When we bought our apartment building, the skylights in the main hallway and in the four stairways were all boarded up. We opened up all the skylights, which made a world of difference in this dark hallway. This apartment was badly damaged after the roof on this side of the building caved in one winter, leaving it exposed to the elements. Despite that, we were able to save the original floors and stairs. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the stairs show a lot of wear from a century of footsteps, which we love. They were painted a mustard brown, but we repainted them dark gray to match the 1930s-style tile (which we have yet to install) in the main hallway.