A piece of artwork on the wall would look great or a decorative table with an arrangement of some sort.

Beautiful entry! A round table with lamp and art would be stunning. Something like one of the inspiration pics below (hover to expand photo)



What is your style? Traditional? Transitional? something else?
I can also see a high backed chair and chest with table lamp or even something like this console (only smaller) if you lean toward traditional

Beautiful staircase! I posted some tables and lamps that we carry at our store. We carry a large collection of home accessories. Please visit at www.essentialsinside.com

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I hope this helps.
Marika

The hallway is quite dark when the overhead light is not on and the sconces only have LED candles in them that come on at night and add a nice, warm glow, but not much additional light. I'd say my style is more on the traditional side, with something of a Tuscan/Mediterranean feel to suit the house. And there's about 6 feet of space across the niche to work with . . . I'd love to put some art on the wall, but what do you put on a curved wall? And I prefer things that are not only pretty, but also serve a function (a table with drawers for storage, for example; a pretty lamp to enhance the light of the space). I have 3 kids as well, the youngest being an active 4-year-old, so I don't really want to put anything too fragile or expensive in the space.

And thanks so much for sharing pictures! I am one of those people that needs to SEE something rather than just have it described to me. If only I could see images of items I think I might like in the space itself without having to actually get them -- that would make things so much easier for me.

I have toyed with the idea of getting a floor clock to put in the niche, but it would seem too small all by itself . . . I particularly like the Vericelli or Tennille floor clocks from Howard Miller. They are not only decorative, but serve a function as well.

HI -- The house looks wonderful . Because this is such a small curved area ,I think you should keep it simple with just a small tub chair or a small round pedestal table .This depends on weather your going to use either . I would just have a large single sculpture on a base . It could even be a garden one . Or a pedestal with something interesting on it like a blown glass piece . I like the larger décor pieces at Restorationhardware.com or look at Designtoscana.com You might find something there or at least some ideas .

I think you should do a round entry table in the alcove. For storage, you can find one with drawers. Sometimes they are labeled as game tables. This one is on ebay. For character, I would scour the antique and vintage stores, Craigslist, ebay, etc. and get one that is a great statement piece. I don't like the lamp idea, but you could do a cluster of candle sticks -- frameless candles will work for the kids.