If there is a storage cupboard underneath the stairs, then I think its best to let go of the open risers. At the end of the day when it comes to stairs, I think you need to make simple decisions, don't complicate it. Sometimes spaces fuss over stairs and they can look great, but they are very impractical, expensive and dangerous. I think if you live in a house with no kids and no elderly, then you can lash out and go for something with more design risk. I think the timber stair profile shown in your picture looks great, and would work well with your vertical timber beam balustrade. However timber stairs can be noisy and quite slippery. If you are using carpet upstairs then you could consider running carpet all the way down the stairs. Don't do the half half thing. In order to finish the edge of the stairs neatly, I would edge the stairs with the plaster finish continuing from the cupboard wall, all the way up to the edge of the stairs and making an edge profile for the carpet to be neatly tucked into. By doing this you could still get the stepping silhouette which would look very cool. Then the beams could run off the plaster surface and not the edge of the carpet. Ultimately carpet may be annoying to have to vacuum, but it is a lot quieter, considerably cheaper and safer than timber stairs. Hope that helps. Good luck with it.

Timber with timber can work brilliantly, and it's in keeping with the mid century style you want for your home. This room (below) is a little similar to yours, albeit with less of a pitch to the roof - the large feature lighting helps to break up the expanse of timber on the ceiling. You have a lovely open plan area, so I'd be inclined to use rugs to create zones and a cosy feel. Rugs reduce the impact of a large expanse of flooring material. They have the benefit that you can swap things around to change the look and layout at little cost. I think one trick may be to define your "walls" carefully, and paint these before you go with a new floor. This should give you a sense of whether the timber is overwhelming, and how to balance it. E.g. You might decide it works best to paint the kitchen cupboards to white, to give you a more seamless look and work with your new counter tops. If you want to experiment with the "paint ceiling" approach - gulp, it's a big one!! - then maybe that small section above the kitchen bench, at a different angle to the rest of the roof, could be the spot. It seems to have the same horizontal line as the wall, so even if you don't like the painted look for the whole, you might be able to get away with blending this into the walls. Best of luck!

Hi everyone, thanks for your amazing feedback so far! I had a builder come look at my cupboards last night, and he advised that they're actually chipboard with laminate front, although when he first looked at them and felt them he said they are wood but that's what he found upon further inspection. The cupboards are in excellent condition still - there is no peeling on the edges or and chips or anything like that. They must be a high quality material when originally installed. The kitchen is a stand-alone room. There is a door that goes outside to the backyard, and another sliding door that opens to the dining/living room. The kitchen window frame matches the rest of the window, door frames and architraves in the house (the top picture has the door frame visible). If I was to paint the window frame, I would imagine the door frames in the kitchen would be painted to match, correct? I prefer to keep the bench top as it is about 5 years old and in prefect nic. Perhaps I might go down the path to replace the cupboard doors as personally, I'm not a fan of the routing.

Depending on your budget I’d paint the cabinetry, replacing the doors if you can afford to and just painting them if the budget is tight. Just a thought, maybe it’s possible to fill that detailing in the doors to make them appear flat once painted. Not sure if it’s possible. It’d be a shit of a job but then you’d have solid wooden doors. And new handles. The same with the tiles. Paint is a cheaper option. New tiles would give a better finish. Remove the window valance. Perhaps resurface the benchtop with a product like rustoleum. Replacing the oyster light with something more contemporary. Open shelving can look great and lighten a space but think about whether this compromises your storage capacity. Everything will be on show. I think if you paint the cabinets then the floor won’t look so bad as there will be separation between the similarly coloured floor and ceiling. Cork is great in kitchens as it’s soft so it’s easy on your legs and back and forgiving if you drop things. It’s also making a comeback, as are timber ceilings. I would choose soft flooring for a kitchen over hard flooring. Kitchen floor tiles are a pet hate of mine. In my next build we’re putting rubber or cork in the kitchen. You’d struggle to put a double oven next to the fridge as it’s a thoroughfare. You’d also lose your pantry. Is two side by side 60cm ovens a possibility where your oven currently is?