Hall And Stairs Decorating Ideas

Here are some hall and stairway decorating ideas to improve your home! Hallways and staircases go hand in hand, one leading into the other. These portions of your home are for getting where you want to be, and so can end up as an afterthought.

Do not underestimate the beauty these passages can supply to daily life. There are indeed space limitations that make decorating there a bit tricky, but it's worth working through the nitty-gritty of it.

Perfecting your halls and stairs makes your home so much more your own, a source of personalized catharsis. It's also one way to wow your guests and makes them more enthusiastic about looking around. With a discerning eye and enough elbow grease, you can transform these stretches into stirring statements of creativity.

Hall And Stairway Decorating Ideas – 20 Ideas For Stunning Transformation

Quick Look

Runner and rug
Shutters and blinds
Banner
Wallpaper
Wainscoting
Mirror
Shiplap
Light fixture
Rattan pendant
Shelf
Dark ceiling
Tapestry
Painted stairs
Jute mat
Coathanger
Dining bench
Patterned tiles
Molding
Reclaimed wood steps
Handrail

1. Runner and Rug

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Put a runner on the stairway and a rug in the hall to turn them into inviting pathways. Increase the majesty of stairs with a patterned woven runner that cushions your feet. A large or dull hall could use a carpet rug with thick stripes or vivid geometrics.

In a short or narrow hall, a solid monochrome runway can create a feeling of eased tightness. In general, runners and rugs have a good effect when they're the same color as the walls but different from the floor.

Be careful of how these two match up if a runner is patterned you'll want a nearby rug to be simple, and vice versa.

2. Shutters and Blinds

Windows in the hall or along stairs just aren't right without shutters and blinds to make them pop. Make windows on a white wall more entreating with shutters or blinds in black or cool colors. Pair a warmer wall with dark reds and oranges for an insulated demeanor.

You'll want pleated blinds for their sharp look that reflects sunlight away, an appearance with an interesting texture that comes off well when half raised. Distressed wood shutters are a proletarian touch to make a home more lived-in.

3. Banner / Artificial Flowers Garland

There's hardly an easier way to throw in a splash of personality than with the hanging of a banner or your favorite artificial flower garlands. If your staircase features a landing, include a pennant banner at the very top of the stairs after you turn the corner, as a festive entryway to the rest of the house.

Small banners can generate interest in places normally ignored, draped along the sides of handrails or above ordinary hallway windows for vital oomph.

If you like this, check out the Macrame Wall Hanging Fringe Garland Banner

It's dotted with wood beads and has cream-colored boho woven garlands that will work anywhere in the house.

4. Wallpaper

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One of the most underrated hall and stairway decorating ideas is wallpaper! Not only does wallpaper liven things up when there are no nearby windows, but it's also more versatile than paint, and it protects the wall to boot. The enclosed walls that surround halls and run by stairs can be so boring, so wallpaper is just the flash of brilliance needed for levity.

In particular, reflective wallpaper is useful since it can be difficult to get adequate light in these places. The stair pass will shine with a lone wallpapered accent wall, especially with silky damask in a color not too different from the bare wall.

5. Wainscoting

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Wainscoting is raised paneling that can keep out cold and moisture, a decoration placing the house somewhere between antiquated and hip. It will keep the bottom half of hallway walls interesting while seamlessly transitioning to run beside stairs for a more cultivated home.

Beadboard wainscoting is made up of narrow, vertical boards and is effective when used sparingly near doorways. Overlay wainscoting combines flat panels with raised panels by installing flat ones first, then installing additional ones in the center to the tune of sedate regality.

6. Mirror

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The right mirror makes a nice sculptural statement without overwhelming the rest of the wall, especially when there are no windows. Tack a circular wall mirror at a stair landing to fashionably fill that unwieldy space.

When decently sized with a seemly frame, a mirror at the end of a narrow hall will make a dark area feel lighter and more open. There's nothing wrong with the added convenience of being able to admire your looks on the fly either.

If you like this, check out the Howard Elliott Talida Mirror

7. Shiplap

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Rustic without being too old-timey, shiplap wood paneling is a good source of durability and memorable texture. Surround yourself with vertical or horizontal panels to steal the essence of a barn, beach house, cottage, and more.

Mid-century modern high rising panels can enhance a staircase wall or make a foyer hall appear less cooped up. Think about slick white wood for an all-around style or rich brown wood for pastoral composure.

8. Light Fixture

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Mount light fixtures throughout the house for convenience and style. These adjustable lights can set the tone of a home when you first enter, ensuring unity of place. Sconces will make a guiding path from hall to stairs, fueling the mystique of a tall staircase.

They're also a source of ambient lighting, much like the candles of old. This is more inviting than recessed lighting and can give a hint of sophistication.

There are many varieties to consider, from stacked geometric sconces to sculptural protruding fixtures.

If you like this, check out the Wire Cage Wall Sconce

9. Rattan Pendant Light

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If you're looking for bright hall and stairway decorating ideas, you can't go wrong with lights! Beautify a wanting spot simply and quickly with a rattan pendant. They're safer and more ergonomic than chandeliers, something suitable for the center of the hallway at the top of the stairs or in the foyer as a reassuring beacon.

There is such a wide variety to suit many tastes, like wavy wickers, ragged weaves, loud globes, thick bells, ruffled splays, drum cages, oblong crisscrosses, and more.

Rattan pendants can pleasantly draw eyes to what you want, and make for an earnest, less pretentious environment.

If you like this, check out the Hand Woven Linear Chandelier

10. Shelf

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You can't go without shelves, a do-it-yourself prospect too handy to pass up. A wall shelf is essential in a moderately spacious hall, an ornamental focal point for leaving odds and ends and hanging clothing.

Floating shelves that turn corners are effortlessly fashionable, making walls less naked and more useful. At the base of the steps, attach a floating shelf to run through the hall as a thematic extension of the stairs handrail.

11. Dark Ceiling

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The ceiling is so easy to forget, but consider how painting it darker can enhance your home. Paint it dark orange-brown, dark wine red, or deep dark blue, and punctuate the gloom with inset lighting.

Keenly separate a staircase by making its ceiling black if the walls are tan. If there is no natural light available, painting the ceiling white could actually make it feel unpleasantly glum, since the white will have nothing to bounce off.

Particularly in a windowless hallway, moody colors take advantage of the path's shade, emphasizing cozy darkness.

12. Tapestry

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If you want your walls to be more attractive but can't commit to a gallery wall, tapestries are what you need. They give walls neat texture with a thoughtful application by striking a balance between the subtle and the florid.

Tapestries seem to work whether they blend in with or stand out from the wall, allowing you the creative freedom to improve your passages. The sisal tapestry is notably useful in setting a relaxed mood. Hang a big one close to the bottom of the stairs to make the steps enticing.

If you like this, check out the Sevenstars Mountain Tapestry

13. Painted Stairs

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A staircase can be more than just something that happens to be there: it can be a feature of the house. Nothing can accomplish that better than a paint job, turning the stairs into your home's largest ornament.

It's time-consuming, so careful consideration is required. Paint designed for floors is best, a robust wood paint that's safe to tread on. You might paint the steps into two flanks of one color, with another strip of color running down the middle, imitating a carpet.

With an ombré approach, you could have a darker shade at the bottom and get lighter towards the top, using a sponge to blend the colors in the middle.

14. Jute Mat

One of my favorite hall and stairway decorating ideas is mats. For some more down-to-earth beauty in the hall, spread out a jute mat made of dried plant fibers. The durable tan spread is easy to clean, is a flaxen buffer for your feet, and easy on the eyes.

Jute mats pair easily with the furniture you'll have strewn around, and kids can go play in the hall with this to cushion them. It's nice to touch down on a jute mat at the base of the stairs, its simplicity lending to its charm.

15. Coathanger

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Coathangers are indispensable, and they can make your house look good while they're at it. With all their shapes and sizes, you'll find something that fits your layout.

A tall mahogany coat rack can really tie a hallway together, a good decoration even when just a hat and jacket are slung. Rows of peg rails can hang baskets for convenience and flourish.

You could get nicely-carved wall-mounted coathangers to line your hall, especially close to the bottom of the staircase. Experiment with black, brown, and tan coathangers to maximize their ornamental value.

16. Bench

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You probably won't be eating in the hallway, but placing a dining bench can break up a long corridor and serve as a resting spot. It'll look good adjacent to a staircase, either at the top or the bottom. Get it in a modest size and shape, and lay some pleasant items on it to pretty up vacancies.

If you like this, check out the Kmax Upholstered Entryway Bench

17. Patterned Tiles

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Bedeck your floor or make your stairs more exciting with patterned tiles. A hallway, particularly that of the foyer, can use patterned pizzazz to look good from afar. The same goes for staircases, where patterned tiles can upgrade the risers.

Balance is paramount for both, as tiles shouldn't be too busy or bright. Unity and sophistication can be easier to pull off if the tiles are almost the same color as their bordering steps or floorboards.

18. Molding

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There are a lot of possibilities with moldings that are fun to consider. They are visual aids you didn't know you needed, like spiffing up the junction of walls and flooring or covering the unfinished gap between walls and doors or window frames.

Baseboard trims walls where they join flooring, chair railing delineates the lower third of a wall, cornice molding decorates the transition between wall and ceiling, and dentil molding consists of ornate evenly spaced blocks in a repeating pattern usually on the ceiling.

These additions are simple yet gorgeous, especially to thematically merge hall and stair areas.

19. Reclaimed Wood Steps

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Few homes realize the potential of the staircase's treads, a missed opportunity for simple but effective beautification. Reclaimed steps are made from repurposed old wood, bringing with them a sturdy character that's difficult to replicate.

Reclaimed wood steps look handsomely aged, the color of the wood brought out over time. Teak stairs in particular gain a luster from their natural oils. For a truly lasting impression, make sure you get the wood glazed.

20. Handrail

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Finally, one of the best hall and stairway decorating ideas is handrails! Your options with handrails are decidedly staggering, demanding careful thought about what you want to do with your home. For a staircase railing that is stark but subdued, use steel balusters with a mahogany cap.

Get heads turning with thick, precisely-carved Victorian wood balusters. Handrails are also a friendly touch in any modestly long hallway. To avoid visual clutter, install a rail that's the same color as the wall.

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