What style is the rest of the house? Is there any more of this railing inside or outside of the house?

I like clean lines, not a lot of patterns or excess. Here is pic of light fixture in foyer

Agreed, would need to see or know the style of the house.

It's a split and there is iron on the front stairs and a plain iron railing going to basement

Start by considering the foyer and the landing above the stairs together as your entry. Create a vignette that looks welcoming and warm. The railing will be fine. Decorate the way you like as though it wasn't there and it may just disappear when the space is filled with things you love. Honestly, I think the tile would be a bigger problem for me than the wrought iron railing. I can't understand the cut off location right at the stairs - really draws attention and gives a lopsided feeling. Anyway at all you could put the wood all the way across? I know it would take a bit of a tear out, but it would be so much more pleasing to the eye.
How about a nice library on the landing with reading chairs and lots of books? Plants can go a long way towards camouflaging the railing. Here are just a few ideas to stimulate your decor diva inside.

I think it would flow better if the flooring was all the same. Either tile or whatever type of wood flooring is there if you could match it up. My preference is the wood because it would flow with the stair treads as well as the other flooring it is connected to. The railing is unique and I think you should play it up with whatever you decorate in the adjacent rooms, playing up the black in the wrought iron with your decorating collectables. The rooms connected to area with railing should share the same color palate as well as style that they are decorated in. A nice large bench with a back on it placed on the left wall with a round table in center (under pendant lighting fixture if you have a light there) would look really classy. A place to drop your keys when you come in the door.

wow I just saw decoenthusiate and we are thinking the same, great pics. yours must have come thru while I was thinking. great job deco!

Thanks, 1bravorose. I hope I encouraged jill to move forward.

If that's the main entry/exit for the house, the landing could also be a nice place for a small writing desk and chair. Something like a secretary hides any paper clutter easily, but it'd be a handy spot for sitting to write out cards or notes before taking them out to put in the mail.

Otherwise I think it's hard to say what to do with it without knowing exactly what function you want the space to serve in your house - do you actually need the space to do anything? A sitting room where you can have guests? A quiet reading/home office area? Do you need more storage space?

I think it's kind of hard to decorate a space if you don't know what purpose you want it to serve, you know? It looks pretty large to be 'just' a hallway.

Re the railing:- the shields are great as not too ornate. Get a wrought iron firm to replace the curly balusters each side of the shields, with plain rods.

Would it be possible to keep the iron part of the railing and put a wood banister on top? Don't know if this can be done, but it seems to me it would add weight to your railing and update it quite a bit.

If you can't match the existing wood flooring I think replacing it with wood would be a mistake. Put down a more interesting tile. Your taste in furniture and art should be reflected in the choice of the new flooring. The light is a morroccan design and the railings seem to me to be morrocan/spanish style also. If the rest of your home is similiarly styled it would be a mistake to change this one room because you don't know how to furnish it. Call in a decorator on this one.

Post pictures when you get it decorated!

Omg this is unbelievable!! Thabk you all for your amazing ideas. I will post pics ASAP :-)

That railing gives me the feeling that the style of the house is somewhat Spanish/French/Mediterranean style. Would be convenient to use furniture matching those styles or do something totally unexpected and harmoniously combine a series of styles.

Put a bushy plant on either side of the stairs and a big piece of art above the stairs. Railing hidden, you can use the space.

groveraxle posted my idea before I had the chance :) but I would hang the picture higher to move the eye from the railing upwards.

I'm finding the white on the stair-kick area to be distracting. I think if those were painted darker, your eye wouldn't automatically be drawn there, and you can guide focus up to that wall, where you can put a great piece of art.

@eckjunebug - would you paint them to match the walls? (I was wondering about this the other day. Seems like you usually see wood-tread stairs with white risers if the risers don't match the treads.)

I was thinking more along lines of matching the wood flooring.