Image: Claire Zinneker Design

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September is going to bring an exciting new project for me, I am going to be making over a space in my home as a part of a collective project with other bloggers (more details of which to follow soon) and I have chosen to makeover our upstairs hallway – boy it needs it! Our downstairs entrance way and hall has been shown a lot of care and attention (and of course, as it’s the Design Soda house, colour!) but upstairs has remained a blank white space accented by grotty old carpet and a few artworks to distract the eye. All of this hallway planning has got me thinking about the stairs, since they are the central part that joins the two spaces, and more specifically how to make a statement with them.

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Image: SEBBAH HOUSE BY PEPE GASCÓN ARQUITECTURA

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They are often a bit of an afterthought aren’t they? I’m not sure why, I guess because one doesn’t tend to sit and recline, or socialise and relax on the stairs, or indeed spend any time paused on them at all unless you are trying to pull on a particularly cumbersome pair of shoes or boots! But actually their visual impact has punch beyond its practical use as a link between top and bottom or route from A to B. You may not always be on them, but you will pass them many times throughout the day and their design can really alter the feel of a home. Ours are currently carpeted in a very old carpet we inherited, I quickly got paint splatters on it in an attempt to force myself into decision making (and have then sat back for a year wondering how to make the most of them). There are some very clever ways of making the most utilitarian options look striking too, take this example by Fontanot, makers of modern staircases, below, the pop of colour on the spiral hits just the right note of fun within this boxy space and makes a real feature of them. 

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Image: Fontanot

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Image: House & Garden Magazine

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One of our chief dilemmas is that I ideally want the stairs exposed but it’s only recently that I’ve started to feel confident that our little person is at an age where this doesn’t pose such a great danger. I have been looking at spaces that use pattern and drama and have been very seduced. Take this example above, we couldn’t get away with it in our family home, but I just love it’s fearlessness, the colour blocking, those stripes that are mirrored in the curved staircase, it’s just so gorgeous. I absolutely love stairs that people have painted (or papered) themselves, they look so dramatic and pretty. The treads are usually kept bare, presumably to avoid damage caused by heavy footfall but this actually increases the impact and drama, don’t you think? 

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Image: Sketch 42

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However, we have such a narrow space for our stairs and so much colour going on in the house (and statement tiled floors directly beneath) I’m a little shy of being too bold. Also, if I’m honest I’m not sure I have the diy panache to pull it off, although I have wondered about using some carefully selected wall stickers. So although I’m not promising to make a statement on mine (though there will definitely be something stylised within the re-design upstairs) I’m taking note of the fact that you can see our stairs from our front door and first impressions count, so as I’ve been looking at so many lately, I thought I’d share some of my favourite stair-spirations (yes, I just coined it I think!) with you. 

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Image: Gramercy Park Triplex in Architectural Digest

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One of my favourite stair cases is this (above) from a home tour I found on Architectural Digest. It strikes just the right balance between statement and sophistication. The blue of the geometric runner softens the traditional monochrome look and the hint of Scandinavian luxury to it is really seductive. Some are very, very expensive and very high end, some are fabulous diy designs, some are great examples of staircases for small houses and there are those that use the balance between the warmth of wood and the cleanliness of white perfectly where others that are fearlessly bold and fun. So here is my visual moodboard of stairway inspiration. I should probably confess that our stairs are probably going to end up being plain white with a possible carpet runner but if I were building my dream house from scratch I would certainly be tempted to go for something more attention grabbing. 

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My favourites:

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Image: Fort Wallace Project by Hatchworks

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Image: VSCO

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Image: The Proper Stranger on Tumblr

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Image: The Colour Wild

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Image: Better Homes & Gardens Magazine

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Image: Via Brit + Co

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Image: Peter Mikic

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Image: Margo Selby at Alternative Flooring

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Image: Via Voor de Makers

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This is a collaborative post with Fontashop. As ever, all opinions are my own, thanks for supporting the brands that support me.