I definitely wouldn’t leave it without the railing. You never anticipate falling down stairs but it happens and with the stairs going down the other side you could be seriously injured. Have you considered plexiglass if you like the open look?

Something like this but maye with a wood handrail

Bri you are correct, no one ever anticipates an accident. Thank you for that perspective. To both Patricia and Bri, I had though about plexi glass / glass but I feel that is a possibly a bit to modern for me. I do like the idea of a wood handrail on top. I also have kids and a dog so the cleaning would never end. What other options or designs would you suggest.

You must have a railing for safety on the open side of the stairs...wood, metal, plexiglass, whatever. I also like a simple hand rail on the wall, too. There are laws and rules in your community covering stairs and safety. Visit your city Building and Safety office today and find out what is required. If one person has an accident on your un-railed stairs, you could be sued and you would lose.

As someone that fell down her basement stairs and believing the handrail was the one thing that saved me from breaking my neck, please do not leave the bottom of the stairs open!

I like the idea of matching the handrail at the bottom to what you already have above, even though it appear you cannot see it from the main level (at least that's the perspective of your pictures). Unless you're willing to change the top, I think that is also your least expensive option.

I really like the second picture where the shorter iron rail is on the open side with the wooden one on the longer, closed side.