So you want to do wood balusters, or are you also considering metal? What is your style?

My home is transitional and I have decided to do iron balusters. I have painted white around doors and windows in front of house and painted kitchen cabinets white. I have a lot of orange oak still in the home.

Just a comment . . . people assume if they do metal balusters that means black. In my new build I used nickel metal balusters. I had a black railing in my old house and wanted something different.

For balusters, I would do something simple with a touch of design interest. (Sorry, Houzz isn't letting me add an image so here's a link instead: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/portland-project-the-entry-staircase-reveal)

I have decided I like the crossed arch the best. I am having a hard time deciding what to paint and what to stain on the stairs.

I don't think you need to paint anything on the stairs really.

I have a lot of wood and I want to incorporate white into it, to tie the front and back of the house together.

Still trying to get photos on

Test

Working as of this am, uploaded through iPhone.

I finally was able to put a couple of pictures on. Still working on putting pics of the front of the house.

If you are going with metal spindles on the stairs the only thing I would consider painting white would be the stair risers.

They will stay carpeted.

Usually the handrail is stained wood to match any wood floors you have, so if you leave the stairs carpeted I don't think you have a need to paint any parts of the stairs white. The remaining orange oak can be refinished to be darker or painted white if it's trim. But having white kitchen cabinets doesn't indicate a need for white on your stairs.

At this point i would work toward unifying the woodwork as it all seems to vary from room to room in a fairly open floor plan…with natural wood finishes and painted finishes..wood finish built-ins..wood floors…carpeting….the floors with the specks…dark(black?)cabinets…white cabinets…and fairly dark walls…if you paint all the wood elements white there will be a smoother flow throughout… at that point a more modern …even striking…less traditional staircase could be just what you need at the entry of your home

Thank You! Would it look ok to paint all trim white and leave all the door wood oak stain?

It would be worth a try as you have the wood floors..

I love the look of a stained wood staircase. I had a new oak staircase installed a few years ago, and chose wood stain with black balusters. Collect lots of pictures of staircases you like to help with your decision.