What to do with the space above the stairs

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What should I do with the large wall space above my staircase? It is really too big for a lot of small frames and I don’t want a big painting. I was thinking about objects rather than frames, or blocks of different coloured paint — any ideas?

Large empty wall spaces above staircases can certainly feel awkward and overwhelming. Most rooms feature pieces of furniture in uncomplicated shapes and sizes to work around — a sofa to group pictures above, for example.

But stairs create unequal spaces above them, and these can be difficult to know what to do with. Plus, as you say, they are often very big spaces, and as much as one might like to fill it with an enormous Canaletto, say, what realistic options are there?

A grouping of objects would work very nicely. Consider a selection of brackets with lovely things on top — vases, porcelain or plates.

For inspiration, look to the connoisseur and patron of the arts Jayne Wrightsman’s home in Palm Beach, circa 1956, and in particular the famous Horst P Horst photographs of Wrightsman in front of a flock of
18th-century Meissen birds happily parked on carved brackets. The arrangement of these brackets makes the whole thing particularly lovely.

Look to Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler for a good selection of brackets. The company makes very charming and simple painted wooden versions with a trefoil-shaped top and scroll supports. Or buy old ones.

You could forgo brackets and hang plates directly on your wall for a more relaxed, informal look. See Amanda Brooks’s Cotswolds farmhouse, in which she has hung blue-and-white plates in a seemingly random (and charming) arrangement in the corner of her drawing room where the stairs are.

Put them up in whatever order pleases you, but a stair hallway does lend itself to an asymmetrical hang. And what plates to choose? Pick a theme like Amanda’s blue and white, or hang your favourite junk-shop finds.

When I worked for the architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath,
he would occasionally install a selection of plaster casts in a grand stair hall. The result always looked fantastically impressive. One can have fun with the arrangement, choosing pieces of different sizes and scales and slotting them together like an enormous and highly decorative jigsaw.

The stair hall at Aynhoe Park in Oxfordshire featured walls lined with plaster casts too, before the sale of the 17th-century house’s contents earlier this year.

How about decorating with textiles? Think like the English decorator Robert Kime and hang carpets above your stairs. Or consider a tapestry. I recently succumbed to a particularly lovely tapestry after many months of saving and hunting for the perfect specimen.

It’s a Flemish verdure number from about 1700, featuring elaborate fountains and a parterre garden, which I sourced from Pimlico’s Peta Smyth. It has just the right balance of deep blues and forest greens.

This is destined for our sitting room, but I do also love the idea of hanging it in a landing. Others in Peta’s collection that I like include a Flemish tapestry of a wooded scene (£2,800) and a larger, bucolic landscape featuring a handful of Dutch musketeers (£7,500).

At Derbyshire’s Hardwick Hall, tapestries hang above stairs — and have even been cut to fit the shape of the steps. I am not suggesting you take a pair of scissors to something old and beautiful (unless you have tapestries to spare, of course, a lucky predicament), but I admire the playful spirit.

An antique quilt on a wall could look fantastic too. I recently saw a very beautiful 19th-century quilt featuring a bold red-and-black tumbling cubes design, belonging to Carolyn Gibbs, a designer, teacher and all-round quilt expert based near Sheffield.

Although sadly not for sale, this design is so striking in its simplicity, it looks as if it could have been made in the 1950s, or yesterday. It is not difficult to hang tapestries or wall hangings — simply add Velcro to the back of your textile and hang using a wooden batten.

Last, I’m not sure that any space can be too large for a load of brilliant small pictures. I realise that not everyone loves a gallery hang, but I do think that stair halls and landings lend themselves particularly well to an eclectic arrangement. As mentioned, they can be tricky spaces, so where better to hang what could be a slightly awkward grouping of pictures in another part of your home?

The key to a good gallery hang, or salon hang, is to remember that balance is vital. Ideally, you want a mix of pictures: figurative, abstract, engravings, photographs. Choose good frames in a range of materials and styles, or tie the selection together by using similar frames.

Whatever you decide, have fun and choose well. You want to make the staircase and landing places to linger, which is why in my cottage I hang interesting odds and ends next to the staircase. Hang plates, hang fabrics, hang framed postcards and menus — and whatever else takes your fancy.

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