RSVPstyle

Solution: Paint the banister white to contrast with the flooring, pick up other white elements nearby and lighten the space.

The solid-wood rail cap worked well when the stairs were covered with light-green carpeting. But we replaced the carpet with Karndean luxury vinyl. Our first option, staining the solid wood the same cherry color as the flooring, would have created too many dark horizontal and vertical lines on top of the dark-stained floating shelves we introduced. And it would have been difficult to sand, finish and stain the banister within our limited time.

We could have left it as it was, but we ruled that out because a banister should be the same color or species of wood as the stairs.

We chose the third option: Paint the wood white to make it disappear. Had the wood had been mahogany, koa or something else beautiful and valuable, it would have been a shame to paint over it. But this was pine.

Painting it white solved several problems. The second-story railing at the top of the stairway was already white and had a contemporary feel—this stayed in line with that style.

The trim around the doors on that side of the room was also white, so the new color completely tied in. It kept the stairway from becoming a feature and focused attention on the rest of the room.

Our solution essentially made the banister disappear and continued the feel of a contemporary space, without cutting up the room with more dark wood lines.