I've heard of this on Houzz where the up and downstairs floors differ. A lot of people use paint on stairs ---even without your problem.

I would search in Discussions for solutions that others have used, but Houzz is too glichy right now.

I would paint the stairs the same color as all of your trim/balusters, then put a runner on top. Paint both the treads and the risers the same color. So, if your trim is white, paint the stairs white, too.

Yes. They are stairs in my front entrance that go up to the second floor. It’s a traditional colonial.

Is there an app that would let me see how that looks??

Look at floorplanner.com it's free. It might have a staircase template to play with.

@tracefloyd thank you!

@Sabrina I looked up white painted risers and treads and I don’t love it. I did see white risers and darker treads. Do you think that could work? We have black accents throughout the house. If so, do you think stain vs paint is better? Maybe it’ll be easier to answer that when you can view the pictures. I’m not in a rush by any means so I’ll try to look up these options.

Can't post pics but here's a link to a very pretty staircase I think like Sabrina described. You could keep the balusters and/or newel post wood.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/white-staircase-with-carpet-runner-traditional-staircase-san-francisco-phvw-vp~4181624

White Staircase with Carpet Runner · More Info

Although the wood colors aren't the same, the tones seem to complement each other. The darker color of the wood on the stairs seems t be very similar to the grain color in the flooring. Would it be possible to find a runner that pulls in both of the complementary wood tones?

Hard to say whether painting the treads black would work without seeing photos of the flooring at the first and second levels.

@J from Lakes this is the one I was leaning towards but I’m open to anything. Not sure if it’ll show up. I’d like a warm neutral, maybe I can find one with some red in it bc that’s the undertones in the floors I think.

I personally don’t think stairs have to exactly match the flooring and your wood tones seem to go well together. If the mismatch really bothers you, I would paint the risers the same color as the trim. You can try out the look by cutting foamboard to size, painting it trim color, and putting in front of risers fir a week. Where I live painted risers are very common and a nice look. Do NOT paint the treads.

I agree with @pkpk23. Paint the risers white and get a new runner. Even if some wood sticks out of the sides, it’ll look good. Painting the treads isn’t a good idea.

Thanks. I won’t be painting the treads and our basement stairs have white painted risers so I’m happy with that. My dilemma I guess now is that the wood that is exposed is quite worn and doesn’t look great. I wonder how hard it is to sand them myself. I wouldn’t stain them bc that’s what we did with the floors. We just sanded and refinished in a mat clear. I know they’ll darken over time bc it’s red oak. I’m of with that. I’ll try to get a better picture of the exposed wood which shows the wear.

Here are the worst spots.

Paint the risers white it looks better this way anyhow with or without a carpet runner. Maybe handrail black. Could your husband refinish just stair treads? Color difference will hardly be noticeable with white risers and new runner.

@Immcnitt probably. He is just a bit DIY’d out right now so I was trying to see if I could do anything. Seems I can at least reduce what he has to do if I paint the risers. And I’m going to get a wider runner. I do like the idea of a black hand rail. What would I do with these though? Paint just the tops black? Keep them white?

it seems odd to have worn stairs with newlly sanded floors. It's like, why did they stop at the stairs...they're worn too.

I would not paint any railings other than white. Paint the risers white. Paint the wall rectangle under tha landing white.

Sand the treads. I got it! ----sand just the part that shows from under the runner....less work and the rest will be hidden by the rug anyway. Who's gonna know?

@tracefloyed we only did the main floors (not the stairs) on the first floor. Which looked like the stairs (original floors) before we refinished them and yes, it’s an older home if that’s what you mean?

Yes that's what I meant. I edited that comment but, in a very old Colonial is it common practice to have portions refininshed and others original? Then it would not seem out of place. I'm not from back East.

I’m not sure. We didn’t do the stairs at the same time as the floors bc we did the floors ourselves and it was a logistical thing. I’d like for them to be finished. As in not worn looking. It seems the best plan is for me to just convince my husband to do the treads and I’ll paint the risers. At least it’s less work. He is coming off of renovating our kitchen, painting the house, and expanding our chicken run so he’s just not thrilled to be looking at a new project. Why did he take the carpet off then you may wonder? Momentary motivation I believe 🤣

Hah!

Can recommend Ryobi Corner Cat sander- lightweight, perfect shape to sand stairs. I used it on the main stairs treads and twisty back stairs treads at daughter’s 1753 house. Risers painted.

I'd experiment on the least visible step first :)

The hardest part of this project is actually going to be sanding where the railings meet the stair treads on the lower portion of the stairs.

While it would not be cheap, you could just replace the existing treads with new treads that matched the downstairs floor. With that plan, you could finish the treads and then install them. I'd paint the risers white in that case.

@kempek01 indeed you may be correct. We will have to give it a go with what we have. Wish us luck! I’ll update when it’s complete 😬 🤣

This is how the black would look.

I was able to easily sand between spindles where they met tread using sander I mentioned. It is sort of shaped like an iron and the pointy part went between spindles so could get at it from all sides. I did very little hand sanding except under curve of tread where it meet riser. Time consuming but not hard to do.

I don't think the upper handrail should be painted black where you drew the circles. It's not really a balluster.

@pkpk23 that’s really encouraging! I’ll definitely be looking into that sander.

Is this the one? A few came up when I googled it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-1-2-Amp-Corded-5-5-in-Corner-Cat-Sander-with-Dust-Bag-Sample-Sandpaper-and-Storage-Case-CFS1503GK/205105595?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25P-025_009_PORTABLE_POWER-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PortPower_NEW_LIA_TEST&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25P-025_009_PORTABLE_POWER-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-PortPower_NEW_LIA_TEST-71700000120004386--&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfrOZzjlfK4SMHWt64M3usYo&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpZHmy66yiQMVHW5HAR3z4TzrEAQYASABEgKjbfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Unless you envision needing it again, you can rent the two sanders you need (flat for the treads, pointy one for in between the posts.) or just hand sand in between.

Yes, that’s the sander

@RedRyder I think this is how our garage has gotten so full of tools because every project DH does he buys himself a new tool for it 🤣

My stairs are painted because they are but the cheap builder stair treads. But you have real nice wood! Why ever in this world would you want to paint all of that pretty warm wood? Who cares if it is a different shade than the other floor?

Your stairs are nice and what I only wish mine were not cheap painted treads with a runner.

You are not fully appreciating what you have!

All that work and prep to fix something that is already nice?

I just cant wrap my head around that.

Did you see the pictures of how worn the are? They no longer look nice. The finish is worn down and there are stains in multiple places unfortunately. I mean, that doesn’t mean I’m painting them though, the treads I mean. My understanding also is the riser is different wood than the treads. I’m definitely not painting the treads.

Will suggest just living with the stairs as it is if you are going to be putting a runner back down.

@Norwood even though they are so worn? Did you see the other pictures?

@eld6161 I like that. It gives me a good idea of having white risers. Is this your staircase? Interested in where the runner is from.

@Chris H - Luckily our current house is a 3 bay “garage” because one ENTIRE BAY is tools, a workbench, etc. Admittedly, we live on a horse farm and a lot of vehicles and machines are needed, which he takes care of, but the amount of tools is overwhelming.

A small hand sander CAN be useful if you refinish furniture and do stuff like that, but try to rent tools as much as possible. Your stairs will be lovely when the treads are redone.

Three different wood stained staircases with white risers and runners.

Arel these the main stairs in the foyer or the back stairs for the kitchen? That might make a difference.

@RedRyder the struggle is real. I do have a table I’d like to refinish 🤔 but I do agree, renting is a good idea. I love these stairs! These color runners are what I was leaning towards, too. Just need to figure out where to get a runner from.

@tracefloyd these are the main stars and the first thing you see when you walk in.

RedRyder I really like that first runner… is it just a google image?

For a Foyer, I like where you and RedRyder are going : )

Yes, I found these on Pinterest. We can try and find what that runner is made of, where it might be sold, who makes it, or some other information so you can locate it.

They’re from Well Woven. Here is the information.

Here is the matching photo.

Oooh awesome! Thanks so much @RedRyder!

Darn, out of stock. The hunt continues!