Decorators White - Benjamin Moore

Fantastic stairs. Tell us more about your style that will help with ideas

You could paint the spindles in white and do a dark handrail in black that's one option you can have them refinished to a new stain color or replace them with iron spindles

I'd paint the rails white first and wait ... if that didn't do it for ya', then paint the handrail.

agreed with above. To break it up either paint spindles white (cheaper) or replace with black metal spindles and wood handrail (more expensive)

I wouldn't paint the hand rail white, do you know how dirty hand-railings get? People come down the stairs sliding their hands on it and the grunge gets ground in fast. If your house is colonial or traditional, white would look good, I like the iron too which looks more craftsman-y or french. You don't want to have one element that looks totally different than the general design of your house, and most houses it is hard to switch from one design style to another. It's hard to make a colonial into a mid-century modern, for instance. Even if you try, it just looks like a colonial with a bad haircut.

Have your staircase refaced! Give it a two tone effect with dark stained wood for the spindles and stair tread and a lighter stained finish for the rails and risers. Consult your local Home Depot for a free on site analysis from their refacing team.

It's difficult with that parquet floor but you definitely have to do something to break up all that wood tone. Painting the spindles might be one option, but I think you would find that to get it done properly would not cost all that much less than replacing with iron spindles which would be much more of a dramatic improvement. If you do decide to paint, changing the color of the stair riser to the similar color as well as the stair runner along the wall would help tie it all together nicely. Another option would be to add in a light feature on the stair risers, there are quite nice and not overly expensive stair riser lights that you can add every third or fourth step which makes for a very classy effect.

In my opinion, it's just too much of the same color wood. Unfortunately, no matter if the spindles are painted or not, they will not reflect a modern look. Without much expense, you can at least break the monotony by painting the risers, spindles and stair baseboard white to match the rest of the house's baseboard, and this will brighten the look. Carpeting the stairs will give it an even more traditional look, which I wouldn't suggest.

Stain railings darker wood - paint the risers white. Add some picture frames or raised panels going up the wall to dress it up. It's really a beautiful staircase!

You could strip the oak and dye the oak - many possibility's of colors. Can look very cool because it keeps the grain, but changes the color. Or pull out the railings/banister and put something more modern/contemporary if that is the style you like. Your stairs looks pretty nice for stock parts though... The upper floor looks like it could use something better before tweaking the stair. We design and build one of a kind, artisan custom stairs & banisters in Seattle area (can do national work for the right project). Here's a couple we've done you might get some ideas from. If you email us we can give you cost/pricing info. Good luck with your fun project!

Pain't the spindles in black or white. I wouldn't paint the steps, but you could choose a dramatic runner to install over the center of the steps. And paint your walls a more contemporary colour. This will change the space dramatically. :)

Or replace the spindles and railing completely and strip and stain the staircase in a darker colour. This will be much more expensive. I am not a professional but I imagine it would run you at least 5,000.