I discussed this very thing TODAY with my painter. He tried to talk me out of painting mine. He said kids and folks with rings will mar and chip the paint over time. He suggested staining a darker color with a low luster finish if I hate the oak/light color....YMMV

I agree with sandbox5, I think staining a darker color would look great in contrast with your yellow wall!

Thanks for your input! I was worried about the chipping also. I guess that means that I should stain it but I hate the idea of having to polyurethane over it...I never seem to do it without making streaks, drips, etc. :)

Hire a pro to do it with out streaks or drips

That changes things! If you are thinking of doing it yourself, stripping and staining is truly a nightmare on something as detailed as a handrail. If you sand really well, put a wood filler on as a primer, 2 coats of black and THEN a clear semi gloss polyurethane, it will wear nearly forever. But the devil's in the details. You must go through those steps if you want any finish that has that many hands and rings on it to last. I do this in every house I do that has stairs and it is just what you have to do to make it last.

sounds like a hell of a task! I vote stain darker brown. NOT black! too much contrast.
Personally it's looks REALLY warm and pretty.
I think you need to go walk in an oak woodland and make peace with these old guys, not hate oak anymore. That would save you a lot of work. Have you heard of flower essences? Look up Oak Flower essence online, available for sale online and at places like whole foods. It would be a curious thing if the essence is something that resonates with you. (Kind of random advice from a plant spirit medicine person.)

I think it looks really nice especially if you paint the wall gold. But I would update the shiny brass light fixture to something in bronze.

Pagosapamine, I have never heard of using a wood filler as a primer....learn something new every day,!