Almost need to see a pic or two to get an opinion formed for you.

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Great feedback! Yes I am starting to realize how ugly those stair treads are. I have a dog who suddenly avoided the stairs, so I did something kind of quick. I like that they have a rubber/silicone backing so you can pick them up and throw them in the wash as needed. Unfortunately that’s a new enough feature that there are not any nice designs with that feature yet, but I will keep looking. For the same reason, that’s why I don’t want a full runner - need to be able to clean dog tracks. I love the part about hyperfixating! Yes! That’s exactly what I’m doing! Haha. I considered beadboard or board & batten. My home is a federal style row home and the original ones have an enclosed space (two sets of doors) often with tile between the inner and outer doors. I considered trying to recreate a look like that (without extra doors) by doing beadboard for a small entry with some coat hooks, etc. then I thought about pulling the beadboard all along the left wall and to the back garage door to disguise it, but that may not be a good solution either. The right wall that goes up the stairs is part of what is called the tower or the stack. All the floor stairways are in the same location and they’re all open to the floors they’re one, so it was a challenge finding a place to stop one color and where to start another. That color goes all the way up to the third floor. It looks amazing on the second floor where there’s more light, but it’s true - it’s not flattering on the first or third floors, which are basically just hallways. I guess I should consider different paint too.

Not much room for anything, but some art on the wall. I would have suggested a runner, but it looks like both doors open towards the hallway and might not be able to clear a rug. Myself, I would paint everything under the chair rail in the same trim color. Not everything has to be decorated.