Stairs and I have never gotten along so I like having all the friction that I can get. Whether it's carpet, or treads, or whatever I would never have just bare wood stairs.

It depends on your situation. Small kids or elderly parents living with you, carpet of some kind for its traction and (somewhat) "soft landing". Adults with different sleeping times, carpet because its quiet. But otherwise, I'd go with timber, because carpeting gets dirty, quickly, and timber is easier to clean.

I have read a lot of comments on timber being slippery but no much mention of what can be done about it. There are some really good Anti-slip coatings that can be applied to timber stairs. If you have a polyurethane coating, Bona have an Anti-slip coating available rated at P3. For Hardwax Oils, OSMO provide and Anti-slip Oil that achieves an R11 rating. There are products out there that can help you get the look you want without compromising on safety.

BONA Traffic HD Anti-slip Link:

http://vcssolidtimberfloors.com/special-traffic-anti-slip.html

OSMO Anti-slip Extra Link:

http://osmoperth.com/store/c8/OILS_FOR_ANTI_SLIP.html

We are a big fan of open tread stairs where possible for airflow and views.

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Definitely go wooded with a stair runner. Beautiful!

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That is beautiful runner for stairs

I think timber looks good especially when the lower floor is timber too - I was on the fence on this one - however just tipped over on the carpet camp for noise and slip resistance reasons. I often do the bottom couple of treads in timber then the rest in carpet to get the best of both worlds - I've also used carpetted treads with timber risers - so join the two materials between floors (assuming there is carpet on one of the floors of course - often the case if say the 1st floor is bedrooms etc)

Carpet is always a lovely option for stairs. It's easier on the body (being softer underfoot) and can act as a fantastic noise insulator, reducing any ambient noise or scraping noises. Studies have shown noise reduction of up to 55% where carpet is used. Noise pollution can significantly impact on your health, comfort and productivity. Carpet (especially wool carpet) dramatically improves the acoustics of busy spaces, absorbing sound and softening the volume.

Carpet will enhance the beauty and comfort under foot. It will also insulate your home from cold in winter and excessive heat in summer. Save money on your energy bills with carpet.

My parents' old house had a wonderful oak front staircase that my six siblings and I used to race up and down, taking them two or three at a time, with only a casual hold on the railing. I don't know how we managed to never slip or fall. Now, the timber backstairs were steep, and had narrow treads and were poorly lit. We NEVER ran up or down them, but held tightly to the railing and hoped to heck we managed to stay upright.

As an adult, my previous home had carpeted stairs, which I slipped on (wearing socks) and fell down twice, though thankfully I was closer to the bottom than the top. My current home has timber stairs with three narrow stainless steel runners stood on edge and inset horizontally across the front of each tread (this is supposed to help reduce risk of slips). I doubt I will get over the anxiety of taking another tumble, so I never go down them wearing socks, and if barefoot, I hold onto the railing for dear life and take it nice and slow. So far so good.

I had stairs with carpet in my last home and after a year of struggling with the absolute hassle of vacuuming them I ripped out the carpet and discovered beautiful varnished stairs beneath! They were so easy to sweep or wipe clean and when it came to tripping/slipping, if you always hang on to the regulatory hand rail, there is very little risk of this happening. My new house (that I'm currently having built) will definitely have timber stairs to the upper floor!

The wood staircase looks beautiful but for practicality especially for children and seniors I feel carpet is the way to go

For me it's also about noise - short staircases within living spaces are fine in timber - if you're going from ground floor to bedroom floor, the clatter of timber can be a problem.