We are back from vacation. The new oak floor looks marvelous. The stairs.. not so much. It turns out their materials and condition are not conducive to staining and clear-finish. After brainstorming with Jen, our interior-designer friend, we have decided to do a faux runner on the main stairs. The next few days of posts will feature a mini-theme following its progress. 
Here we’ve patched & sanded the worst of the defects, and primed one side (leaving the other side clear for walking until it dries).