To paint or not to paint? That is the question.

That is the carpet on my stairs.  When it first started showing as a hole, I was going to sew it back together but was told that I would be getting new carpet instead.  Ya, that happened. And now it is big enough that it scares me going down the stairs.  I am afraid that someone is going to trip on it and fall.  It is the second stair so it would be a long fall.  And since I broke my foot stairs have been hard for me anyway.

So now I need to make a decision- what to do- re-carpet or paint? If I re-carpet I am afraid that it will turn into a "If you give a mouse a cookie" type of project.  There is carpet on the trim on the wall that the stairs share with the garage and it goes around to the front room floor.  So if I re-carpet the trim as well, then I will need to re-carpet the front room (which it needs)  and if I re do the front room, then I just as well re-carpet the hall (also needed) and if I re-carpet the hall then I should probably take out one row of entryway tile and put carpet there to tie the front room and hall together and take care of that row of marble tile because it keeps breaking and I need to replace it at least every two years. In fact two of those tiles have needed replaced for about three years now.  I have the tiles just haven't done it yet (since that was another I'll get to it un-kept promise).  And if I re-carpet the hall, then the bedrooms need done as well.  And the carpet in the basement is older and worse off than the upstairs, so if I do the stairs then where it attaches to the basement... You see where I'm going.

Or I can paint the stairs instead. I have painted floors before so I know how to do that, but do I use porch paint or floor paint? Do I go for color or stain or a design? Do I paint the treads one color and the risers another? Or the tread a color and the risers a design?  What do I do to seal them?  Will they be too slick? That scares me as well, almost more than tripping, what if someone slips and falls?

These are all stairs that I like.  I am just not sure, though.  My stairs are nowhere close to being this bright and airy, they are small and steep and go into a dark basement family room.

So what do you think? Carpet or paint?

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Indeed