We are working on finishing our basement and need to decide how we want to finish our stairs. For some info, we were leaning towards just staining them and then having a landing of hardwood/hard surface flooring that would be at the bottom and then transition to carpet for the main living area. The reason we were thinking this was to reduce the wear and tear on the carpet. At the bottom of the stairs there are three doors along that wall to storage, bathroom, or laundry and we thought a hard surface would last longer and not show worn foot paths. On the flip side, carpet would be better for kiddos going up and down the steps and safer. My concern would be that the carpet would wear quickly or get messy with DH using those stair after long work days. But, would stained stairs, a vinyl or wood landing, and then carpet be too much?

What do you think? And sorry for the rambling!