hallway
24th October 2012

Be Inviting – Hallway Design Ideas

By Darlings Of Chelsea

When it comes to decorating your home, the hallway can often provide the biggest challenge. This is the first area your visitors will see, so it makes sense to opt for an inviting, pleasant and impressive effect.

hallway

Image source Marcusdesigninc.blogspot.com

Start with colour

Choosing a colour scheme is at the base of every room design. If your hall doesn’t have any windows a light and airy design will work best. Simple and elegant works well too – you don’t want a cluttered welcome.
Think about the rest of your home when you’re deciding on colours too. You don’t want something that will jar with the rooms it feeds onto.

Practical flooring

This is a necessity since you might be walking into the house with wet or dirty shoes. Choose a rugged floor covering – real wooden floors or laminate floors can work well in the hallway. If you opt for carpet get a stain protected one that is hard wearing. And make sure you add a floor mat just inside the door, no matter what flooring you have.

hallway

Image source design-milk.com

Consider whether you need furniture

This will depend on the size of your hall, of course. If you have a long narrow hall you may be able to find a narrow table to go in there. Otherwise you could make the room feel wider by adding a large hall mirror to expand the space. Light colours will also expand the room in this situation.

Another point to think about is storage for shoes and coats. Wall hooks are ideal for coats, and shoe storage racks or cabinets tend to be narrow in size anyway, so you can usually fit them into even the narrowest hall.

Adding the finishing touches

Whether you have room for furniture or not, you can still add some appropriate finishing touches. A narrow hall table can accommodate a suitable plant to soften the area and make it more appealing.
Consider adding some family photos to the walls as well. You could even create your own ‘collage’ of sorts, hanging a variety of photos near each other to create a more fluid display. It also welcomes people into your home with a more human touch.

Title Image source HomeKlondike.com