Stairway Inspiration

Do you ever have one of those moments when you are surfing the blogs and you find a picture that adds a little spring to your step?  A couple of weeks ago I discovered the blog, Johns Journal.  And while there is lots of inspiration there, this image makes my day a bit brighter. 

I love what she has done with this stairway.  The gallery, the lantern, the Greek key runner, and the super large image on the opposing wall.  Be still my heart.

Here is my stairway.  Almost identical no?  Never did I consider hanging a lantern there.  Our upstairs has low ceilings and at the top of the landing there is a builder grade flush mount fixture.  Yuckola.  Good news...Mr. says that when it gets cooler that he can move the box over the stairs and we will be able to hang a lantern.  We have tons of photos that I would love to add to this space and I want to find the perfect one to enlarge on the opposing wall. And I'm on the hunt for a runner.  Any suggestions of where to look for budget friendly runners? 

Recently the trend has been to paint the rail black.  What say you...black or white?