We bought distressed prefinished walnut floors and are in the process of having our stairs redone to match. Maple treads was used to match the floors. I think it's a very good match in terms of the grain pattern and stain. They did need to do a two step process for staining - I think they apply an aniline dye and then a stain to get the right color match.

I replaced my 65" TV last summer with a 82" and needed a custom entertainment center to hold it. I got a few quotes from custom companies and they were really high and I would have to hire someone to paint it once it was installed. I had just remodeled my kitchen and had cherry Thomasville cabinets installed and was really happy with them so I decided to get a quote from Thomasville but with a white finish. My flooring is oak and I have some oak built-ins scattered around the house and so I didn't want to add another wood. I have a white ceiling in that room plus white shutters and white wood blinds. At first I thought I wanted a built in but decided since it was going to be so large.....I might want to move it later and not building it in reduced the cost a lot! Here is a picture. It's 132" wide and 84" high. Sorry about the flash! Oh the cost was $5,500. I don't think it would be that much more in Maple.

Thanks Kathy for the pictures. Your stairs are beautiful, however I plan to have a light oak stain which I expect will display more of the grain differences between the winder steps and the regular tread steps. I spoke with the carpenter about my wishes/concerns. He will only guarantee the results if I use his original plan for oak flooring on the winder steps. He also does not do the finish work, i.e., staining, painting, varnishing; though he can connect me to people who do this. Is this the usual process? I expected to hire someone to come in and do everything. I visited a new home under construction and viewed his unfinished wood trim work (window trim, door trim, etc.) as well as new staircase. He is very meticulous about his work and got praise from others working on the site (he was not there). One of the reasons I am doing the staircase over is that it is narrow and I need a railing that can be removed when large pieces of furniture need to be moved up/down stairs. He seems to have a good design to handle this problem, so I wasn't expecting to have these concerns about the winder steps. Will using oak flooring on these steps become a resale issue?

Tom, thanks for that information of veneers. Now that I think of it, the Mirage engineered oak floor I am getting had a top layer that would be considered a veneer (4 mm thick) and this layer is dry sawn and has very nice grain. It looks much better than the grain on the veneered oak plywood I see at Home Depot which must roatary peeled. Wayne, I hope I'm not getting my terms wrong. The existing carpet covered stairs I have now has a first step that is rectangular on one end and has a semicircle on the other end where it extends past the bottom post of the bannister. The tread itself is about 11" deep and this semicircular extension of the tread ends up reaching back as far as the 2nd tread or 22" total. No part ot the stair railing or its posts sits on that extension. I thought that extension was called a volute but I may be wrong. When the 2nd guy looked at my stairs he said it would be impossible to get a solid oak piece 22" deep (or way too expensive) and he said he would craft the first tread out of 2 pieces of oak than veneer the whole thing so it looked like it was all one piece. It sounds to me like the nose of the tread will therefore be part of this veneer as well, because he says the whole thing will look like one piece of wood. Now I just saw my neighbor's stairs which are the same layout as mine and his stair guy gave him a solid oak 1st tread with a much smaller extension. I have seen similar offered for sale on the internet for about $100 to $150 and they come in different tread depths and overall lengths. They called it a single volute tread. So I asked the 2nd guy why not do something like that and he went on to say if he ordered something it probably wouldn't fit properly and why would I not want his veneered step. Do you think it would hold up as well as a solid one? That's my concern. Now about end of the treads that are on the open side (not against a wall), I saw this mitered return both at my neighbors and on the internet where they billed it as the quality way to go. So I inquired of guy #2 if that's how he did it, and his reaction was horrors no. I guess he must rout then end of the tread. Do I assume if it is well done the end grains will not soak up too much stain? I have asked if I can see some of his work and he says he will arrange it. The company he works for is a hardwood and wood stair store that has been in business for years so I would assume they do top notch work. I am feeling a little like they are not used to someone asking so many questions.