How tall is the wall?

I'm in the process of giving this staircase a major facelift, so forgive the half-done aspect of it, but I hung a hand-painted Chinese scroll at the top of the stairs.

It's lightweight, so very easy to hang, & in the case of a split stairway its safety factor is much higher than something heavy.

You could probably find a scroll that fit in with your antique decor, too.

Thanks for your response and pic, Moonkat.

My wall is about 100" tall, 3' wide and BORING.

I like your staircase. The gold panelling is charming with the white trim.

My son has a scroll on his, but I like yours better as it has more color. I can go snoop scrolls on eBay, though I can certainly say there is no other Asian decor in my house.

I just painted that wall a non-exciting neutral because I don't want to have to repaint when I sell. It's an awful area to paint and this is my second (and last) time doing it. It's a coacoa au lait color is my best description, flat. It has no name because I mixed it myself out of two different colors, two different brands. The trim is all stark white.

Any other ideas?

I found a plastic poster frame at Walmart, and used it to frame a really interesting batik print. Nice and light (physically), and plastic in case it gets shaken off your wall. Maybe an interesting piece of fabric or a vintage piece of clothing (I also displayed a Thai jacket this way) or even some interesting wall paper?

I've seen on HGTV where they buy blank painter's canvases and cover them with fabric. Light weight & lots of sizes.

There are also some beautiful tapestries that might work in that kind of space.

seagrass

Here is a link that might be useful: Long narrow tapestry

I'm in earthquake country too so I stick to textiles in areas where something could fall and hurt someone. I'm a long time quilter so I hang quilts on the two walls going up my stairs. I change them out seasonally.

I think a tapestry or scroll would look lovely.

Diana

Thanks, everybody! You gave me some good ideas, and for keeping it lightweight too. My son came over last night and hung back up the very heavy picture with frame, glass, etc... so I've got something there while I think about it. It's for sure you wouldn't want to be beaned with that thing, though. I was even thinking I could do some artwork of my own for that space but I still don't know what to do exactly. I'll have to go looking around at designs.

Mistihayes, that's an interesting idea. Kind of a cute theme.

I could paint pretty much whatever I want... but I can't access that area. So I could paint something at my table and hang it up there is all. How are you going to get to that wall to put the words up there?

How about Trompe L'Oeil? Can't get safer and lighter than that. :o)
There are lots of ready-made Trompe L'Oeil wallpapers and murals to choose from, they are applied with wallpaper paste and relatively easy to remove.
Some places even let you order custom sizes. Here are some specifically for foyer, hall and staircase.

Here is a link that might be useful: Murals Your Way