What are the Best Enclosed Staircase Decorating Ideas?

Ornamental carpet placed on floor near stairway in vintage hallway of elegant house

An enclosed staircase can help to save space and allow windows to let more natural light into the rooms or partitions surrounding them. However, many problems can arise from enclosed staircases when it comes to decoration. Frustratingly, staircases are not quite as simple as decorating a living room!

When you try to decorate an enclosed staircase you will often run into the following problems in terms of interior design:

Darkness: The primary difficulty for an enclosed staircase is that it is a design feature that typically has little or no natural light. This can be a bit of a hazard when it comes to stairs! The dull drab look is very unappealing too.
Space: Although the walls alongside an enclosed staircase give the room on the other side a nice surface, it means that enclosed staircases can be quite narrow – so it can be difficult to move or take furniture up them.
Safety: With a wall surrounding all sides of the stairs you may or may not have a handrail, steps may wind awkwardly and compact steps can cause tripping hazards. Promoting safety is a key result of good staircase design.

You will see enclosed staircases on all shapes of stairs but typically, in the UK, most enclosed staircases are seen on straight stairs, L-shaped stairs and U-shaped stairs. However, you can have enclosed spaces on curved, winder and spiral stairs too.

As leading providers of a range of stair products that improve light, create a bigger space feeling and improve safety we are well-placed to suggest some of the most cost-effective and simple enclosed staircase decorating ideas.

Here are some tips to help solve the problems enclosed staircases present. You can browse our products and buy online with free delivery in the UK on orders over £75 on the homepage.

Please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any product questions.

The 6 Best Enclosed Staircase Decorating Ideas

Apartment interior with white couch and coffee table on carpet with yellow floor. Mockup blank wall copy space with three posters, staircase with arch door, 3D rendering

There are many simple, non-disruptive ways you can improve your home decor and alleviate the problems that enclosed staircases can bring up. We recommend trying some of the following for better brightness, a feeling of more space and higher standards of safety:

Paint the walls: One of the most simple enclosed staircase wall decorating ideas is to paint them. Shades of blue can work well, creating a look similar to the sky, and black and white is also a good option for high contrast and drawing the eye away from the walls of a narrow stairway.
Try wallpaper: Good wallpaper ideas for natural light include bright colours, but you can also get vinyl or acrylic wallpapers that will add an extra level of reflectivity. You can easily incorporate paint on the ceiling and wallpaper on the walls, or vice versa, for surfaces with different textures.
Create a gallery wall: A bare staircase wall can become an undesirable focal point for the eyes – but by adding a series of pictures in a gallery wall you can detract from this issue. Remember to use small pictures, as bigger frames will exacerbate the claustrophobic feeling of narrow staircases.
Try wall lights: White walls will reflect light very well, so you only need small and relatively dim lights to create a big impact. You can have light fittings installed on the ceiling too, to save on wall space. If you are unsure about this idea you can use battery-powered stick-on lights to try it out.
Change your front door: As enclosed staircases are often directly behind a front door, such as those in terraced houses, you can add natural light by incorporating windows in your front door such as by installing a composite front door. Composite front doors are both cost-effective and highly secure.
Use a stair runner: If you add a stair runner, complete with our bright stair rods, you can illuminate the enclosed staircase and also create a greater feeling of space. Thin runners can create the appearance of a larger step – but avoid complex patterns as these seem clustered in narrow spaces.

Whatever tips you end up trying, an enclosed staircase can sometimes still feel narrow or dark. In this case, you may need to consider removing the stair wall and replacing it with a bannister, putting internal glass panels into the wall for more natural light or even putting a new window or light well into the ceiling above.

Low-Cost, Simple Enclosed Staircase Decorating Ideas from Stair Experts

We provide a wide range of aesthetically pleasing products that also enhance the safety of all types of staircases. As a result, we are well-placed to recommend some simple and cost-effective tips for stairs in enclosed areas.

You can try some of the tips we provide with our fantastic products, available to browse on our homepage. Order online with free UK delivery on all orders over £75, and please feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions.

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FAQs and Useful Information

The following are some common questions about decorating enclosed staircases and the services we provide:

What is an enclosed staircase?

An enclosed staircase is any set of stairs that are surrounded by either walls or windows, creating a boxed-in space. While many staircases are partially enclosed by a bannister or hand railings, enclosed staircases have a full wall panel that limits your range of movement and blocks light while using the stairs. Enclosed staircases can be found on staircases of any shape.

What are some ideas for enclosed staircases that use stair rods?

Rods and brackets are good for brightening up an enclosed staircase with a splash of colour, as they can be used with any colour of stair carpet. Stairs rods and brackets can provide a bit of light themselves as brass, chrome, pewter and nickel are naturally reflective – so artificial light or daylight will bounce off of them, alleviating one of the main problems of dark, narrow enclosed staircases. Remember, stair rods do not secure the carpet, they are purely decorative, so they will not help with safety and accessibility on enclosed or any other type of staircase.

Browse our selection of rods and brackets and buy online, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

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