My sister has a couple of vintage kimonos hanging in a similar space in her house. But you could also do an arrangement of several pieces of art in that space.

do you have a budget? 20x200 has some larger pieces. They cost a bit more but would give you some options. You could do a framed flag, large map or some sort of light installation. or even paint some sort of mural? Its hard to tell what the rest of the house looks like to say what would look good. what style is your home?

Multiple picture frames like these::
http://www.potterybarn.com/gift/thm/thmhtd/

or mixed media wall sculpture would look nice if it was well lit

or even minimize the wall space by bringing the wainscoting up to the bottom frame of the window?

(this is my first ever post!)

Number 4 in the post below -- the Scavenger Roundup for today which I see immediately below this entry.

seems like you need something that fills a lot of the space lengthwise--but not necessarily width wise. how about a decorative rug or a length of some wonderful textile?

If you do several frames, like others have suggested, I'd caution not to go too small. It seems like it would be difficult to see whatever goes toward the top of left of that space, so anything with fine detail seems like it would be wasted there. I also think that arranging something more vertical than horizontal would help accentuate the height of the space.

why not just a large light fixture? it would fill up the visual space in the room, bring in some added light, and would probably be much less expensive than original art in the size you would need to fill up that space.

how about a tapestry? native american rugs are all the rage nowadays..

If this was my space, I would take a photo that I enjoy, probably something I have taken myself, turn it black and white and have it blown up by a large format print company to make it fit the entire wall. Something with some depth might be great. Like a photo of a road leading into the wild blue yander or a beautiful forest photo of some white birch trees etc.

It will cost a bit but it's extremely worth it. If you are in Toronto Canada, I know of a few large format print companies that can do this.

Also a frame collage wall feature would be excellent also. I know this site has some great examples of this look. It's more cost effective as well.

have fun!

A very cost effective idea is to stretch a patterned piece of fabric or table cloth over a frame. My husband built me a huge frame on the cheap and I stretched a tree of life table cloth over it and it makes me smile every time I walk past...it doesn't hurt that the whole thing was about $40. Also, I wanted something big that didn't weigh a lot since I do live in earthquake country; it's surprisingly lightweight. Here's a less than spectacular picture (second from the top) but you get the idea...

I second the fabric over a frame - super cheap and you can get a lot of bang for your buck as far as filling up a big space. Also easy to switch out if you're indecisive or change up your space.

You can buy a fabric you love and affix it to a canvas. Instant art and super cheap (or not, depending on the fabric), but easy for sure.

I am always perplexed by these questions that start out, there's an empty space, how should I fill it? Sometimes there is art designed to be seen as you pass it by, or look at it from an odd angle, like up from the bottom of a staircase. But it makes more sense that a staircase be free of distractions. Seems like a color problem to me--the honey colored wood with that warm beige end up mimicking bad color balance in a photo.

I wouldn't hang anything fabric or paper of great value because of the UV exposure through the windows on the facing wall.
Some sort of a metal sculpture, or maybe a collection of different sized framed mirrors hung in an interesting pattern?

I kinda don't get some of these questions...

If there's nothing that speaks to you as being worthwhile to put on your walls - Then just don't put anything up!

Eventually down the road, you'll come across something that Will speak to you as worthwhile to bring into your home and you'll have a place to put it - So don't waste your time and money with "placeholders"

How about two (for a diptych) or three (for a triptych) ready-made, long, rectangular stretched canvases, rollers and paint. Roll across both or all three to paint an abstract "sunset" (yellow to indigo), "beach" (light blue, dark blue, beige), "meadow" (blue, green with spots of yellow, white, red "flowers") or "urban" (grey, black, spray paint), depending on your locale and taste. There is a certain national chain of art supply stores that has buy-one, get-one-for-one-cent canvas specials every year--rhymes with "shmaaron shbrothers".

@bepsf - I agree, though some people just feel unsure of their decisions and want help to push them toward one direction or another, or to affirm that their design choice was a good one.

Some people need more help than others. I think a huge vintage poster with some bright blues, reds, and yellows would bring a splash of color to the taupey walls and wood.

How about a DIY project with an image you already have? As architects, we've used this program: http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/gallery.gas
called Rastorbator. You input an image, and the program lays it out onto 8.5"x11" printable sheets, which you can then print out yourself (and maybe even laminate). Easy, cheap, and best of all, changeable. Good luck!

-www.mglmarchitects.com

I have a similiar space at my house. I just recently bought several IKEA frames at $4.99 - 9.99 a piece and hang some small prints I collected over the years. I hanged them following the ascension of the stairs. Super happy with the result. It brings a smile to my face everytime I walk past it.

I love big old sailing maps.

If you're on a budget, I recently discovered that Urban Outfitters has many very large wall tapestries that are about $40 each -- way more bang for your buck than a lot of other sites, at least in terms of art size.

Just paint that wall a color you love?

I agree with the fabric or tapestry. You could get some basic fabric and stencil some words or poetry over top. Or check Ebay for some cool old maps!

I have a similar wall in a stairwell, and I found a Chinese scroll painting (I presume an import store print, not a valuable antique -- it was a flea market find...) that I like there. It doesn't distract from climbing the stairs, if it fades from the long window that it kind of mimics in proportions, then "oh well", and it fits my global decor...

Kites --
http://bit.ly/mv3nbO
http://chinakites.org/htm/ffz-gb.htm

Banners --
DIY banner http://bit.ly/jIGX43
Museum Banners http://www.betterwall.com/

Large tassel --
Custom Dyed Silk Rope: http://www.butterflyrope.com/
DIY Instructions: http://www.ehow.com/how_8235088_make-large-decorative-tassels.html

Frame each card in a large pack of the Rider-Waite tarot deck (or another one you like) in its own frame. This will give you 52 frames to arrange in a grid.

Handmade brooms --
ReNest posts:
http://bit.ly/c9MU5Q
http://bit.ly/lwCtnM

A mobile! You wouldn't hit your head on it because the stairs get lower beneath it, and it would be an amazing focal point!

Here's a picture...

...or something like this...

...or if you have one of these hanging around....

If you plan to hang anything you care about, have UV film installed on the window or change to solar shades at 95 - 98% UV filtration.

Framing anything that size will cost a fortune.

Don't put any textile you care about on wooden strips - wood leaches acid, which will destroy the textile over time. Ditto wooden rods. You can buy lacquer paint to seal in the acid from sites that deal in conservation supplies.

Check eBay for SUZANIS but don't underestimate the size. I would tack up brown paper sheets in various sizes to get a sense of what size works in that space.

Go for something with a large, strong graphical presence if you want it to be seen. Or maybe something textural -given your colors, what about an off white cotton crocheted bed spread, which would need to be lit properly?

I have much larger walls so this is a problem I know well.

Obviously I can't tell what is going on with the rest of the room but I would suggest relocating the existing frame that is so close to the light switch elsewhere. IMO it makes the larger space look off. Of course that is just in relation to the space shown in the photo so maybe that would throw the adjacent room off?

The staircase at the Ralph Lauren store in Chicago has lots of different paintings, photographs, drawings, portraits in a salon/ gallery style. That might work.

I grew up with an art professor as a grand father so we are filthy with amazing paintings in our family (a lot are still un-framed and never displayed). First I think art need to be something very personal that YOU see and can't imagine your home without. That said, I love browsing the student art shows at our local university. They are very affordable and if you find someone who you love now, it's great to keep in touch to collect more as they grow as an artist. Best of luck with your search! It's already a very lovely space.

How about going beyond actually hanging some type of picture and do an accent wall in wallpaper? It's a great way to infuse pattern into a space and would be a nice surprise/transition to the upper level.

A vintage theater backdrop? One of your own landscape photographs enlarged onto an oversized stretched canvas? (about $200 when One Kings Lane features one of the companies otherwise it's about $350). Architectural salvage? Framed hand painted silk wallpaper? (I found some beautiful examples on eBay). It's too high for something as intimate as a family photo gallery unless you keep those to just the viewer eye-level if they're small. In the end it's really whatever you connect to emotionally that should go in the space but in the meantime I'd cut images of all types from magazines, hold them up at your eye level, and see if one of the ideas really speaks to you.

Large-scale Marimekko fabric hangings you stretch over canvas. Around $100, huge and beautiful!

http://txtlart.com/

First, I'd like to see a softer window treatment -- perhaps a roman shade -- in a pattern to complement a wallpapered wall. You can then hang pictures or not, depending on your preference. My recommendations: For below wholesale steals on top-of-the-line designer wallpaper and fabrics see http://www.RestorationFabricsandTrims (and be sure to check out the links to their ebay shops also for even more deals). For other useful tips on combining patterns on your walls and the window see: http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-mix-fabrics.

Here's another suggestion (from an architecture student this time) for the unfortunately named Rasterbator program.

http://homokaasu.org/rasterbator/gallery.gas

It's worst when the program is running and says, "rasterbating" and when it's finished and asks if you would like to view the "rasterbation" now.

We needed to do something similar on the cheap, so I ended up buying cork squares in two different colors and arranging them in a diamond pattern on the wall. Then we used decorative thumbtacks to pin up art cards and various other decorative things. You could even cut up the cork into different shapes and put it all together like a giant puzzle.