This article is provided courtesy of leading stair parts suppliers, Richard Burbidge.

With Christmas rapidly approaching, many homeowners will be digging out their decorations and getting ready to put them up at the start of December. Some eager beavers might even have done away with tradition and put their decorations up already!

If you love getting into the Christmas spirit then you will be sticking up baubles and tinsel wherever you can, including the house windows and garden. However, a space that many people overlook in their home is the staircase and hallway areas. Here are a few inspiration tips that can be used to ensure some festive cheer right throughout the home.

Addressing the Balustrade

Perhaps the most obvious area to decorate when it comes to stairs is the balustrade. The newels provide an excellent place to display many of the more traditional Christmas decorations, including garlands, tinsel, and fairy lights. Weaving these longer decorations through the newels ensures that they can be viewed from all sides of the staircase.

If you opt to use fairy lights then be sure that the power cable leading to the plug is not positioned where it may present a risk of tripping. If the cable crosses a walkway then you are advised to run it under the carpet to avoid the hazard.

Handrails, whether mounted above newels as part of a balustrade system or wall mounted, are better suited for decorations that hang down. Items such as baubles, glittery stars and pinecones will all look great. Fastening some stockings Christmas styled organza ribbons to the larger posts at the top, bottom and turnings of the staircase will finish off the balustrade.

The Walls

It may be that you don’t have a balustrade as part of your stair area and that the staircase is actually bordered by walls on both sides. In this case you are faced with the task of placing decorations directly onto the walls. Attaching lights and garland to the wall can look a little messy, with the tape being on display.

A wise move can be to instead opt to fasten your cards to the wall using Blutack, which will be concealed by the cards. Alternatively, if you have something secure to fasten to, you could run some lines of string along the length of the wall and hang your cards over them.

Adorning Your Risers

If you do not have a carpeted staircase and your risers and treads are stripped back to the bare wood, you have the option of decorating the staircase itself. It is possibly to buy a variety of Christmas themed stickers that are designed and sized to be positioned on the risers of stairs. In many instances these stickers are split into several pieces so that they span a reasonable amount of the staircase.

Alternatively, you could go the whole hog and purchase a Christmas themed stair runner. This will obviously be the more expensive option. However, a stair runner that is only used for a few weeks every year is likely to last for decades.

The Hallway

All that is left now is to add to finishing touches to the hallway area. Your approach here is dictated by the items that you have in your hallway. One choice that most homeowners can make, unless they have spotlights, is to switch their lightshade to a one with a Christmas theme. Fastening tinsel around mirrors is common touch, which most of us will have seen at some time.

If you have a coat stand then you can of course also add some tinsel around the pole section.

Finally, you could even position a wicker basket in the hallway area for decoration, complete with a few presents. If you have an inquisitive child or two in the house, it might be a wise move to just wrap up a few old boxes rather than use real presents – just in case they can't wait until the big day arrives!