the wall-to-wall carpet was removed from everywhere before we moved in (2002).
the house had a heavily paint-splattered subfloor for about 3.5 years. at one point we actually cleaned the areas where the sanding machine could reach but never found the time to go over the edges with a hand sander.
the old wrought iron railing was so awkward in an interior space we actually preferred not having a railing at all.
... and so we didn't, for 2 years. it took about that long to get the new one in after the flooring was replaced. we really liked the open space; it's too bad the drop at this area of the house is about 6 feet, there must be a rail.
