Hi myrtle_59, I can not agree more with "woodfloorpro". It will be a big deal and can be a quite costly project. But it is usually well worth the money because the wood stairs can brighten up your home tremendously. To me, full treads and risers are the way to go. Please prepare to pay anywhere between $200 to $300 per step with installation. Readily available species like Oak and Maple cost less while Exotics cost more. Good thing is that you can always break your flooring and stair projects apart in 2 stages. There are manufacturers who make all species of Treads and Risers in both prefinished and unfinished. Here is a link to a molding manufacturer's website which is full of good info. Here is a link that might be useful: Artistic Finishes

We are having this dilemma in real time. they just stained the 1st floor of our 2013 built home. I wanted to refresh because the kids beat them up with scooters, etc when we first moved in and also the color ambered a lot over the years and was looking VERY orange... so we said let's just do the first floor since the 2nd is in relatively good shape but does have that more warm/amber tone. So now we have a custom blend downstairs going up the front stairs and the existing Early American on White Oak on the 2nd floor. See pics... I thought I could live with it, but now I'm 2nd guessing and wondering if we need to do the 2nd floor too... thoughts, photos welcome!

suzienj - I think that going to be stunning with your (our, LOL!) cabinets. Love, love, love it - it's going to be simply gorgeous. I especially like how the medallions will pick up on the countertop and the perimeter granite ties it all together. That is just the kind of thing I am doing for the backsplash, too. So when are they installing your cabinets - or have they already? I'd definitely love to see what you have in mind for hardware,faucets , sink,lighting etc. These last minute decisions are driving me crazy, too!

After reading everyone's comments it is obvious that it would be best to put the room together and live with the furniture as is for a while. It is such a shame that I don't have a larger house so it can be a room on our main floor living space. There is nothing like walking past a room, pausing at the door, and loving how it turned out. I know that this will be one of those rooms once it is done. Unfortunately it will be tucked into a basement bdrm. Thankfuly we have 9 ft ceilings down there so I'm hoping it turns out as I see it. There are so many responses and I appreciate all of them. Your opinions are really important as alot of you have homes that I drool over and only wish to perfect my home. I'm sure I will be posting as I work on it over the next few months. magnaverde: I reread your post and thank you for the detailed description of the bed. It is so interesting to know more about a piece and then appreciate it even more. I also read some of your other responses to other threads and instantly realized you are very knowledgeable when it comes to decorating. Are you trained professionally in design? I know many of you have asked where I live to find all the treasures/great deals I've posted. I can't disclose that or I might have some major competition lol. I live in Canada, somewhere on the Prairies. I have an aunt who lives in BC and she said the market for this kind of thing is crazy and expensive. We have dealers around here that tend to scoop things like this up quickly, but I'm pretty certain that they're everywhere. Squirrel: the bed is downstairs where my dear children don't venture by themselves often. If you saw it you'd know why. The bed is pretty safe for now. (I am going to get around to posting on the other thread in abit...not to sure what you mean about the depth?) I looked at 100's of photos last night on the internet instead of marking assignments (bad, bad!) and still haven't found the "look". Anyone have any favorites? Pam