Floating staircase looks stunning, minimal and gives the feel of continuous space. I particularly like the under tread lighting.

Completely agree that there are no hard and fast rules. We've done many projects that use oak for both the flooring and the stairs. A good way of breaking it up may be to go for tiles what was your reasoning for not considering them before? It can often be a throwaway comment by friends who similarly cannot envision what the finished look can be. If they aren't a professional with your overall 'look' and 'feel' constantly in mind I would often take their opinion with a pinch of salt.

Hi again, I have tge decorator comings in october going strip my lounge and replaster then repainting my house fully. Treat to myself for my birthday. I have a small 3 bed semi and want to give it a more cohesive look I like Farrow and Ball Tunsgate green for main walls and Churlish green to pickout Feature walls. Want to create a calmer look with flow but not boring I love colour and not afraid to be bold but need a overal look rather than individual room themes. Only coloured carpet I have is rather lovely moss green stair runner that I have based my colour choice on other floors are lounge parquet gorgeous. Not so gorgeous terracotta tiled kitchen but had to stay for now and neutral oatmeal wool bedroom carpets. Love this black wallpaper with grey gold silver birch trees for behind my bed will it work???? New robes black gloss. Sons room red robes what do I do here without changing too much and little spare room no idea what to do. How do you use the two colours? Do you pick a feature wall in all of them don't want it look like a had a job lot of two paints but dont want it random. Open to other colour suggestions but grey lovers I find it a bit dull in my home south facing dark lounge and can live with greenish grey tones more just saying love greys on the pics of your homes but not here something wrong with my daylight lol mine looks drab and muddy in true grey. Looking forward to your ideas try a give a glimpse of my rooms very hard with phone pics here goes. Thanks in advance love this site great ideas and help from you guys.

I have a hall way very similar to yours, when we moved in it was painted white. I presume the previous owner wanted to improve light levels. It had the reverse effect! It made the space seem gloomier which may be related to the front of the house being north facing, what direction does your house face as this may influence paint choices. I love colour but go neutral in a space like a hall way as it links all the rooms in the house and in Victorian houses is very difficult to decorate, ceiling heights etc. We used Farrow and Balls London stone as it remained a true neutral,,many other beige/greige had pink/ purple tones which showed in artificial light. I agree with the other comments about stripping the doors particularly if you do decide on white, it will provide contrast and warmth. You could paint a darker colour beneath the dado rail. I would suggest careful placement of mirrors to maximise/ steal light from other rooms. Also pictures with glass bring light to the area too. You could mount pictures on the stair case in line with the treads. I agree with the earlier comment about mounts and frames. I would go for a runner to show off your lovely stair case. Does the door to your kitchen/diner have a glass panel (s) in it, if not I would suggest adding one or two depending on the type of original door you have that will pull light in from that room. Good lighting will help too, it all depends on your personal preference, you could have pendants downstairs and spotlights upstairs. Good luck with it and hope you enjoy the process