Stairs, like hallways, are pass-throughs, a means of getting from one space to another — more specifically, from one level to another. Not that they can’t be handsome — even drop-dead gorgeous — architecturally. Think about those magazine beauty shots that show elegant circular stairs shot from the top looking down or from the ground looking up, often to fanciful skylights or chandeliers, writes Elaine Markoutsas in HomeStyle.
But most stairs are, well, pretty generic: wood in natural stains or painted, dressed perhaps by fancier rails, newel posts or spindles.
For those who dare, however, stairs are superb candidates for decorating. The kind of decorating that engages and makes all the design difference in a space.
See Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for suggestions for stepping up a drab stairwell’s style.