To paint or not to paint

I have been thinking about painting the stairs in our house for quite some time now.  My only problem is that I can't decide which way to paint them. 

This is cool, but too much going on for my project.

This ombre pattern is awesome.  I have something like this in mind for our house.  Just can't decide on what color palate to use.  Love.

And then there's pattern.  I do love mixing patterns.  I think this idea could really be cool using only black and white patterns.

Dreaming of June.com

immortalpie.com

I have some emerald green accents going on in the room, so this could be fun.  Although my heart is really with the blue ombre stairs.  Decisions, decisions....