My house has a loft staircase in the living room. The previous owner,
who installed the stairs, only put a railing on one side, leaving the
other side open for anyone who wants to jump off and land on the wood
stove. For some reason, my wife thinks this is a safety hazard.

So, my next project is to put a railing on the other side. I would
like to match the existing wood, if possible. It seems to be finished
with a Minwax polyshades product (it has the same inconsistent colour
that I got when I used polyshades without stirring first) so it is not
easy to identify, but it is knotty, and splotchy and has no visible
pores. So, I think it is pine.

My question is whether pine (or any softwood) makes sense for a stair
rail, from a structural point of view. I think that if I build the
new side out of maple, it should be possible to get the two sides to
match in colour and general appearance. Am I overthinking this? If I
do it out of pine, will the railing still be safe to use?

- Ken