Yeah go black

It looks like a feature from a post-modern inspired home from the 1980's. I am not sure if it complies with the current building regulations as the height looks lowish and the gaps look widely spaced. You may want to check the dimensions against the building regulations to see if it does or doesn't comply, especially if you have young kids who like to climb, before you do anything else.

If it does comply then I would keep it, and paint it. Curved balustrades are difficult to build and look neat, so I am not too sure how you could replace it cost-effectively, neatly and still comply.

Best of luck

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visit

Could knock the whole balcony off, knock solid wall out and replace with tall narrow decorative screens or glass panels.

Dr Retro brings up a good point about the legalities , so that's where I'd start -- a bit of checking .

But then I'd look at the bigger picture .

Judging by the blinds , the ceiling has quite a slope on it , the top blinds are a greeny grey , the lower curtains cream , the walls white , the fan is white and basic , the floors and table a warm wood .

So think where you want to end up -- at the least I'd look at dying or changing the upper blinds to charcoal and painting the railing charcoal . With that 'budget' version I'd leave the fan in white , so it blends in , or change to a wooden bladed ( or wood look ) fan -- I dislike a black fan in a room with lots of white , even with the wooden floors to warm the look .

But my more luxe option -- get a new balistrade in polished copper ( yes , not cheap , not really sure but I'd guess $2-4k ? ) ; a 'plantation' fan in wood , copper , rattan and maybe white porcelain ; and get new upper blinds in vertical wood ( probably 100-125mm wide slats ) . Tie that in with the floor , the existing lower curtains -- a pleasant look IMO .

As said,check Building standards.
If all okay, my suggestion, is to replace the metal balustrade with wood. If the balustrade needs the height increased, you could add glass inserts. The wood will match your wooden floors.
If budget doesn't allow, then I agree, go black.
Hope your ugly baluster, becomes a beautiful balustrade.

I would paint Matt black with White Knight rustgard

Just paint it the wall colour and it will blend in and you wont notice it so much!

It's ugly because it's teal not because it's an awful fixture. Paint it a neutral and save yourself a headache.