One thing to do is paint the bottom board white to match existing base board, then paint the baluster coming up from the very bottom a color you can live with and leave

railing upstairs alone. By separating them it wouldn’t be as obvious

I can’t use white in this area of the house, as I mentioned and I think by introducing more colors it’s going to make it look even worse.

Someone put a photo above to paint the base wood to be the same as your other base molding. Not a new color, just match your molding.

Yes, white. I can’t use white. After my last white railing, I’d never put anything white there again. Even if I did, it won’t help. The color of the railing is just too orange. It will still clash with everything else in the house. It’s gotta go one way or another.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. And yes, it will aggravate you every day you live there. Your main concern is that you cannot personally do the job for medical reasons, so if you can't get the dumb professional who did this to fix it to your satisfaction, you have to bite the bullet and get it re-sanded. That is the best way to attach another color stain to it. You will have to test less noticeable areas with different (darker) colors in order to UN-orange it. But, the only way to fix it does involve sanding off the finish and getting to the unvarnished wood. I would speak to handy people who do this type of wood work before calling another staircase specialist. I've stripped and sanded and re-stained a staircase of my own and I know it's a ton of work, but this is just the bannister, so getting a talented handyman might be the best option.

And I'd definitely consider black and dark walnut.

If you hadn’t said it was supposed to match the floor I would not have thought the color was awful as is. Since different wood tones throughout a house are perfectly acceptable, like kitchen cabs don’t match floors or furniture hutch etc. The different tone here is fine.

But it’s not what you wanted and paid for. There is nothing worse though than hiring a pro and they do a worse job than you could have done. If you hate it because of the red only, and contractor won’t fix and you can’t imagine trying to sand and re-stain yourself, a relatively easy fix would be: sand it to take of sheen off, and paint it black to match the balusters. Which I know isn’t matching the floor as you’d wanted but black would like great.

I’m going to try to have it sanded and re-stained. What color would you use-the main floor color, the color of the darker portions of the floor, or some other neutral brown tone? White and black are not options.

Floor.

get some sample stains and scrap eood to do tests. you may find you have to mix some to match. since it has light and dark in the floor and your stair railing wood eould be just one may look to match one or the other or something in the middle to coordinate. This one might be an option for one between: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-qt-Early-American-Classic-Wood-Interior-Stain-339710/305502001

For the lighter color try these:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-qt-Weathered-Oak-Classic-Wood-Interior-Stain-339716/305502033

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-qt-Hazelwood-Classic-Interior-Wood-Stain-355402/311317494

for the darker color maybe this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-qt-Dark-Walnut-Classic-Wood-Interior-Stain-339720/305502000

Hope this helps.

I’m not going to stain it myself and the stain won’t be from a store, per se but will be mixed. So, would you go light, dark, or in-between?

I would paint the flat board against the stairs white regardless. For the stain you want something like as it or special walnut that ties into the darker stripes in the floor. Nothing with red or orange.

I can’t paint anything white in this area of the house. It’s too close to the front door and the last white railing and base were filthy all the time. Unless there is some kind of topcoat to put over white paint, so that cleaning per se, is not necessary, and all I’d have to do is dust it, then white isn’t an option.

I would go in between

The stain would not be as bothersome to me as the finial placement, it sure looks like there is no standard pattern followed with the height of them. Also, the foot of the square balluster looks to be sticking in a round drilled hole - another bother - you should put a shoe on each balluster to hide the gap of the hole.

Thise are just taped up from when it was stained.

That is, they will be at the bottom, covering those holes.

if you're getting it re-stained, I'd choose the darker tone from your floor.

Thise are just taped up from when it was stained.

Ok, those are the shoes then, thought they were the finials.

I see 3 distinct shades in the floor, light, dark and medium - I would choose to match the medium if possible.

Any of these? One picture is with front door open and other is with front door closed and no artificial lighting.

@Michelle S

Forgive ( i am an idiot) I am trying to remember is this to do a stain on the wood part of the staircase? And you are showing us to chose which one looks best with those floors? Or is this a color for new floors.

If this is so, my vote is #22 it is darker but has some hints of the wood color from the floor. Monitors are so tricky as my colors might be different than yours. I also like that it would be dark like the metal in your railing.

I'd go with the darkest option without any red in it, so it matches the deepest color in your floors. Hard to tell from photos.

This is to both match the current floor and stain my railing, that was not supposed to be orange.

I kind of thought 102, as it’s not too dark but is a neutral brown. Since the metal is black, it’s kind of a non-factor. I don’t know if that color is too dull, though.

aaahhhhh yes. I am so glad I asked. #22 might be too dark.

I like your vote #102 especially if you are looking for a more neutral brown. It will be beautiful. It also looks like a cooler brown than the floors you currently have getting rid of that orange tone.

#102 looks perfect in the bottom photo; #22 is better in the top photo but might be darker than you want. Caveat: I have learned that my computer really doesn't render colors very accurately.

The way a stain comes out depends on the wood you start with. Was the wood natural before the painter started? The new choices will not come out as shown unless the wood is natural to start. In paint stores they have samples of how each stain will look depending on material it's being applied to.
I don't agree this is completely the fault of the painter and why didn't you stop him before job was completed?
Remember, painters are just that, painters...not designers.

I did stop him but he talked me into finishing. I have no idea why I went along with him.
Since this will be the 2nd time the railing is being sanded and re-stained, I don’t think anybody will be able to give me an idea of what it will look like.
I have a feeling, I’ll end up having to replace the whole thing.

Just don’t try to go lighter on wood that has already been stained. That won’t work.

Too red and not even close to floors. Other option is have them painted black? What are you doing with the stairs themselves?

Just saw black is not an option, but there is a darker colour which looks very dark brown or black in your floor so I thought it would look good, then you don’t have to try to match the woods. 🤷‍♀️

Railing that is reddish tones? dk espresso. It will match everything. no sweat. good attempt! Someone recommended gel stain? ask at a good paint store. 😀

I think black would look best. I understand not wanting white walls, but the color is drab.

I don’t want black. Any color is drab in that area because there is no light coming in.

The walls also get marked easily because it’s a narrow, high-traffic area, so I didn’t want anything light.

The carpet will be removed from the stairs and the tops will be painted to match the railing.

Since nobody seems to like the paint color, which looks completely different with the front door open, aside from white, suggestions? No green, blue, gray or red. Keep in mind, it’s a small space.

The riser and baseboard is already white. Paint the post, rail and shoe a complimentary color (dark) and paint the spindles the same white as existing. You may be surprised at the outcome.

Paint metal spindles?

Not really sure what you’re looking for here. You asked for opinions, but you don’t seem to like the opinions given. I understand you constraints. My apartment opens to a long narrow (more narrow than your staircase) hallway with no natural light. I have my walls painted white, try to do my best with a mr clean magic eraser and just repainted when it couldn’t be cleaned more. Not sure what colors you like or are in the rest of your house.

The two darker brown stains will get rid of the problem. Both the railing and steps can be that color and it will make the entire staircase look more “clean” with the white.

We just did what cenhio suggested in our main entry. Love, love, love it! So happy to have the carpet gone.

But how do you paint metal balusters?

Dont. Dont the wood dark. It will all be fine😜

Sorry, cant edit. Just do the wood dark. It will look great. Leave the metal! The texture will be a nice contrast.

Since the results are bothering you, I’d redo as it’s your front entrance. #102 looks like the best choice and the stain below looks fairly close to help you visualize.

If going without carpeting or using a runner, you should remove the carpet and have everything done at the same time. I think a runner is a nicer look than carpeting and compliment new wall color.

In regards to a paint color, consider surroundings, decor and lighting. You mentioned you didn’t want grey but there are some lovely warmer shades and also greige works well with almost anything.

The carpet will definitely be going! I’m trying to find someone to do the stair work. The quote I got seemed kind of high. The stairs have to be prepped, painted and the caps have to be installed and stained.

Rustoleum makes spray paint and brushable paint for metal - works very well. A few years ago I cleaned up (rust and chipping original or old paint) and repainted all of my 80 year old floor duct covers with either black, white or bronze depending on room - they look great and are holding up, even in the bath where it gets stepped on. Yours would only need to be wiped clean after a light scuffing before spraying. You would have to thoroughly protect the area with plastic dropcloths - walls and floor - if you can't remove the spindles to work on.

Not that I am recommending that you paint the spindles, just answering your question about how.

I don’t understand the suggestion to paint the balusters. Your balusters are metal - the ones someone posted above are wood - makes sense that the wood ones are painted white. I like #102 - based upon what I can tell re: colors on my screen.

I hope that it works out for you. I am so sorry to hear that you are having health problems - the last thing you need is aggravation from a badly stained handrail.

I agree to not paint the balusters. I personally believe that with ironwork, black is the only color that looks good.