These 5 Painted Staircases Prove the Power of Bright Colors

When I step into a home, I’m usually too distracted by design elements like wallpapered bookshelves and dining tables that double as desks to notice anything else. However, in some split-level and two-story homes, the first thing that greets guests is the staircase. And what if that feature had enough pizazz to steal all the attention? Well, in some homes, that’s precisely the case. 

I became aware of how powerful a staircase can be in my own family’s home. When you step into my home, there’s a staircase that leads downstairs (split into two parts), and on the landing of the first half, there’s a curved wall. My mom put ‘70s-inspired floral wallpaper in the curved part, where it was complemented by the bright red carpet. It’s the first thing that guests mention when visiting our home. 

So, I went to Apartment Therapy’s house tours to see if other folks felt the same way about jazzing up their staircases, and it’s safe to say I’m so impressed with my findings. If you’re considering amping up this commonly-overlooked feature in your home, keep reading. 

The staircase is one of the first things you see when you enter illustrator and fabric designer Faye Hurley’s home, and it immediately brings a smile to my face. The brown and seafoam green stripes draw your eyes upward and perfectly complement the floral wallpaper from Spoonflower. Considering the rest of the home, the painted staircase seems like a no-brainer, as the maximalist house bursts with colors.

See how a range of colors and patterns complement each other in the full home tour.

Art is abundant in artist and photographer Jan Hoek’s home, so much so that their staircase has become one of the most striking pieces in the space. In their eclectic Amsterdam apartment, Jan hired muralist Gijs Frieling to turn the stairwell into what I believe to be a fascinating optical illusion. (The question they get most often is how they climb the stairs when they’re drunk. Spoiler: They never are.) 

Check out the full home tour to see how this staircase fits perfectly with the rest of the space.

Even though Rosalind Miller is a scientist and academic, her colorful home in London feels like the furthest thing from sterile — especially her happily-colored stairwell. A rainbow-hued staircase leads guests up to a rainbow-hued laundry area, and you can’t help but smile while looking at it. “I’m not scared of paints or colors and tried to choose colors and things that make my heart sing,” Rosalind said at the time of the tour. “It really is a joy to wander around; so many aspects of the home make me smile.”

Visit the full home tour to see more of this wonderfully-colored house.