Although I love the ballustrades on Staircase #2, Staircase # 3 (the one with the wood paneled walls and the HVAC vents in the floor) is my preference.

With the exception of the unfortunate Pineapple finial, it looks like it could have come out of an old Oceanliner...

This reminds me of that site www.stairporn.com

--not my favorite, but a nice resource of stair ideas.

Is that pineapple for real? That is just asking for impalement.

I like the look of the first one the best, though my current house has triangle steps like that in the middle and I'm constantly worried I'm going to step wrong and tumble down when my hands are full.

Wow, these are beautiful! I like Stair #4 (the sort of ovoid one) the best, followed by Stair #2.

Right now I don't have a stair rail, and it freaks me out. I've lost my footing twice on the stairs (hardwood) and landed on my back. Luckily, I was not injured in either incident.

So thumbs down to the first photo.

david - the handrail is built into a void in the wall....check it out in the second picture.