SFGate

Jayme Hobbs I think darker stained would look great..then are you going to repaint the white parts of the stairs white again?

geenance yes, we would repaint the white parts. Should we do the newel post dark as well, or leave it white?

Jayme Hobbs If you do the rail dark, I think the post could go either way, light or dark.

Portland Stair Company When we get requests to restain a handrail or treads I refer clients to some one who does it as a specialty. An example of that would be cabinet refinishes, somebody who can refinish existing stain surfaces. Here is another example of a company we use from time to time http://cabinetcures.com/ . Check out the link for more info of what is possible and what is not. There maybe someone in your area who this.
Portland Stair Co.

geenance thank you. Yes, we wouldn't want to mess it up! I could see how that can happen.

We will be dealing with a cabinet maker/carpenter in our area who will do our kitchen cabinets. Perhaps he would have the appropriate expertise.

Any other comments about the look or ideas? Should we paint all of the oak trim in the foyer white?

busu Yes! EXACTLY what our stairs look like now and EXACTLY what we are thinking for color change. the treads will be more a walnut color and the handrail black. Flooring guy warned that if too dark, you will see every bit of dust that red oak floors hide so well. Despite every other persons recommendation to go with iron ballusters, I decided to keep the ballusters white though. The rest of house is so traditional that I dont think the wrought iron trend fits here.

Portland Stair Company Are you looking at putting back down a stair runner? If so re-staining the side of the treads shouldn't be that big of an issue. The traffic will mainly be on the carpet runner, because of this the sides can be re-stained without turning into a large stripping & re-staining process. If you plan to go with an all wood tread they will have to be re-sanded, stained and finished by a floor sanding co. That is the only route to go if you want a ever lasting product without any future problems. Budget numbers to look at: re-stain & carpet vs all wood tread.
Budget ideas: keep the painted post, risers, balusters and side skirts. Re-stain the handrail a dark color. Put your beans into the re-staining of the handrail.

As far as painting the oak trim in the hallway what you will get is oak trim painted white. Oak has a very open grain and doesn't look that great painted. Try a sample painting somewhere to see the results. If any oak trim inside a closet is a good place to start.

Sharyn Keep in mind that white will show every little scuff and mark. Washable durable paint is a must.

Kim Depole Paint the risers a deeper tone of the wood color and cover with boat decking paint so it
stays intact. Refinish the oak .

JWinteriors We recently did this project for a house. Our wood floor company stripped and restained the treads and handrail. We followed up and repainted risers white. Once you prime and put 2 coats of semi gloss paint on trim, it will have a beautiful final finish look. Once all of your trim is white, the color you put on the walls will really stand out. Don't forget to change that chandelier. The newel post looks good in the white.

geenance "Don't forget to change that chandelier."

Haha! Don't worry,...that baby's going! That's for another discussion thread though. I will certainly be asking for some input on newer fixtures. We don't have a shortage of updates to make!! (including a "matching" chandelier in the dining room). ;)

I'm glad to hear that painting the trim worked out since I had my heart set on that and I don't think I can look at oak everywhere in our house too much longer!

Regarding the newel post, does anyone know what kind of prep and paint treatment work best on this? My hubby painted them once and the paint started peeling off. He had sanded them and primed them, but perhaps not enough? Someone later suggested 'milk paint'. What is that?

Ironwood Builders Sorry if this is a repeat of earlier posts, but...Stain doesn't go on flooring over finish. Stair treads are sanded by the hardwood flooring finisher with and edger, a random orbit sander and very sharp scraper for the detail work. So if you want the treads all the same color and no runner...or if you want the treads to match the floor, sand it all down to raw wood and stain it the color you want, then apply the finish coats, depending on which finishing system you are using.

Paint chemistry is changing rapidly as the EPA phases in restrictions from the Bush Sr. Clean Air Act. No lead since 1977, no VOC's since 2007. Prep and priming are key to a good paint job. Scuff sand and make sure all dust, dirt and oils are cleaned off the surface. Prime with a good acrylic enamel undercoater. Acrylics take longer to cure than you'd think, sometimes up to a couple of days (drying agents are now illegal). Re-coat with an acrylic enamel. Paint prep is elbow grease work...don't stint on it.

geenance Thanks for the advice, Ironwood! I'm sure that we'll do a better job this next time with all of the wonderful advice here.

geenance sanding around all of those spindles (2 floors and along the foyer) sure sounds tedious and difficult! gulp.

I guess there isn't any way around this unless we put a runner back down?

Ironwood Builders If you are DIY...yes. Heck, if you are a flooring pro, yes, it's tedious. The spots around the spindles are scraped by hand....a super sharp paint scraper and just the right amount of pressure working with the grain. Keeping a file handy to resharpen is a must.

Sue So Agree with Ironwood. We had a professional do ours and it was worth it because I saw how painstaking it was. Can you "paint' it with a computer program? I was sold once I saw it. Here's ours...and black and white means you can touch it up yourself.

carolemcc Hi! As to your foyer ? due to oak is harder to paint I think staining the same as the rail would also be a great option and does look very classy.....good luck