Q&A

I am not sure I have the accurate picture in my mind of your staircase. You say it is dark. And it is not a solid wall. You could replace part or all of the wall with opaque / coloured or not / glass and light from behind. Very dramatic, warm and light. Or we have a meeting this week with one of our manufacturers to discuss quilted fabric walls. Normally, we would be thinking about this for a bedroom, but the right image on the right fabric could work for a staircase. Perhaps leather to reflect light. Lighting is key to whatever you decide, so you could choose a neutral, think Zoffany paints, and add a magnificent waterfall of light. The light might be expensive but worth the dramatic effect. Can you send a picture of the space? That would help enormously.

Hi, Grant here again, could you post some pic's of the stairwell from all directions if possible, then I will take a look and see what I can come up with for you, also try to give us a clue as to what you like or don't like in deco.

Me again! When I say it's not a solid wall I mean that it is not a load bearing wall so I suppose it is plasterboard. The wall has to be a permanent fixture as it is part of the adjoining room (the shower is fitted to the other side of the wall). I plan to post a photo next week to help with my explanation. Thanks for the suggestons so far though.

hi maggs graham and brown have some great feature wallpapers i've noticed. i've spotted a great person on the site called Deborah Browness who has some cool stuff as well http://mydeco.com/product/deborah-bowness-hand-printed-wallpaper/2fc50bd554e85ee39582fefad6181a60be95e02a/

the other thing you could do is hang a really big canvas painting with a wall light. Annabel

Hi,

I have a few options for you, depending on the space you have in front of the wall and your budget, they are-
Create (or get someone else to if DIY ain't your bag) a set of lit shelves with a perspex covering (doors or drawer fronts), you can decide the depth of the shelves to suit the space you have and if you had the room you could incorporate a hanging rail. This would provide storage, soften the area and if positioned well the lights would bighten the area wthout being block by things you can store in/on the cupboard/ shelves. (You can use fairy lights from the mains and just rest them over the shelves, have lights fitted for a stronger light or use 'slap on' lights, jml do them as do most diy stores- again what you you chose to do depends on your budget)

A second, less expensive option would be to paint the wall a shade of white (to compliment your decor) in a semi gloss and randomly hang (plain or clip frames) photos that have been printed in bright colours on it.

I'm trying to upload a photo of my stairwell at last, but the site is not responding at the moment. When it does work the photo should be in my portfolio I hope. Thanks for all the responses so far. (I've tried to respond to 'jasmineonly' but tab not responding! sorry. V.useful tip - will respond when I can.)Maggs

AT LAST I've managed to upload a photo of my stairwell!! It's in my portfolio photos. Any advice will be welcome please.
Maggs xx

hi maggs :)
i've just had a look at your room photo's and they all look lovely, have you solved the stairwell issue yet? i could only see the bottom of a winding-staicase, and it looks good; that's not it, is it?
let me know if you still need help.
xx

Hi. No I haven't sorted the stairwell yet!! That task has been pushed back to no:99 on my priority list unfortunately - you know what it's like.
I took the photo off my profile as people were rating it and I only intended it to be on there as reference to my question. The spiral staircase is actually in my sisters beautiful barn conversion in the Cotswolds. (which will be up for sale soon, so watch this space.)
btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope your family are spoiling you today. Jan