I don't know the solution to your problem, but I'd picked a light in the same line as this but couldn't justify the price for the place it was going. Too bad for both of us because they seem to be gorgeous fixtures.

How wide is your stairway? I'd be looking for something low-profile. I have a sconce at the top of my stairs that I hate, wish we just had a ceiling light in the hallway there - I gave the builder 2 options and he picked one, I regret giving him the sconce option b/c our stairway is only 36" wide.

The stairway is 48" U shaped. Can I hang one fixture in the middle of the U? Would it look wierd? Something like this:

Here are some pictures of the roughly framed staircase:
From the 2nd floor looking down:
{{!gwi}}

From the first floor hallway:
{{gwi:1411469}}

I think a pendant like that would look great and provide light at all levels of the stairwell better than a sconce.

Thanks! I think it will work too. Now I just need to figure out exactly how high to place it.