STAIRWAY LANDINGS

Stairway Landings

The hardest places to accessorize!

Not so many houses have "landings" per-se these days as they're not in fashion anymore. Typical of everything now; hurry up and get to your destination and don't pay attention to the journey. 

I love landings; that romantic midway point to another floor, a transition from public to private space. The mezzanine. Some are small and can barely hold a candle stand and others feel like an entire room. They can be larger and used as a special reading nook, or a place for a daybed in the sun, a card table where everyone can enjoy games. A place where you can be removed but not be out of touch.

If designing a house, I'd love one that's large (pure fantasy). It would have a huge-ass bay window overlooking the garden with southern exposure for great light and a daybed where I can take a snooze. It would have and a couple of chairs that you can take a friend on a wonderful rainy afternoon for coffee or a cocktail.


If your building, consider adding one into your plans; if you have one already here's how to expand upon it's visual capital.

SOME ARE WAYYYY GRAND...

(Berkley Square townhome, London)


(Villa in Spain. Sotheby's)


(S. Frances)

(Chateau Groussay, France)

AND
SOME ARE LARGER THAN OTHERS

Isn't this beach house landing awesome? 
An afternoon nap is what I think they had in mind here...or a long trashy summer novel.

(Designer: Alexis Hampton)
This Regency style landing is lovely but a tad too formulaic... Have some fun, dammit!

This 18th c. Georgian home has a lovely landing, it's small but it's a visual "moment" when ascending the stairs.

(Meredith Baer)
I love the simplicity of this upper landing with simple seating and bare walls and no carpet.

(Designer: Eric Cohler)
This mezzanine is so beautifully designed; it's a perfect place for tea or watching Oprah.

This has always been one of my favorite landings; it's happy, bright and majorly cozy! The fireplace makes an awesome addition.

This beach house landing is accessorized with "found objects" which are perfect for a casual home. The painted floors and sea-glass palette make it fun.


(Designer: Tom Samet)
This beautiful landing has a very warm and well edited feeling. The bare windows allow lots of light to fill the upper and lower floors too.

This yachtsmans home has a collection of wonderful seascapes and scale models displayed on the landing. They've pulled the blue from the paintings for the upholstered ottoman. Also, notice the lighthouse newel post!  Leeward ho, baby.

Love, love, love this contemporary landing. A nice place to have an upstairs workstation. Notice the glass railing and clean lined console.


This Victorian era home is simply decorated using a painted floor which ads a lot of style to an otherwise hard to decorate space.


(Designer: Tom Felicia)
This narrow landing has a narrow console and a huge-ass mirror which opens the space up and reflects the light into the area.


This architecturally traditional landing has been decorated with contemporary elements. I love the three window seats each with a pillow.


THEN, FOR YOU POOR BASTARDS WITH HOMES SMALLER THAN 5,000 Sq. Ft.

 
This simple stairway has broken up the boredom of this small landing with a $200. garden seat.



There is no space on this landing so they have hung multiples of prints all framed and matted the same. It is handsome and looks "finished."


This small corner of an upstairs landing is decorated very simply with an ecclectic grouping. A colorful chest, painted floors and a fun piece of art, how simple is that?


Where there's no room for much furniture the walls are you last resort to make the space attractive. Here, antlers and transferware add a wonderful stylish impact. The ottoman adds softness. A table with a lamp would be too cluttered on this narrow landing.


This beautiful settee is wedged in between a niche and it's perfect. A chest with a bunch of crap on top would be sooo predictable...


(Designer: India Hicks)
This landing in a beach home has a small desk which serves as a temporary home office when the owners are here on weekends.


I want to point out this amazing landing: It's surrounded on three sides by huge, beautiful windows and on the actual landing itself is a built-in bench facing the windows. A wonderful place to sit your fat ass and catch your breath when ascending. Awesome details like this make a home stand out from the rest!

You can do it, I'm here to help!