Hi Natalie,

A soft grey could do the work for the banisters and will go well with the white skirting boards and the elephant breath for the walls.

What do you intend to do with the handrails and with the posts? It would work nicely if you didn't use the same colour for them as the one for the banisters. Here are some ideas:

Staircase designs · More Info

Staircase designs · More Info

Hope this helps.

Regards,

George Quinn | Stair Parts

Paint the spindles, risers and strings the same colour as the architraves and skirting of the rooms. Use a wood dye (not stain, which sits on the surface) in medium oak for the treads, handrail and newel posts. The dye will sink into the wood so that when the excess is wiped off, you can still see the beautiful grain of the oak.

When dry, apply 2 coats of twin pack (lacquer) which is harder than varnish. Make sure the 1st coat is thoroughly dry, then rub down gently with fine steel wool, then a damp rag to remove dust before applying the 2nd coat.

The whole process will take several days, but the finished results will be amazing.

I would say you have 2 options:

1) paint as Pat says, but choose a nice dark matt colour, ( or I suppose White if that is you want, its a matter of personal preference), and handrail dyed and varnished MATT, or, stain / matt varnish the whole lot. Here, with discussion with client, and led by the client who wanted a low maintenance finish, the 300 yr old beams had been treated and left as natural, unfinished, and the new soft wood ( budget did not allow for oak or hardwood) was finished in stain and matt varnish - I thought it might not work, but the end result was pleasing to all and very very happy client. This expressed the new joiner from the older structural timber frame. What do you think?

I would keep the natural wood on everything bar the banister, You may wish to darken it but it will darken with age. The banister rail goes high gloss black. This will polish up to a piano finnish with use. Yts worded every time for me...

I would encourage you to paint all the woodwork (spindles, risers, skirtings, etc) one colour, F&B Wimborne White is fresh and lovely a colour that compliments Elephant's Breathe beautifully... you can't go wrong!