My parents' old house had a wonderful oak front staircase that my six siblings and I used to race up and down, taking them two or three at a time, with only a casual hold on the railing. I don't know how we managed to never slip or fall. Now, the timber backstairs were steep, and had narrow treads and were poorly lit. We NEVER ran up or down them, but held tightly to the railing and hoped to heck we managed to stay upright. As an adult, my previous home had carpeted stairs, which I slipped on (wearing socks) and fell down twice, though thankfully I was closer to the bottom than the top. My current home has timber stairs with three narrow stainless steel runners stood on edge and inset horizontally across the front of each tread (this is supposed to help reduce risk of slips). I doubt I will get over the anxiety of taking another tumble, so I never go down them wearing socks, and if barefoot, I hold onto the railing for dear life and take it nice and slow. So far so good.

Don't box your stairs in, as it will close in the space. You do need to address the balustrade as it doesn't comply with the current regulations and actually looks a bit flimsy - painting it will not improve the safety aspect so don' even bother. Steel stringer stairs are most certainly not cheap, and are often used in high end architect designed houses. I would consider refinishing the timber stair treads by sanding them back and applying a tough, clear, timber floor finish, possibly in a satin or matt before you install a new balustrade. The only thing that could do with a paint is the existing steel, possibly in a matt black. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

assuming that you will be painting the walls i would allow at least equal to a large living area for co st of varnish and materials to do the stairs..it will be a fiddly job and to get the best result takes extra time and would be a shame to compromise on the quality of the finish although would n't be that difficult to DIY but would need lots of time for preparation for filling nails holes and sanding in between coats with at least two coats of varnish and i would allow at least 3-days labour and a there are numerous wardrobe companies in Melbourne so unless you want a high end custom finish a few quote will provide a base line to consider and/or test some of the online wardrobe systems eg IKEA or Kaboodle for price of materials and then add several days labour for assembly and installation and your builder should be able to suggest suitable options as it's often cheaper for them to organise these extras than to pay for them separately

Probably would need timber staircase but have you thought of a sisal runner up the stairs as an alternative to carpet? It keeps the noise down and is very hard wearing