Took out stair guard rail but now what

Canvas sheets and large diameter rope. Make it look nautical. Add a life preserver for added flair. Maybe a brass bell.

Probably would have come up with a plan for installation before disassembly.

Your local home center will likely have reasonable banister options.

now what

You should replace it with a guardrail. Safety is no joke.

A handrail should go all the way to the top of the stairs. And a guardrail should surround the stairs so you cannot fall into them.

Edit: You are going to get destroyed during the home inspection when you sell the place. You will be putting a handrail and guardrails there at that point.

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You can also add half-height sliding closets along the vertical sections of far wall there. It's a good height for hanging clothes. Punch a hole in the wall, add a new wall further back and add sliding closet doors. Don't forget to insulate behind your new closet.

Edit: Crawl back behind there first and verify there aren't studs there. If so, you don't want to cut through them without a professional telling you if they are structural or there just to back the drywall.

Put the fucking rail back?

Storage (bookshelf?) secured to the floor/wall. Unless you really want the open feeling. Maybe with a mesh back (even something like hog wire), you can have the best of both worlds.

What about something like this:

police crime scene tape!

An elaborate tapestry showing the lord of the rings story would look really nice there.

How about this one…
https://www.amazon.com/Loccor-Backdrop-Photography-Background-Decorations/dp/B0CJ4W5QCG/

A troll who lives under the floorboards and emerges to yell at anyone who gets too close to the edge.

Be sure to feed him a steady stream of goats. You don't want a dead troll under your floor.

Wood or metal railings.

Banana peel? A puddle of grease? What effect are we going for here? Are we looking to injure or going for painful death while everyone laughs?

Bookshelves. Cat trees. Tesla coils.

Fall down and break a leg?

Paint everything that same color of brown. So the stairs really blend in.

I'm here for the stairwell wall color..... what is that dark green/blue wall color?It's so great and I want to paint my walls that color.

Trampoline. Including on top.

Make a trapdoor and put a carpet on it. Secret passage!

I'd replace it with a wall. But I'm not the biggest fan of open floor plans.

I would agree with either bookshelf anchored to the floor or pony wall.

well, you could start with a late night Darwin submission at the bottom of the stairs.

I would recommend not doing that though.

maybe some temporary railing with 2x4s? at least until you figure out wth you want...

I might be crazy but I would do glass like you see on like porches, balconies and the like

A wall/shelf that mimicks the staircase but goes in the opposite direction so you have safety but its still pretty open? The backside of it could just be narrow boards.

If you plan on getting rid of the wood supports you can do a bookshelf with a built in ladder on the far side to get to the books and make use of stuff there and aren't afraid of falling and on the near side put a couch with some sort of support so it can't fall into the stairwell, but only do those two things if you're ok with some clutter and difference in how that stairwell is set up, otherwise put something there to stop people falling regardless, thus the couch with the supports.

What does the rest of the house look like? I'd try to match the time period. I.e. if victorian, then cast iron can be okay, if 50's or newer, bare/painted wood banister.