How to redo my stair risers?

Our house has 4 sets of stairs. The one I have wanted to do something with is the one that goes from the kitchen up to the bedrooms. There are 5 stairs. It has a handrail on the left side if your are going up. We recently repainted the walls. One side is BM Abalone. The other is a cream color. Wood floors at the top in the hallway. A honey oak color. The handrail is also a honey oak color. The top landing of each stair is a honey oak color, too. (As a matter of fact, ALL the TRIM WORK THROUGHOUT the house if HONEY OAK. THE WINDOW FRAMES, THE FRAMES AROUND THE DOORS, THE FRAMES AROUND THE CLOSETS, THE CHAIR RAILINGS, etc. We would love to paint it, but at this point, it is too expensive, my husband was laid off in September, and still has not found work, we just lost my mother-in-law. So we went ahead and painted almost the whole interior of the house, except the 2 bathrooms, neutral grays to coordinate with the honey oak trim.) Ok, pardon my digression. The riser of these stairs is White with a little ornamental scrolling in the center of each riser. Recently, I painted the risers a Plum color, which I love the undertone of the color, because it goes well with the new paint colors in the house. But, this color is way TO DARK. Even when they reduced the percentage of color by 50%.Now, I NEED HELP, PLEASE. Not only to cover up the Plum Paint color, but to change the front of the risers. We are in the process of minimizing, and we love the traditional, farmhouse decor. We obviously cannot afford a contractor. We are not usually handy people. But, please any ideas. We are making changes to stay, but just in case, we do end up having to list the house, it looks amazing. Thank you in advance for all your help and advice, Debbie