Art for Stairs and Hallways

Hallways and staircases are the walls you pass rather than sit facing, which makes them ideal for groups of smaller pictures that reward a second look. They have their own geometry, though: tall and narrow in a corridor, and on a slope up the stairs.

Hallways: tall, narrow and seen up close

A hallway wall is often long but seen from only a few feet away, and a corridor is rarely wide enough to step back from a big canvas. That suits:

• Portrait formats, which fit between doors and echo the height of the space.
• Rows of small works, a line of three to five frames along the wall, read as you walk.
• A column of two or three pieces on a narrow wall beside a door.

Keep 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) between frames and hang every piece, or every group, with its center on one line 57 to 60 in (145 to 152 cm) from the floor. A steady center line is what makes a long corridor look ordered. If a console table stands in the hall, treat it like any furniture: the art two thirds of its width, its bottom edge 6 to 10 in above the top.

Stairs: follow the diagonal

On a staircase the floor rises under you, so a single level line no longer works. Measure from the stairs instead: center each picture 57 to 60 in above the nosing (the front edge) of the tread directly below it. Do that for every frame and their centers climb in a line parallel to the stairs, each at eye level for someone standing on that step.

A few habits make a staircase look planned:

• Same frames, similar sizes. A diagonal is already a strong line; matching frames let it read as one composition.
• Steady spacing, measured along the slope or as equal steps across, whichever is easier to keep consistent.
• One anchor on the landing. A larger piece where the stairs turn gives the climb somewhere to arrive.
• Clear of the handrail. Leave at least 6 in between the rail and the bottom of any frame.

The hanging height guide has a stairs setting that draws the diagonal to scale and works out where each hook goes.

Light

Halls and stairwells are often the darkest places in a house. A run of small spotlights or picture lights along a corridor turns it into a gallery; on stairs, a light at the top and bottom of the flight keeps the frames from disappearing into shadow. Pale, luminous paintings carry a dim hall on their own, and dark ones need help.

Subjects that suit a corridor

A hallway is a passage, so pictures about passage suit it: paths, lanes, doorways, gates and open windows. Portraits do well on stairs, where the faces seem to watch you climb, a tradition as old as the great house staircase. Flowers and small still lifes reward a close look in a narrow space. Busy, dramatic scenes are easier to live with in a hallway than above a bed, because you see them in passing.

Where to find them

The hallway and entryway collection is chosen for small and medium works, portrait shapes, paths and doorways. The staircase collection leans toward portraits and works that hold their own on a climb. Paintings along the stairs lists the portrait and square works sized for a stair wall, each shown to scale beside a flight of steps. For laying out a whole wall of frames, see the gallery wall guide.