Glass is too modern for that house. I'd go with wood railings and iron balusters. Keep the design clean and simple. Like these, perhaps:

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I'd consider closing up the wall, instead of having it open.

If the budget is paint then everything white except the treads and the handrails.

I would paint the stairs a beautiful muted soft pale sage green, all the wood except for that strip at the bottom of the top landing, paint it out with wall color. I think the walls need to be white, they are too yellow. That would be gorgeous. I know sample pic is modern but look at that color and against the white! Wow.

Or blue:

I think I would agree with Sammy in closing part of the staircase in, specifically that middle piece, and while I don't usually advocate painting out trim, I would paint out that strip running across the ceiling under the catwalk.

You could potentially close in the catwalk, but be aware of what that will do to your lighting before you do it (cover with cardboard first or similar).

Also, maybe you could find out if that junk storage strip between the railings on the catwalk is structurally necessary ... maybe you could pull that in to the inner railing all the way across.

You have to be careful about closing walls off in this type of open satircase as often the HVAC has to be reworked . The big bonus IMO for you to close of a space woudl be for some good storage since it seems to be lacking.

what about painting all the walls and a stair runner carpet? painting wood trim like that can be surprisingly expensive. And I’d address the storage/stuff situation. It compounds the dissatisfaction feeling.

I would paint it like this.

My sister just had her’s redone (straight staircase with perhaps 15 steps) and it was not cheap. If you decide to go that route, suggest a more trandition style for your home.

If you did the top using glass, it will feel akward if leaving the rest, so I think all or nothing. Newel posts may need changing with both the iron or glass.

If budget is on the lower end, here are some looks to help.

It’s a huge decision. Good luck.

Just be prepared as changing out that railing and balustrade will most likely be in the $25k range. Stair work is not inexpensive......................

The trend in stairs right now is primarily horizontal so for resale, I wouldn't expect to recoup your costs of changing the balusters to iron. Material costs have gone up significantly in recent years so make sure you love whatever changes you want to make.

I love that last photo Maureen posted, and it’s what HALLET & Co. suggested - paint everything white except the treads and handrails. I’d paint the walls the same white as well.

How long do you plan to live here? Would it be worth it to wall up the catwalk area? You might have to add a mini-split to keep it comfortable. My daughter added one to a WIC in the attic just to keep the temps reasonable.

I like the stairs. I'd just paint the walls non-yellow but if you still feel like closing something up, this seems like a natural spot:

I would eliminate some of the maze of railings in this space.