I think stairs are fine too. We have lived in houses with stairs since Jack was 1 yo. We have a gate at the top, but only need it for Thomas now. Jack has been fine with the stairs on his own since about 15 or 16 months (although I was paranoid so still kept the gate shut and didn't let him to up/down on this own until later). I would be a bit worried about the balaustrade though. Is there some way you make it less climbable? Usually there are ways to make things safer in the short term.