Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to be arranging some family photographs in an open stairwell of a client’s home. That’s got me thinking about different ways to hang art on a staircase wall.
The wall going up one side of the stairs is visible from the entry and the living room of the home, and it is currently bare -bare-bare. I asked my client to gather up her favorite black and white photographs of her family. She has an assortment of frames, and we decided to pull out all the brushed nickel ones and then spray paint all the remaining hodge-podge ones black. Having two colors (nickel and black) of various size/shape frames will give her a good balance of unity and variety.
Here’s an art grouping on a stairwell I did recently. It’s a simple but effective display, I think.
I know stairwell walls scare a lot of people – they usually leave them bare because they just don’t know what to do with them. It’s all about gathering photos or art that tell a story – a story about your family or about the things you love or collect.
The arrangement works best if it the pieces are grouped close together – so they read as a visual whole. Following the rise of the stairs is essential so that the pieces make sense in that space.
I love this unexpected display of art – hung directly on the stair rails!
If you want walking up your stairs to be a happy experience, schedule a Design Intervention with The Decorologist.
Love your tag line at the end! Great post Kristie, I have a stairwell that needs to be done as well, but I still need art for everywhere else before I get to my stairwell!!
x
Maria
hmmm, wonder where i got THAT idea? 🙂
The layout of the stairwell with the yellow walls could be the one in your house–just change the paint colors and swap out the art! Keep the chandy. 🙂
i thought the same thing about the stairwell! if i just had 150 paint-by-numbers . . .
I love these photos of wall groupings. Have fun on your project!
Warmly, Michelle
Thanks for these tips; I need to rehang pictures in my stairwell after having painters in. These look great!
Great ideas! But my stairway is closed in and dark. Shoukd I still do a gallery wall. You could only see them if you were infront of them on a step!
Love your ideas! Can you place a collection of family pictures in the stairwell when you already have a couple of large paintings? Should the photographs be in a separate place or integrated with the paintings?
Kristie , great post! I also have a blank stairway wall, just haven’t been able to decide on the story I want to tell there. Thank you for the intro to these books, I love the fact they have pictures you can use.
I love the look of the first picture: different size frames grouped together making a sort of work of art of its own. Nice tips!
That is really good. Home decoration and Home improvement appliances are really good to use also.