Refinishing them wasn't a viable option and it really didn't make sense to do that anyway, not for basement stairs. Paint sometimes is all that is needed for a easy update. & in this case - it worked!
We went with a grey to match (somewhat) the wood on either side of the stairs.
The tricky part? Making sure that our cat, Max, would not get into the basement for at least a couple hours. We blocked off the door, moved his litter box upstairs for the afternoon & closed the doors that lead to the basement.
Ta-da!
They really change the whole look of the space. I love it! Superb idea.
One more project done. Onto the next!