Staircase Wall Decor: Dressing A Large Wall With A Canvas
The stairwell often has the tallest wall in the house, and one of the least looked at: you pass through it every day without stopping. A large canvas changes the experience. It keeps you company on the way up, catches the eye from the entrance and gives this passageway the presence of a real room.
Régine Gardan
An Award-Winning Artist, 1964 - 2018
- 25+years of painting
- 200+hand-painted canvases
- 35+exhibitions
- 14awards & honours
They Live With Her Paintings
I ordered a canvas and the result is magnificent. A unique piece that perfectly enhances my home. I’m delighted and highly recommend it!
In 2022 I acquired a painting by Régine, while giving a hand to move her paintings. I got to admire many of her works that day. There are all kinds of emotions conveyed with power or softness. This style gives a lot of personality to an interior.
Quality paintings for anyone who appreciates abstract art! Théo keeps his mother's legacy alive with passion and has a sense of service that is rare these days. Highly recommended if you're looking to beautify your home.
Sizes To Match The Wall
A tall wall calls for a format that rises. Vertical canvases follow the sweep of the staircase: “Rêve Idyllique”, 80 × 100 cm, swirls turquoises, yellows and pinks up its full height; “Île De Pâques”, 60 × 90 cm, sends its reds and oranges soaring. For the large stretch of wall on a landing, a square such as “Ambition”, 100 × 100 cm, with blacks and creams worked in broad gestures, holds the space on its own. See the vertical paintings, the large formats and the extra-large formats.
At What Height, On A Slope?
No standard sets the height of a painting. The firmest reference comes from the Smithsonian, which places the centre of what visitors read on a wall 137 cm from the floor, in its guidelines for accessible exhibitions. On a staircase, the person looking stands on a step: so measure those 137 cm from the step below the centre of the canvas, and a series of paintings will follow the slope. The calculator in our guide to hanging a painting then gives the exact height of the hook.
A Place Of Passage: The Canvas Out Of Reach
A staircase is a passageway, and the Canadian Conservation Institute asks that a painting never be hung where it can be knocked, by a hand, a knee or a bag. So leave some room between the canvas and the handrail, and above the steps where boxes get carried up. Prefer picture hooks to nails, two fixing points for a large canvas, and a stud or concrete rather than plaster, as the National Park Service museum handbook recommends.
Several Canvases Along The Steps
To compose a series of paintings, treat the group as a single work: align the centres along a line parallel to the slope and keep the same gap between each frame. No museum handbook sets this gap: it is a choice. On the straight wall of a landing, our gallery wall planner works out where each hook goes, and the simulator shows a canvas to scale on a photo of your wall.
Discover The Works
The canvases of Régine Gardan are unique pieces, hand-painted in oil. Browse the works by size, or see our advice for decorating the home room by room.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How High Should You Hang A Painting On A Staircase?
Take the Smithsonian's reference, 137 cm for the centre of what you look at on a wall, and measure it from the step below the centre of the canvas, since that is where the viewer stands. A series of paintings will then follow the slope. The calculator in our hanging guide gives you the height of the hook.
2. How To Decorate A Tall Staircase Wall?
With a format that rises: a vertical canvas or a large format fills the height and finds its scale, such as “Rêve Idyllique”, 80 × 100 cm. On a very large wall, a single large work is enough to fill the space. Keep it out of reach of hands and bags, as the Canadian Conservation Institute asks.
3. How To Decorate A Staircase Wall With Pictures?
Treat them as a single work: centres aligned on a line parallel to the slope, the same gap between each frame. No museum handbook sets this gap, it is a choice. Fix each canvas on two picture hooks, into a stud or concrete, as the National Park Service recommends.
Explore Her Colours
Each colour tells an emotion. Step into Régine Gardan's collections:
On Instagram
Canvases in the studio, colours coming to life, artworks in their collectors' homes.
