I like the stained handrail.

Laurie

Stained.

Stained.

I love the stained and white combo very striking! Beautiful home BTW.

Stained looks very classy!

In addition to looking good, stained is much more practical than white.

Another stained vote.

Stained. It adds a nice contrast. Plus, as Suero mention is much more practical. I can't imagine trying to keep white hand rails white.

Stained, it is a richer look. The all-white does have a certain charm, but it is too cottage-y for your house.

Beautiful house, by the way!

Nicole

Love your home,cant wait to see more! Stained....classy!

Stained

Our trim is White Dove and the handrails are stained. Love the combo.

Guess you got your answer, beautiful pictures! Will be anxious to see yours when you're done.

As stated many times before by earlier posters; the stain is the way to go. The contrast will add a nice touch and appealing feature to complement what appears to be a beautiful house. Enjoy it.

Stained.

If you change your mind later, it is relatively easy to paint a stained railing.

Stripping a railing to stain it, however, is incredibly difficult.

wow, what a gorgeous space! Dark here as well...

Another vote for stained. I also prefer the stained caps.

From previous home
{{!gwi}}

Katie,
Love what you have done so far. We too, have heart pine floors with tung oil. I chose to paint my bannister black and left everything else white. Treads are heart pine, risers white. One thing to think about. A heart pine rail would be extremely costly. I can get pics if you need them. I am really pleased with mine.

Stained vote here too. I love your flooring. Is that over a concrete slab or pier & beam?

Hi all.

Thanks so much for your responses!

So, you guys think white?

Kidding. Stained wins. My dh is very happy. It does make more sense since we have young children & that white would get pretty grimy fast.

Thanks for your warm words about the house-we're hoping to be in by the end of the summer & we're so excited.

Stephanie93~How do like your floors? I would love to see pics of your stairs if it's not an inconvenience. Thanks! They sound gorgeous!

marti8a~ Thanks. Floors are over wood (finished basement below). Hope that helps.

newhomebuilder~Love those stairs!

I'll post photos when the stairs & the rest are finished.

Thanks again,
Katie

If it were mine, I'd stain it.

You'll be happy that you chose the stained hand rail. Have you seen a white painted on in real life? I mean one in a home with a real family. Not a pretty sight, unless you have a full time cleaning staff.

Right choice!
Do use a nice rich color like the one in your inspiration photo. And paint your stair risers white to match the balusters. The idea is, all the vertical elements match (white), and all the horizontal ones match (stain).

Katie,
LOVE my floors, but a little background. We used waterlox original. Have applied third coat (product calls for 4 applications). We are still waiting for the floors to dry to add the final. We are in South Carolina so high heat combined with high humidity has not been our friend. I will be happy to get pics for you as soon as we are able to get back in. How far along are you?