The Flight looks to be made from a hardwood such as mahogany and is an open tread style with NO RISERS. The balusters enclosing the open side of the flight in the room is a bit unusual and maybe off putting to some. The main problem with covering the flight is that when you put a covering on the top tread it will be higher than the finished floor level. It looks like the person who made these put a rake cut in the string where the treads sits. This was probably to keep the strength in the side stringers. This area will also give you a slight problem because it will make it more difficult to enclose the flight with risers. For the amount of work that is involved in altering the strings, replacing the balusters and cladding the treads and strings I'd look at another option. It would be just as quick to make a new set of stairs in a timber that is cost effective. You could get a Carpenter to make a straight flight in an affordable timber then add the balusters and handrail yourself. A simple straight flight in a home grown timber should not break the bank and finishing with a nice spindle set and handrail could look quite nice.

Thanks for the great suggestions and the good discussion. Teacats, funny you should link that starburst mirror. I have been shopping (and overthinking) starburst mirrors for months. I have several in mind, but I am planning to put it over the fireplace in our dining room. I also like the other suggestions you make. Those are all along the lines of things that I also do. Like I said, I have framed menus of favorite restaurants, blown up photos, had our kids do "original paintings," etc. May be I'm just tired and being lazy at this point, but I was thinking it would just be nice and easy to buy something instead of making it. I have done so many projects in putting our house together, and I guess my bigger philosophical question is--does everything have to be so darn special and personal in order to be worthy of display? I know, I know, that's a personal question, but this forum is full of people like me who obsess about their homes and finding that "perfect" piece of furniture, paint color, art, etc., and for people like that, do you feel like it's ok to just buy something off the shelf? Thermsen, thanks for your thoughts. As we decorate our house, I do wonder, is some of this obsessing bordering on snobbery? Like the PB stuff that oakleyok posted--I actually like that stuff. But, that stuff is mass-produced. May be it's ok bc PB is classier than BB&B. I saw a wooden billboard sign at JCP and liked it, but I hesitated bc it was from JCP. Here it is: http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=166e8cb&deptid=71371&dep=HOME+D%c3%89COR&catid=71784&cat=Wall+D%c3%a9cor&SO=0amp;pcatid=71371&Ne=5+1027+1031+580+1008+8+18+904+949+833&pagesize=1&x5view=1&N=4294953198&cattyp=RLE&Nao=198&PSO=0amp;CmCatId=71371:71784 Ok, thanks for letting me bounce ideas off this forum!

Since you asked "what would you do" I'll answer what I personally would do. 1. Make a budget of how much I can spend on the entire room project. 2. Find some pics of LR's I love for inspiration. 3. Find a print I'd love to use even it's just for cushions. Or a framed print. Or something I have that I love that *must* be in that room. Looking at drapery fabrics in a fabric store is often a good place for inspiration and I might buy a yard of fabric to use. Shop my house and assemble any decorative colored objects I have to see if there is a color theme I love. Look at well loved items or art I own for inspiration. Choose a paint color (warm color for a north facing room) from the print/art/object and paint walls, do ceiling in a lighter shade of the same color. I believe it's easier to find an inspiration piece from which to choose a color rather than trying to pick one from the thousands (millions) that are available. Paint can be mixed, colors of other things cannot be. 4. Move existing furniture into the room and live with it awhile. 5. Find a large 'something' for the tall wall, whether it's a quilt, a print, or wallpaper applied to the wall and framed with molding. In one house I hung one of those cheap made in India cotton bedspreads which had the tree of life printed on it. Large and colorful and it was the late 60's! This could be done as #3 but it might take some time and I don't believe art has to match. I'd look at a thousand inspiration pics of rooms with tall walls to find something that inspires. 6. Recognize that a good room is never 'finished' - as I find new treasures to add it will take on my personality. 7. Try to get over the idea that I am creating a room for a magazine spread or to post a brag on a forum. What I am doing is creating a room that I will love and my entire family will enjoy living in. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Mrsshanye, I’m a retired architectural draftsman, and quirks like that naturally would really bother me, but not be noticeable by others. You’ve not been bothered by it for 9 years, so shouldn’t stress about it too much now. The reason all of this probably happened is because the builder used two different newel posts at the base of your stairs. As you can see by the photo, the post on the right is slightly different than the one on the left. They look similar, but aren’t - the squared off section at the base is higher on the right post than it is on the left post. In order to get the handrail slope to meet the left hand post at the necessary height for a handrail, (between 34-38”), the builder had to bring out the left post several inches. Had he just used two identical newel posts, this wouldn’t have happened. You mentioned that the heights were different and were above 40”, that’s okay, the newel posts can be that high, but the handrails that go up the stair shouldn’t be higher than 38”, and I imagine yours fall within those guidelines - although different heights. Since the mistake was duplicated in another house - it may be that that homeowner has the matching newel to yours, and you have theirs! They may have both been built at the same time, and gotten mixed up. And just because it was duplicated at another house doesn’t make it “normal” - it’s still incorrectly done.