I would use a wall bracket mounted 1-1/2 round railing on the side where the wall extends further (R looking up the stairs). You will need to use escutcheons on the upper part to bring it out even with the wood-paneled part.

You take it down when you are moving furniture. That's what people do here. Or, take a window sash out. We have much narrower stairs than this all over my city.

Does code require you to put one in now? Our basement stairs don't have a railing, we just use the wall when needed for balance. This is for your grands, right? They will put their hands on the wall anyway lol! Keep something handy to erase the handprints from time to time.

No code requirement now. There was a concern during the renovations, but because I didn't renovate the stairs, they let it pass.

I've had adult guests stay and they're very comfortable--and held onto the wall when using the stairs.

My grandkids really have no reason to go upstairs, other than to explore! :-) At some point, when they may stay overnight. Because they live four minutes away, overnight stays haven't been requested.

I've not yet tackled decorating the upstairs, other than refinishing all the floors, renovating the bath, painting walls and furnishing the guest room.

I'll soon move the daybed from the sunroom to the other large upstairs bedroom, which is currently empty except for a few extra furniture pieces that I don't know how to use here.

It has a wall of built-in shelves and cabinets, so I may make it also serve as a art/craft room. At that point, the kids may be more interested. I used to paint and I've signed up for classes next year.

I saw this in a retirement community, too!

I think a handrail is the best solution. They can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot and are an inexpensive way to ensure the safety of those who use the stairs. Here's ours:

I'm in the UK and in our 1850s house we have a similar - but possibly narrower - staircase to yours, in which oak handrails very much like bonnie_ann's have been added either side at some point (most probably when the house was extended in the 1920s). We've managed to get some pretty large furniture items up and down without their removal or any issues.

In a previous - considerably older - cottage where the staircase was narrower still, we fitted bannister ropes as handrails......not sure if this is something you can get in the US?

As a senior citizen with some balance and walking problems I wouldn’t consider going up or down any staircase without a handrail.

My house was built in 1938 and has an almost identical staircase to yours. Photo kind of dark, sorry. Furniture went up with no problem when we moved in but you could always take the railing off if necessary. I’ll also be installing a runner soon, most likely a bound piece of carpeting rather than a ready made runner. In my last two houses I used a sisal-look carpet that held up well.

My vote is to add a handrail. I, too, have balance issues that make navigating stairs without rails risky. Falls on stairs can result in life-altering injuries for older adults. None of us is getting any younger.

You could use wrought iron for a handrail if you like the look. It's not as bulky and wide as a wooden one but would still provide safety.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually like the iron railing because it won't be an attempt to match the existing wood, and it will take less space. However, it would be heavier to remove when furniture has to go up/down.

The 36" width at the bottom of the steps, shrinks to 33" at the top, due to the shoe moulding around the top (and can't be removed the way it's built in). So, whatever handrail is installed, will reduce that by at least 4-5" making it really narrow!

My house isn't nautical, but I saw pins on Pinterest where others installed rope handrails to solve this same problem.

What do you think of this idea -- with a sisal stair runner? The rings wouldn't take up any more space than that shoe moulding -- and I could easily remove the rope.

The rope looks nice however I can see ppl holding onto it and losing balance as it is not tight but loose on the wall.

True -- there would be a lot of "wiggle room" in a rope. Not a solid handhold. The kids would love it!

Here’s a better picture of my stairwell. The railing is stained to match the originals at the bottom.

I think the rope as handrail is very pretty, but not very functional. I'm another one with balance issues and I need a very firm handrail to steady myself coming down stairs. I'm not sure running one's hand down a rope will feel very good, nor would it provide enough stability for me.

I had a small cape cod that didn't have a handrail on the upper portion, very similar to your situation. I could reach the walls on both sides so did that to steady myself until we got a hand rail installed. But there is a world of safety improvements to a handrail that one can grasp vs. running your hand down a wall too.

Your house is beautiful. Your stairs are beautiful. I totally "get" you're trying to not muck them up while making them more functional. I guess it depends upon who you think will be using the stairs and your second floor. Black iron might match just fine....

I am not sure if the idea is valid for your traditional style, but would you consider a recessed chair rail? You would have to find a great carpenter so as not the damage the wall treatment.

The recessed rail is cool, but if you need to grab a railing quickly as you go down the stairs, you wouldn't be able to grab that before you fall.

As yet another with access issues, I'd want at least one railing. It would need to not have any give to it, so rope is out.

How would one grab that wainscotting? Not practical.

No rope. No recessed rail. Just a sturdy handrail. When you're recovering from your first knee replacement, you'll be glad you did.

In my previous 1913 house I had a handrail like Bonnie's photo installed. It was also an impossibly narrow staircase. When I moved, I just unscrewed the handrail from the wall so the furniture could come down. Honestly, that's about the only solution there is.

I think Saypoint's railing is exactly what I'll have to do and remind the carpenter who installs it that I need to be able to unscrew the brackets (using a drill screwdriver) when moving.

The inset handrail would unfortunately, be at least a $10,000 expense. Those are load-bearing walls, so the studs can't be notched out. We'd have to open up the wall, install a new beam to hold up the 2nd story floor and attic, etc. Then, in the basement, we'd have to add another beam, open up the stairwell down-- and add new footings to fit the weight distribution. It could even involve removing the stairs and reinstalling. I saw what's involved when my dining room doors were widened. An engineer had to specify the correct beams for the door and under the first floor, along with these huge iron footings/jacks to hold up the new support because they couldn't dig new footings in the crawlspace.

I'll have to add the rail on the left because the right side has two 1939 -era HVAC ducts going up through the wall. I'd have to have one of those punctured. On the left, there's the closet at the front, and the pantry at the back.

Thanks for all the creative and thoughtful responses!