i'm answering as a person who hates things on the turn of narrowish stairs. so, no on the table. no on the coat tree there. i know, i sound heartless. i live in an 1870 victorian with no closet on the first floor too. i had a coat tree by the back door until a renovation which removed 1/3 of the built in bookcases in the back hall and made a 4' section of wall with hooks.

I love the table and the rack, but neither belong on the stair landings. They are huge accidents waiting to happen.

Maybe you can find other places for them in your home.

What is to the immediate right of your front door? Can you move that away and put the coat rack there?

The table is beautiful wood, I would not paint it all, I would try to restore it.

Can you use it at your entrance way instead of the black metal table? Can you use it as a side table somewhere? A bedside table?

Ninigret, thanks for your comment,. I hear you, but moving the coat rack by the back door is not an option unfortunately. This is what my back door area looks like: it’s right off the kitchen, which has no extra space at all. ☹ (hasn’t been redone yet.)

I love the character in your house! Yes, to the coat rack and mirror. No, the the table on the landing. That would be a long fall if someone got tripped up.

I wonder if you could find a small, corner piece with no legs?

Hi Loobab, this is a pic of the wall to the right of the front door. No room there, either, and there isnt anyplace else to put the TV ( the house is DEFinitely small- no family room, den, etc). If I move the TV further left ( left in photo) to fit the coat rack by the door, , the outlets are no longer behind it and wires are exposed, both to view and to get caught up in feet, rack etc; also a hazard.

So that leaves this, I guess. comments? I have no place left to move the console table. It also seems to me that it makes the small LR look larger, and it provides a light source when I walk in to the house. (I did also here you all about the table on the landing upstairs. It was just sooo convenient There, and the halls are not wide enough.).

for coats, how about hooks over the radiator, to the left of your door to the back steps?

and yes, folks were very minimalist back then! our bedroom closets are by and large in the chimney chases, which are not deep enough for a hanger... (hangers hadnt been invented yet) just a row of hooks. in 1870 women owned 2 or 3 skirts, and then some shirt waists. 2 pairs of shoes if they were rich. they just didnt need room for things they didnt own. and coats were carried upstairs right away. our house didnt even have a way to get to the kitchen from the front door except via the parlor and then dining room, as no one who came in the front door went to the kitchen. amazing when you think of it.

pretty! i was just looking at that spot too. nice example.

Honestly, I think I’d rather have a potential trip hazard with the coat rack on the stairs than a possible fire hazard over a hot radiator. Picture a down coat or two hanging in a busy corridor over an old radiator opposite the fridge and microwave. Well...Maybe I will just have to bring coats upstairs, because I also don’t like idea of a big puffer coat being one of the first things I see walking in the house (it already bothers the heck out of me that I can see the side of the old refrigerator then, LOL ).

steam radiators really dont get hot enough to set things on fire, but a puffer coat hanging there would annoy me. i'd carry that sucker upstairs.

HI -- Wow this is a difficult one to deal with . Replace that radiator with a new thin one that are available now . You could also top the rad with a slab of granite so the heat is not affecting what is above it . There are wall hooks that drop down when you need to hang something , by Umbra and I think IKEA has also . They are just a bar with hooks that you pull down and tuck away otherwise . The hook bar could also be a thin narrow cabinet in the space to the left side of the front door. The window in the stair well could be frosted for privacy or stain glass would be pretty too.

Lefty47, seems great lefty minds think alike! I did the frosting look but still have an inexpensive shade because I need to be able to pull it down to block the window completely in hot weather - it’s a southern exposure. The rest of the time the frosting works well for light and privacy. Need/ want a nicer ..something...to go with frosting and accomplish what the old shade does While looking a lot better.

The kitchen will eventually be a gut job but not for 2 years; gotta live with what is there now. A cabinet of some type ...good idea but not for New England-y heavy coats. Upstairs, I think, for them!

So, many thanks to all who answered. They weren’t the answers I wanted to hear, but they were good advice about keeping clear stairs. So can I ask about window treatment ? Please see post above for needs.

Thanks!