Break Up the Wall

• If your staircase has a wall without a hand railing, take a few minutes to install one. Not only will the railing break up the wall surface, it will provide a cleanable surface for hands. After the railing is installed, paint the wall with a satin or semi-gloss paint. After the paint dries, tape off wide stripes. Paint stripes above the railing using a paint color one or two tones darker or lighter than your base paint. This will break up the wall visually. Hang art to break up the visual space even more. The washable paint will help keep the wall clean while the new paint and style adds a decorated look to the walls.
  
  

Wow Factor

• If your stairway wall has a prominent position in your house, consider using it as a focal wall. A focal wall allows you to move your downstairs color story upstairs, creating a way to unify the two floors. Select the color you want to use to bridge the two floors. Instead of painting the wall a solid block of color, select five or six tones of the same color. Tape off the wall in squares, and randomly paint your color variations on the squares. This will make the wall interesting without you having to position art where children can pull it down.
  
  

Stencils

• Paint a dark color on the lower 36 inches of the wall and a lighter tone of the same color above. Allow the paint to dry. Tape off 4 inches on either side of where the two paints meet, and paint a darker version of the same color. This will create the visual effect of a chair railing. Select a wall stencil and pounce the design onto the lower portion of the wall. Space the stencil evenly as it moves up the stairs. You can use a small fleur-de-lis type design or a large graphic, depending on your home's decor.
  
  

Wall Patterns

• Paint treatments that give the appearance of wallpaper are showing up in designer homes. Large wall patterns are available to create designs such as Moroccan inspired or Art Deco. These patterns adhere to the wall and allow you to roll paint over the design so that you can paint large sections at a time. Often such patterns use high-contrast paint colors for a strong impact. This type of paint treatment will hide hand prints, dog hair and other household sins and continue to look dynamic.