Too narrow for a bench. You could add some art work to the wall along the stairs.

A generous rug runner will help ground the space, add interest and make the space look more finished.

Unfortunately it looks to narrow to use a bench. I would add a runner and art or photographs to the walls.

Parneet, if you are a professional interior designer, why are you asking us? I can't imagine a designer asking what type of art work.

I just want to say, please don't put family photographs on that wall. That is not the right place for them, since this is a public space, and it just tends to look tacky.

A runner - nothing more - it's too narrow.

I disagree about not using family photographs there. To each their own but I cannot understand or get on board with the idea of shoving family photos away in a bedroom because they're somehow offensive, tacky, etc. in public areas of a home. Like anything else I think there's a tasteful way to arrange a gallery and the photos themselves and their placement within that gallery are also very important. I'm very particular about the photos I have up/out. I only have a few tabletop pictures sprinkled in the main area of my home that are moved or switched from time to time. I have a gallery wall in my hallway and one in my laundry room. The photos in my home are for me and my family to enjoy. The people that visit are family and friends. My house isn't a public location. It truthfully brings me more joy to see the photos of my family than any other decorative piece in my house. There have been some posters here who have also said people with gallery walls don't actually ever 'see' their photos so it's somehow pointless. I honestly look at mine daily.

No worries. TBH, many of the PROS here aren't very professional :)

Well said Sheeisback...some posters also make a point about using art that is personal to us over & over..like what difference is it to them?

I try to steer people away from photo gallery walls. The homeowner gallery walls that we usually see here are often not well done and rarely look like their Pinterest inspiration. It is hard to get the proportion correct and they are often askew.

Sure, there are exceptions. But why suggest a choice that probably won't turn out very well? A large piece of art is an easier design choice.

Some people feel that large displays of personal photos on display for visitors are a form of bragging or fishing for compliments. I'm not going to get in the middle of that discussion :)

I will get into the family photo discussion. D_gw makes a good point that many are not well done. It seems to me that if you're going to do it, the photos need to be 1) large enough to see from a distance, and 2) worth looking at. The wallet-size school photo with the clouds backdrop in a collage frame with a dozen others just like it doesn't fall into either of those categories.

Your baby's first taste of ice cream, your great grandparents' wedding photo from 1898, the kids in a candid moment playing dress-up are the photos I want to see. I want them cropped, perhaps black and white, nicely framed and arranged. That makes a great family photo gallery.

How do you know it won't turn out well? We see bad design choices here all the time so that could be said about anything really. There are good examples out there someone could copy. The poster asked for ideas.

Ingrid's absolute statement with the addition of the word tacky bothered me. It's fine to dislike it but I've seen her get upset a few times at how others have responded to her posts. It's all in the delivery.

Bragging and fishing for compliments? I have to run for now but wow ...

Sheisback, I apologize if I seemed rude or dismissive. I think I've seen too many bad compositions of family pictures on walls, and feel that they are for the most part difficult to do well, which is not to say that yours isn't wonderful. I still tend to think that a composition made up of only family photographs is best used in a more private part of the home, but that is my personal opinion, and everyone should be able to decide what they want to do in their own home, no matter what well-meant advice is given here. I guess I'd better learn to have a thicker skin about advice that is given to me.