9 stairways to heaven

First impressions last, so why not give your stairs a show-stopping edge. It's usually the first thing we see as we walk in the door and so often neglected. From bold colours to minimalist styles, there's something to suit every home and budget to breath a little life into your staircase.

1. Colourful character

Make the journey up to your little one's room a fun one with painted stairs. Choose a range of brightly coloured paints and allocate a colour to each step for a real impact and childlike magic. Compliment this colourful creation with a print of their favourite cartoon character to really bring it to life.

2. Floating elegance

For the ultimate minimalist, the floating stair is a great way to keep things simple and unobtrusive to the room. Paint the same colour as the walls and decorate around them with glamorous details and you'll barely know they're there.

3. Simple fun

If you're a fan of simplicity but you'd like to add something a little fun, simple numbers on each step are a great way to bring life to a classic look. Not only that, it'll help the kids learn to count quicker.

4. Style with a theme

Decorating the banisters of your stairway is a great way to add energy to a lifeless scheme without having to invest too much time or money. We love these banisters painted in a myriad of greens complimented by the woodland themed mural in the landing space.

5. Villa style

Ladder style stairs are great for space lacking light. Take inspiration from this Californian villa teaming a white stair case with lashings of foliage for a botanical villa feel.

6. Animal behaviour

Don't be scared to play with modern prints in a traditional setting. The hallway of this gorgeous Victorian home delights with originally restored floor tiles, neutral decor and rustically sanded down stairs, all pulled together with a contemporary leopard print stair runner for an absolute wow-factor.

7. Disco fever

Forget a fussy chandelier, keep lighting simple and team with a disco ball. Be it day or night, it will reflect light around your stairway and add an element of glamour. Keep the scheme neutral with simple greys and whites to avoid it looking tacky.

8. Au naturel

Taxidermy and lashings of foliage are a great way to bring a little of the outdoors in and create interest in your stairway. Use wall hooks to hang decorative objects - we love the way the Indian headdress gives this Edwardian stairway a glimmer of the wild west.

9. Reverse psychology

If you like to keep floors bare but you're a fan of the stair runner, this is great way to achieve the look. You can either paint your stair runner down the middle or reverse it and paint down the sides like this one to make a feature of beautiful bare wood.

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