Jessie Vargas
These wonderful landing ideas will help you see this typically abandoned space in a different light. Landings are a woefully underused space in most homes, often treated as an area to quickly pass by, not one to spend time in. But every square inch counts in a functional modern home, making a humble landing a valuable space deserving of as much thoughtful decorating as your hallway ideas. Whether your landing is small and restricted on what you can do with the decor, or large in size and feeling like a wasted opportunity to utilise the space, there's an idea to suit every need. From thoughtful feature walls – that make more of a design statement – to using the empty landing for alternative storage, it's time to capitalise on this unloved space in our homes. The landing is most likely the last place you consider when it comes to styling your home, but the right idea goes a long way to unifying your decor and making more of the space you have.
With a beautiful range of staircase ideas on offer, it's a shame for statement stairs to lead onto an underwhelming landing. Stripped wooden floorboards are a nice complement to dark stair decorating ideas that look great teamed with white painted walls and are an inexpensive option. Its soft texture will help absorb sound from heavy footsteps, while the rug's graphic design will create a stylish focal point. Be inspired by open stair ideas and take it further with a glass balustrade, so all that extra natural light can flood through the floors.
If your home is blessed with beautiful architectural features, such as original bannisters, skirting boards and door architraves, contrast them against the walls, so that they stand out. If that's the case for you, turn this into a fabulous feature wall idea with a gorgeous graduated ombre effect.
‘Patterns are perfect for high-traffic areas like hallways and staircases, where dust and dirt are repeatedly trodden into the carpet,’ says Lisa Conway, manager at Brintons. 'The flooring is the item which is likely to have the longest life span in an interior so it’s important to get this right and to invest in quality,' adds Jodie Hatton, residential design manager at Brintons (opens in new tab).
'Wool carpet provides comfort underfoot whilst insulating your home and helping to reduce energy costs.
Wool has the ability to bounce back so your carpet will be much longer lasting, as well as being inherently hypo-allergenic and stain resistant.
So encouraging a climbing plant from the ground floor up through the bannister rail is a fun houseplant idea to add greenery to your landing. 'Great climbing plants for beginners are the Epipremnum varieties like Devil’s Ivy also known as Golden pothos,' says Jemma Charman, co-founder, Green Rooms Market (opens in new tab).
And if you choose a cheerful colour like yellow for your wallpaper or paint, you'll be lifted by its sunshine hues even on the greyest of days. If you have tons of gorgeous family photos on your phone, get them printed and framed and hang them in your hallway or landing.
This is a brilliant way to increase the amount of natural light on your landing, reflecting it from surrounding windows. Having the ability to step out of a main living room into a desk area that is detached from where you socialise helps to adjust your mindset to work mode. The vast glass windows adds light and a lovely view as you head back downstairs. Hanging a decorative mirror helps bounce light around the space to make it feel airy and more open.
Using multiple mirrors creates an alternative gallery wall, to add a stylish touch to the decor. Similarly a large mirror in the same place, on the wall at the top of the stairs, helps to fill the space with extra light and interest.
Make more of a statement of this 'passing-through' area of the home by creating a feature wall with a decorative wallpaper idea. A landing space is the ideal spot to place slimline bookcases, to avoid overcrowding the living room furniture layout. Choose slimline bookcases to line the corridor between rooms – we guarantee the whole household will love this homemade library. A statement chair layered with decorative throws sat beside a small side table dressed with family photos and potted plants does the job.
A wall-hung mirror not only adds another decorative element – it also helps to reflect light back into the small space to make it feel bigger. Use the landing space off a child's bedroom to better effect as shown in the toy storage idea above. Opt for moveable storage solutions, from baskets to wooden crates on wheels, to transport the toys into the child's room when needed. Perfect for a cottage-style house, these owners went for full living room comfort with this landing idea.
By adding some curtains, a bright rug and two tempting armchairs this otherwise ignored space is transformed into the ideal spot for a social gathering. When you are looking to make more of the space but want to avoid overwhelming it with big furniture pieces go for a console table.
The intention of the design is that it fits in narrow spaces such as landings and hallways, with its half table dimensions. A slim console can be just enough to provide a surface on which to place a lamp for ambient lighting and photo frames to give the space a homely feel.
Choose a design with hidden drawers for secret extra storage to use as an overspill for surrounding rooms.
With the help of a few potted plants, this space has been transformed into a lush corner filled with nature. Dress the landing and staircase with statement pieces to make it feel glam and not an afterthought. This grand glass chandelier exudes a glam vibe that is then echoed in the sophisticated grey colour palette, to ensure the landing feels well decorated to lead into the rooms beyond.
Natural light really is the best thing to decorate any living space, point architectural expert Charlie Luxton stresses in his advice for renovating a staircase . These owners wanted to draw attention to their landing without breaking the lovely neutral tones of the rest of the house. Keeping the decor stripped back and simple allows the extra sunlight to be the shining star of the space. If your stair return leaves a gap at the end, as this example above demonstrates, look to utilise the space for a sizeable chest of drawers to cater for multipurpose storage.
To prevent the furniture piece from feeling too out of place style it with homely touches, such as a table lamp and mirror. A classic glass-fronted sideboard is perfect to achieve the look, ideal for storing everything from books to beachcomber finds.
A slimline cabinet will sit flush against the wall, providing valuable storage without taking up too much space. Make more of an unused space between rooms by carving out an alternative reading corner idea. Simple shelving provides a valuable place to create a library of books for the whole house to enjoy. Pop an understated seating solution beneath to complete this ingenious landing idea, for some quiet time away from the other rooms.
But moving a bulky freestanding piece of furniture into the unused space is just as good as it frees up floorspace. A chest of drawers on the landing is the perfect storage space for bathroom or bedroom essentials, such as towels and extra bedding.
'If the space is narrower, you might still be able to fit in some display shelving, or maybe some floor-standing pot plants,' says Ideal Home's Amy Cutmore. It is suitable for all types of roof including slate, clay and concrete, and allows light directly into the house. Suntiles can provide up to 1,000 watts of light and work effectively in period and listed homes as well as modern properties. Alternatively, Monodraught makes the Sunpipe (opens in new tab), a tube with an internal mirror finish that reflects natural daylight and pipes it to a room where light is diffused by a ceiling fixture. To give your landing a greater sense of purpose you can create a feature wall at the top of the stairs so it stands out. A full-length mirror is always a winning idea for the wall at the top of the stairs – not only helping to flood the often dark space with light, but providing the perfect spot to check an outfit choice as you prepare to leave the house.
