Q-I’m in the midst of renovating my first old house. The staircase leading to the second floor has an oak handrail with spindles and a curlicue thing on top of the post at the bottom of the stairs.

Take interior design to the next level by focusing on your home’s main staircase. A simple or sweeping stairway not only serves as a functional vertical pathway in a two- or three-story house, it can ...