Thanks! I agree...anything is better than the orange-y oak color that it is! I'm wanting to stain it a dark brown once we get hardwood floors, since I feel that is more durable than paint. Do you think paint would hold up as well?
A high quality oil base paint will hold up very well, even if it's a satin (not so shiny) finish. You just need to chemically degloss, oil prime and two coat oil finish.
The other options are to strip/restain it or to faux finish it. Once it is varnished, it cannot be restained with out stripping it down to bare wood.
The handrails look nice painted the same as well.
CP
The other options are to strip/restain it or to faux finish it. Once it is varnished, it cannot be restained with out stripping it down to bare wood.