They look nice. What are you using for a top coat?

Wait a minute...aren't you the one that did the great job painting your stairs? Why did you decide to change?

I am top coating it with SW satin varnish.

Weedy, yes we did paint the stairs!!! It worked out very well. Then, we removed the last of the carpet in the house and got some gorgeous, dark maple to replace it. I found out that there was a stair nose to go with the maple, and asked my husband if we could also do the stairs and landing. He said, let's do the landing and we'll just stain some new treads to match it.

I had brought home a tread for him to look at before we took the carpet out, and he elected to sand and paint rather than replace.

That's how things work around here sometimes. Sometimes he over-rules me, and then sometime later, he has to do it the way I originally asked .

I think painting the treads is still a good option in a lot of circumstances. It also is more suited to a more country styled home than a traditional one.