When you say "Do we paint the paneling as well as the other side - the rails etc." what exactly do you mean by 'the other side"? Are you referring to the underside of the stairwell? If so, I would leave that element. If you paint the panelling just be sure to give it a sanding before doing anything. I just had the wood trim in my place painted (just baseboards, not panelling like this) and I was told that it didn't need to be sanded first. Boy, do I regret it - there are spots that are flaking off already, and it was a good quality paint and primer used. In your case, I would paint the panelling but not the banister and stair rails unless you are also planing on painting all of the wood trim upstairs. Doing the panelling will leave you with the lighter, fresher look, while still looking classic with the wood stair rails. Also, it looks like you have the wood panelling in the hallway/entry way leading to the stairs - I think you need to have a consistent treatment for both areas so would paint this as well.

Take a clue from the pics....Do it's hard when you're starting and everything needs doing. Find a picture you like and use that as a guide. Do you like the looks of the colors in the two pictures above? Very simple and straight forward with beige/gray bricks and white and black accent colors for shutters and trim.

Okay, so I like it simple and modern, big stripes, big blocks, love this and this I really like uncluttered look. like this to https://www.houzz.com/photos/murphy-beds-modern-rendering-phvw-vp~24435627 , and I like my dark grey's and browns not to mention light blues, yellows, oranges and reds clashy aye.(not sure if these colors will work with the wood, really like the idea of staining the wood darker to more like this https://www.houzz.com/photos/rubin-residence-contemporary-bedroom-san-francisco-phvw-vp~5202610). But really interested in your ideas.

We recently installed a stair runner that we love but we really want to re-stain the floors to a much lighter color. This raises the following questions. Please help if you know!! Can we remove the runner stain the stairs and then reinstall the runner? If not, Could we sand/stain/poly around the runner without ruining the runner? Does it looks really bad if the stair treads are dark brown and the first floor is really light? Thanks in advance for chiming in!