Hi both, thank you for replying. Minnie - I love that pale grey, don't suppose you know what it is?? I have some grey undercoat which is dark so I could always try that on a test patch to get an idea although I think paler would work best in this hall. It's south facing so gets sun in the morning but is fairly dark in the avo. Yes I plan on hanging some pictures to balance out the large expanse of wall up the stairs as it looks too bare now. Re the dado - I was only going to run it up the stairs really and not around the rest of the hall, although this might be a no no. It was mainly to break it up and give people something to hold/touch when walking down the stairs

I'm loving all the advice, suggestions and photos. Thanks everyone! Finding it really helpful. The ceiling must remain white because I don't want to have to paint it again. Hellish job! I really like the idea of painting the rail and skirting boards the same as the wall. Would I use eggshell for the skirtings or a matt varnish over emulsion? Suppose either would do the job? Like the idea of using a lighter shade of the wall colour above the rail. I think the white scheme looks super smart, but I might try the colour and see how it looks. Using colour in that space really appeals to me. The wallpaper idea has worked well in our bedroom, it makes the room feel cosy and personal. But, it might be too much for our lounge, which is a much bigger room with a lot going on already. The lounge window faces east so very light at one end, and very dark at the other. It's a cool room during the day, but cosy in the evening with fire lit. If using the wallpaper idea, give some careful thought to your choice of pattern. The size and repeat. It's got to work in a very short area. Would love to see pics if anyone does it though!

Just so you know, these parts are made on a tool called s spindle;e (small scale manufacturing). if you really really want to get the shape "just so" the supplier will be able to have a profile made for you, a new profile blade for a spindle machine will cost between £200 and £300. They may also have a minimum order OR they might ask you to pay a modest amount towards "set up time" (changing the blade over, etc.) I use Ternex in Welwyn for this sort of thing, their existing profiles can be seen here...https://www.flickr.com/photos/exploitspace/albums/72157669236158295 

If it was curtains it would need to go above the rail, but that would look silly I think. It needs to be a blind, roman blind perhaps. I don't like sill length curtains either.