Mr. S&P and I just came from Italy but before we left we painted the railings/bannister on the staircase. Before it was an ugly medium brown/oak type wood, like most of the cabinets in the house. Slowly we have been painting all of this white to match the trim and doors. Changing up the staircase color really made a difference to our front entry hall.
Before
After (with Christmas decor)
The white is Behr’s Artist Canvas, which matches the current trim color very well, so we’re continuing with this shade of white throughout the house. The bannister is Behr’s French Roast. We debated on shades of black at first but decided to go with a dark brown because every color looks “colder” than it is in our house for some reason. The brown was just the right color and gives it a dark look without a stark cold feeling.