Can you help with my staircase?

[GinAndOnIt]

We currently have painted stairs with white risers and taupe treads. We want to add a hessian stair runner, but I can't decide how best to coordinate it all together.

The walls haven't been painted yet, and the floor at the bottom of the stairs is being lifted and will be a lighter coloured original wood floor.

As you can see, the staircase is very narrow and dark. It can get brighter on a sunny day, so this is it as its worst.

Do you think we should paint the treads white before adding the runner, and then paint the walls a light (but not white) colour? Or should we leave the treads the taupe colour, and paint the walls a bright white?

(I appreciate the hessian stair runner won't be to everyone's taste, but we really like it and it will work well in our working farmhouse!)

I've found these images of all white - would this work well do you think? I can't decide if it will look boring, or lovely and bright!

Personally I'd carpet just the treads so you have more white painted bits on show to lighten the whole thing up. But out of the two ways you have described I'd go for the latter.

Ah that might not be a bad idea - would you have the carpet going across the whole width of each tread then? That might make hoovering them a bit easier too actually.

I'd paint the walls bright white (something you can wipe clean) and maybe paint an inch thick band of bright colour eg yellow on the wall above the skirting.
Keep that landing window sill completely clear.
And put the brightest bulb possible in the light fitting.

I think the band of colour is a bit too modern for us, but the wipe clean white is a smart idea.

I would second having the carpet go right across to the edges. It looks lovely having a runner up the middle and I used to have this, but it was a pain for dust collecting on the edge bits and made cleaning harder.

Also second wipe clean paint - it is amazing how people going up and down stairs with bags will leave big stripes on the wall unintentionally.

I think I'd go for a dark paint and wall lights and lots of framed pictures to give a warming feel, but realise that's a different kind of look, and the white would look lovely too. Def get cleanable though.

Yes, you're right jass - I've just remembered the bore of having to wipe down the non-runnered edges in a house I used to live in. Hessian treads all the way across is the new plan!

I also love lots of framed photos, but we have a lot in other rooms already, and I'm wary of adding too much clutter to the walls which draw them in narrower. I did wonder about embracing the dark with dark colours, but because the walls reach right round to another corridor upstairs, I thought all that dark would be a bit much.