STAIRWAY TO BORINGTOWN

You know how when you fix one thing in a room, the rest of the area has a way of shouting out all its faults? Well, that's certainly what's going on in my entryway. Now that the new console table has transformed part of the area into sheer beauty:


There are other parts that are looking extremely shabby/boring/both. Not all of it - the view as you come down the stairs is nice enough, featuring an antique table and mirror:



Ignore the random basket of sunglasses and cases on the lower shelf. I'm not sure why that even exists since I have exactly one pair of sunglasses and I keep them in a case in my bag, but whatever. I have bigger problems to deal with. The floor would be one of them:


It might not look awful, but it is. It desperately needs to be sanded and polyurathaned and has since before we moved in. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE - my family, my friends, my contractor, my therapist, told us to do the floors before we moved in. We chose to ignore this advice (mostly because we had basically run out of money and could barely afford to clean the floor, let alone redo it). But that doesn't change the fact that the floor is sad. And shouldn't be - there are once-beautiful inlays lining every room:



But they are faded and pathetic-looking. Of course, we still can't afford to redo the floors, so that option is out. I think what I need, at the very least, is a lovely rug to cover the expanse of sad floor shown in the first floor photo above. We had such a rug, once, but our million-year-old cat barfed on it so many times that it became more of an eyesore than I was willing to put up with. On a totally unrelated matter, does anyone want an elderly cat? Goes free to good home.

The floor isn't the only problem either. The staircase is looking a little, well, institutional:



That big blank wall is depressing. And I take enough medication that I shouldn't be depressed by a mere wall, no matter how blank. Although the bare steps don't help much. Here's the view up the staircase:


I mean, it could be worse. I could have some hideous artwork that a dear friend gave me so I have to hang it up, and that's the only place it fits. Actually, now that I think about it, there is such an item, but let's move on. Quickly.

You guys, I need help! I can't find a rug for the fucking floor, I think I should get a runner for the stairs (yes? no?), and I have no idea what to do with that stupid wall!

I do not want to do one of those gallery walls that a lot of people do on a staircase; I just don't. I'd like to hang one, maybe two or three at most, largish, framed... things. But what?? Nothing colorful - at this rate my living room is going to look like a Turkish bazaar, and my dining room has intense blue walls. I like that there is minimal color in this one area of the house. I also like the idea of having a fairly neutral room to walk into from the front door before the rest of the house assaults you with an onslaught of color.

And as for the rug and/or runner, it would need to go with the pink and green of the lamp/foo dogs/Chinese painting. But again, I don't want anything really colorful anyway, but what am I supposed to do? Find some black and white rug? Does that even exist? Maybe it does. Maybe that's a genius idea! Or maybe it's just late and I've had a long day and kind of lost perspective... And how do you get a runner to turn the corners on a landing anyway? I have been wondering that since we moved in.

So you can see that I need help. What should I do, you guys? Suggestions in the comments, please. Make yourselves useful for once, for Christ's sake!

XOXOXO
ABC

FLOWER POWER

GRACIOUS ENTRYWAY, PT. WHATEVER