A staircase adds character to a house or a flat. There are so many ways to maximise this space, but too often I’ve seen it wasted with coats, boots and bare wall. Not much else. Here we show how to brighten up a staircase.
One of the most popular tricks to make the most of internal stairs is to carve out the steps and insert drawers – super clever and an amazing way to add storage space to the home.
But apart from maximising the staircase and hall, my main thing when moving into a new home is to make that feature one of the prettiest spaces. It’s usually the first room we enter so why not give ourselves the best experience.
That ahhh-feeling: how to brighten up the staircase and hall
Like when you shut the front door behind you and you’re met with that ahhh-feeling, the sight of a light, bright and beautiful hall. And there’s a nice chic coat stand and perhaps a shelf above to put your hat, and, possibly space already, space under the bench to place your shoes.
And the colours are soothing and the room is not too busy – the perfect way to relax, surrounded by beauty, after a long day at work.
Climbing those stairs is so much nicer when there’s something pretty and soothing to look at and there’s a sense of light and space. And then when you add the personal touch.
Personal pictures on the walls – paintings, photos, poster or cartoons – are perfect to create a real Scandi hygge space. But also wooden panels as in the top picture create warmth and a light seaside touch.
Using wooden panels creates that seaside vibe
The panels can be full lenght, floor-to-celing or half-way up from the floor, doubling up as hand rails. This is one of my favourite looks – there’s something summery and light about the look.
My favourite colours in the hall or by the staircase are… white, of course, and pastel blue, green, grey – colours of the sea. Peach and pink create that girly look we all start out with when decorating our first flat.
Earthy colours such as sand, cream, beige and mustard are many people’s go-to colour scheme. It is safe, goes with anything and is calming. But it isn’t light. It doesn’t transport you into a brighter place, metaphorically speaking. It wouldn’t be my choice.
Like the top image from a Scandi tennis club is one of my all time favourites, the perfect entrance to the bathrooms upstairs and a joy to look at. White, glazed wooden panels, and photographs that line the wall – and then the sign that says no shoes on the steps.