Creative painting would look super. You'll need to prep really good to fill in all of the cracks to make it look great.

Is your door black? We had our staircase painted black and white like this photo.
http://houzz.com/photos/1190959

Your stairs are made of rough lumber and are not designed to be stained or painted, only carpeted. You'll have to have proper stain grade risers and treads put on. Notice the quality of wood and the rounded edge and overhang of the treads on the the examples above.

Bluenan is right I realized that after I posted - sorry for any confusion!

I planned on replacing with new tread. I love the concept of dark trim and doors thru out my house. Yes my door is black. How easy is it to put tile for the riser?

You likely want to have your stairs capped with hard wood - that way you end up with beautiful wood stairs to add some drama to your hallway. If you paint the risers and just stain the treads a dark colour they will really pop! You may also want to consider changing your newel post to a newer style.

I really like the idea of painting the risers and staining the tread. I'm on a budget so does anyone recommend what type of wood to use?

This is not a job for the casual DYIer. You should get several bids from stair companies and if it's out of your budget, go back to carpet. They make sisal look carpet that is classic and fresh. Paint your handrail and newell black as previously suggested to look current.

Your current stairs are referred to as "cut in" stairs. Framers usually build them and I would be willing to bet that the rise from one tread to the next varies a good bit. By code you are only allowed a variance of 3/8" from tallest to shortest.

You should use a stair specialist to tear out existing treads and risers, adjust all riser heights to within code and replace your 2x10 treads with solid 1" thick oak, hickory or whatever specie of wood you want. We do this type of work on a regular basis in fact, we start one very similar to your this coming Monday. To tear out and replace all treads, risers, new handrail, iron baluster, newel posts and trim it out with cove moulding and base cap, you would be looking at roughly $3000-$4000 total. This does not include any painting or staining. It would however get you a brand new stair that is beautiful, safe, code compliant and more up to date. Other stair companies may be less or more as this is an estimate of cost based on a photo but should be pretty spot on.

If you are near Atlanta, Charlotte or Raleigh call or email me and we will give you a free estimate. If you are not near any of my locations, I would be glad to see if I could provide a referral of a reputable company for you to work with.
sfoster@sumstairs.com
770-241-8866

I saw a kit at Home Depot to fix this ,I need to look it up ....


here it is ,you choose the colour of the wood

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/42-inch-x-10-1-8-inch-maple-stair-tread-cap-and-riser-kit/922201

Yep, anyone can take a stab at it as a DIY project. Will it be to code? Doubtful. Will it last? Doubtful. At any rate, with stairs being a major focal point in most homes AND stairs being attributed to over 100 deaths per year not to mention injuries, do you really want to DIY or let an amature rebuild them? Stair treads should be solid material not laminated. You are putting a bandaid on it with those type kits.

Cecilia
bluenan
Capital Hill residence

Can you tell me, please, what is the name of the sisal rug used on stairs?

There is a product that is meant to be used exactly for your situation:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_326988-1487-1142OAKRT_0__?productId=3191553&Ntt=stair+treads&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dstair%2Btreads&facetInfo=
The thing is, as Summit Stairs and Millwork said, you want to make sure that you don't have variances in the riser height. Because you are adding a thickness to the tread, you want to make sure that - especially - the height from the main floor to the first stair tread and the height from the last tread to the second floor are not "off". This is a huge safety issue.

Dark stain can be dramatic, but it shows every speck of dust and dirt!

I agree to get an expert to redo the stairs or use carpeting. If you are crafty, you can try various stencil and paint ideas to tide you over for awhile until you decide what to do, or have the money to do it.

Hi Brooke, Congrats on your renovation ! Removing the carpet is already a huge improvement. :)

http://houzz.com/photos/33018

http://houzz.com/photos/2463180

Judy M; LOL at the Lockette's staircase. That would freak me out!!!!!

I have the same situation on my stairs Brooke. I have blue carpet on mine and I CAN'T WAIT to get them off. That quote of $3000-$4000 does scare me, though.

Ava41, the answer to the question in the comment section of the link says the carpet in the Capitol Hill Residence is "Tranquil Dawn" by Shaw. The Cecelia carpet is sisal which I wouldn't recommend. I would look for a nylon or wool with the look of sisal. Most carpet manufacturers make a carpet that has this look.

Those mice would keep my kitty busy all day.

iplay10s, very true. hopefully without scratch marks :)

I did the same thing and then bought the retread product from home depot. Hired a carpenter and we figured it out and put in the prefinished treads in 1 day! Cost was about $800 including paying the carpenter. You have to cut them to fit your stairs but once you get going, it is a fast project!

here are my perso idea

I would never put tile on stairs. The gloss finish is too slippery for socks and most honed tiles look too outdoor-like. You could install slabs of honed quartz or granite treads with a bull-nosed edge and install painted finish plywood on the risers.
The best and cheapest is carpet.

Here are mine after the retread project. Easiest way to get hardwood on your stairs.

I agree that these were never meant to be painted or stained, but if budget is a big issue, I'd recommend the following: sand them, especially the sharp edges, paint them, and do a runner down the middle. I hear you that you don't want carpet, but a runner could be the best compromise - you can still clean the stairs easily, and the runner hides the poor quality and splintering habits of the wood. A runner or carpeting is also great to cut down on the noise - stairs boom when people galumph down them! I used porch/floor paint in a dark brown/black and a creamy white (more forgiving than straight white and black) and got a runner from mrpearl11.com at $68 for 25', which is just dirt cheap. I was worried about the quality of such a deal, but it looked good and has worn well (I've had it 3 years now). I also used some inexpensive 'brass' stair rods from Home Depot to dress it up (I've got a victorian). I've attached a pic. If I were to do it again I'd put a pad under the carpet.

Not sure what you did to the stairs, would live to see a picture. I'm redoing mine now DIY because my quote for new stairs in NY was $5400 or $5800, and that was unfinished.

I'm late by years but I figured I'll make somebody's day today [Check out this staircase [(https://www.houzz.com/photos/05-11-16-glass-tile-engineered-wood-and-stacked-stone-austin-phvw-vp~54684425)