Without looking under the carpet its hard to say. That said its also the last job you should do in the house. You don't want tradesmen (or yourself) trucking muck onto a nice new runner whilst plastering/painting/sanding is still ongoing upstairs elsewhere. Any house built before 1940 is more likely to have nicer wooden treads. Often they are painted white just down the sides precisely because they would have had a runner previously. Newer homes can be hit or miss - worst case would be if they're ply or similar in which case you're pretty much restricted to just re-carpeting. Are you able to check the stair underside if you have a cupboard under the stairs? At least that'll confirm if they're solid wood. I stripped my stair carpet a while ago, taking it up is pretty easy - you just need a little patience. A flathead screwdriver is best for digging out staples whilst I found wedging a metal scraper between the gripper strip tacks and the floor, and then again using a flathead under the scraper to lever the strips up worked best (see pic). Give the stairs a good hoovering and wipe down, then use some wood filler (sometimes referred to as spackle) to fill in the holes left. Finally sand if needed (and if you want a perfect finish) and paint as desired - leave the middle as it won't be seen and so you can walk up and down when its drying. It took me an afternoon to remove the carpet, staples and gripper rods. Then another couple of hours to fill in the holes. I used Dulux Once Satinwood on the edges after priming which is very forgiving as it only needs one coat and levels itself so you don't get brushstrokes. Only downside is that its oil based so you need white spirit to clean the brushes. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ronseal-HPWFN550G-550g-Performance-Filler/dp/B001GU2H6S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506440774&sr=8-3&keywords=ronseal+wood+filler

Hi Ro, we love the look you have gone for! It will work especially well if your hallway and staircase is an open and airy space with the striped carpet taking centre stage. Team it with light accessories such as curtains or wall accessories for a timeless feel.

In my opinion it depends on budget. The best option is to take off the wood cladding and coving and then get a plasterer in. The budget option is to sugar soap these walls to ensure there is no wallpaper paste residue, then fill and sand any cracks and also use decorators calk to fill cracks in corners and next to woodwork. Then you need to mist coat the walls which is basically a watered down coat of paint. When that is dry it will need two rollered coats of emulsion (3 if it’s a strong colour). A very flat Matt paint shows imperfections least. After the first coat of paint check it for any bits that might need more filling. In conclusion the key to a nice finish on the walls is lots of preparation and then a low/ no sheen paint.

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I do appreciate it. We have lots of wood elsewhere in the house and whilst decoratively it would be a good choice I was looking for a warmer softer 'feel' than wood. I agree the samples are not very neutral but all the neutral carpets we've tried just fade to a dirty beige in the room, I think grey would deaden the look.