An entry stairway is the perfect place to include family photos in the house. I would not have them all the same size & so perfect in placement as Violet showed. Adding some objects in different shapes here & there such as round mirrors to repeat the circle pattern in the lovely railing. This will take time & should not be done in one day. Take your time & live with the changes made to critique them. You have a very large area to work with & therefore can accommodate many shapes & positions. Don't be afraid of visually overlapping items as you mentioned as with the lamp & the stairway as that just adds more interest. Have fun with it.

I would use a large rug in the middle of the space rather than the small one by the door. Shoes and other large items can go in the large walk-in closet behind the stairs. Replace the glass console with a large, solid wood console with large drawers, which will give them a place to store mail, sunscreen and other small items, and also help cover up that glass block wall. I don't think a seating area makes sense for a foyer, but you could add a long bench along one of the walls. Using a warmly colored traditional rug, and adding some colorful artwork would make a big difference and break up all the tan.

I would move your bench over closer to the light switch so that it is not covering part of your stairs. Then i would put a pretty plant on the stair side of your bench. A rug is needed so maybe a longer one like you have in front of the door, so that it comes in front of your bench, Love your bench.

Beautiful space! I like the first picture with the rug horizontal by the door, makes the most sense for functionality and looks nice too. I think it matches very nicely... I don't like the art work in that arch way...I feel like something smaller should go in there and that piece should have its own wall.. Room can be filled in with a plant, small console table... I think a plant would add some greenery/life and help with the pop you're looking for