Advice on Stair Runner

[MothMurder]

Hi, I would be very grateful on what to do with our stairs/boards. I have attached a picture of what it looks like at the moment.

I want to strip back the hallway boards from the present dark stain to the original pine and finish with a matt seal. I would like to put a runner on the stairs. What would look best for the exposed wood on the stairs?
A) same pine finish as hall way
B) white paint
C) something else?

The guy who has given us the quote says that it would take a lot of work to strip the stairs and I am wondering if is worth it and if the same shade of pine would look good or a bit odd.

Opinions would be appreciated! TYI

So, we have had the downstairs sanded. I think we are also going to get the upstairs landing sanded and paint the stairs and add a runner.

I'm still not sure on what colour to paint the stairs! What do people think? Dark grey or white - or even black?

OP I'm currently going through a similar stairs drama. I took the carpet off the stairs to find that the stairs (place is Victorian) are split down the middle! I've got a carpenter coming next week to take a look and repair.

I recently painted my bannisters. I couldn't be bothered to strip the paint which looked thick, discoloured and chipped. I really wasn't expecting anything great, was just looking to freshen up the paintwork. I bought Zinsser BIN primer and gave them a couple of coats without sanding, then painted in a satin white.

They look amazing. I was shocked. You can't see any of the chips or uneven surface. I'm delighted with them, so it may be worth priming and painting a couple of steps before putting in all the effort of sanding, first. See how it looks.

There's a great carpet company called Designer Carpet. They sell remnants and will stitch up the sides of a runner for you, from any carpet.

I decided against painting the stairs because of the extra work that would entail and am carpeting them. I'm going for the same carpet throughout.

However, I have seen some really nice ideas while I've been browsing the internet looking for inspiration. There's some info here from Ideal Home you might find useful. If you go onto Pinterest there are lots of pictures and ideas. I really like dark painted stairs.