Transform your tall, uninteresting staircase with these inspiring stairwell decorating ideas. Learn how a staircase makeover with new moldings and a gallery wall can completely revitalize the space, adding charm and personality to your home.
In my house, the staircase up to the bonus room is a tall, enclosed, narrow space with lots of blank wall space.
It was built with no architectural details, windows or moldings to break up the monotony.
So it felt a bit like a cave. Which can be quite challenging to decorate.
Since my office is in the bonus room, I have to walk up and down these stairs multiple times a day.
And decided I needed to make the journey a little more enjoyable.
So here are the stairwell decorating ideas I used to makeover my staircase.
1 | Install moldings
The first step was to install moldings to add some architectural interest and break up the large wall space.
At each of the corners, I built half columns.
These were made using standard moldings that you can buy at a big box store.
The straight pieces at the bottom of each column are straight 2 x 8’s.
The tall part of the column is made from fluted door casing.
Where they meet, I installed chair rail molding upside down to hide the join.
About half way up the wall (at the top of the door casing), I added another piece of 2 x 8.
And installed chair rail all the way around the stairwell at this height.
It breaks up the expanse of wall so it doesn’t look so tall.
The top of the columns is the reverse of the bottom with the 2 x 8 on top of the fluted door casing column.
And chair rail (right side up) around the top.
This molding runs all the way around the top of the wall, about 8 inches down from the ceiling.
If your ceiling has square corners, you could have the columns go all the way up and install crown moldings around the top. But in my case, that wasn’t an option because of the angled bonus room ceiling.
Tips
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To be able to work in a tall stairwell like this, it helps to have a multi-position ladder (I bought this one*). Then you can adjust the length of the legs to fit on the stairs.
2 | Paint the walls
I painted the moldings and all of the wall in between with Benjamin Moore Ivory White in a semi-gloss finish.
Since I always seem to be carrying supplies up and down the stairs, I needed to make sure the paint could hold up to some bumps and scrapes. Semi-gloss does the trick.
You could paint the moldings a different color than the walls if you want to call more attention to them.
But I’m planning on putting up a gallery wall in the stairwell, so I didn’t think it was necessary.
3 | Put down a runner
Originally I was going to put down hardwood floors on the stairs. Until I saw how much they cost.
So instead I painted the existing stairs with Benjamin Moore Onyx, in a semi-gloss finish that stands up to the wear and tear of foot traffic.
It took a lot of sanding to get the stairs smooth enough to paint. But then it went on fairly smoothly (other than trying to keep the dog and cats from walking on it when it was wet).
Installing the runner was the trickiest part of this entire project (especially since it was my first time doing carpet).
I followed these instructions from This Old House and it turned out pretty well.
Tips
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If your staircase has a turn in it, avoid using a runner with length-wise stripes (like mine does). They won’t match properly going around the corner. So you’ll end up having to cut and splice pieces of it together to make it look like they do.
4 | Add a mirror window
Since this stairwell doesn’t get any natural light, I decided to create the illusion of a window by putting up a mirror.
This mirror is actually an old window.
I painted the frame and replaced the glass with a piece of mirror cut to the right size.
Related: How to decorate with mirrors
5 | Hang a chandelier
To add even more light, put up a chandelier.
Because it hangs down, it distributes more light to the bottom of the stairs than a close-to-the-ceiling fixture would.
And it helps to bring the ceiling down so the space doesn’t appear to be so tall.
Putting the mirror behind it causes even more light to be reflected into the space.
Related: How to hang a chandelier
6 | create a gallery wall
To fill the wall space, I hung up large photos and artwork, mostly in black and white.
With the odd one in color to keep it interesting.
And a few wall sculptures and clocks, which add extra depth and dimension to the display.
Related: Gallery wall ideas
I bought my pictures, but if you want to do some DIY projects you could make your own by framing a mural or pieces of wallpaper.
Then you can easily match the colors and sizes you need.
Related: How to make large DIY artwork
7 | Stencil silhouette art
I did do some DIY artwork above the top molding.
Here, I used stencils to create silhouette art that is painted on the wall. Made to look like it is sitting on a picture rail.
They go with the black and white artwork theme. And I don’t have to worry about dusting them 🙂
Related: How to make silhouette art
All of this has definitely made my morning commute up the stairs a lot more enjoyable.
Have comments or questions about our stairwell decorating ideas? Tell us in the section below.
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