How to decorate your hallway

Paint changes a hallway at the lowest cost and in the least time. Some ways to use it:

• An accent colour: a colour with character, running from the wall up onto the ceiling, gives personality to a neutral hallway.
• Monochrome: walls, ceiling and doors in the same tone make the hallway feel continuous.
• Half wall: the lower half in one colour and the upper half in another sets a rhythm and protects the wall where it gets most wear.
• Darker end wall: in a long hallway, painting the end wall 1 or 2 shades darker brings it closer, and the hallway looks shorter.

To match the colour of the hallway with the rooms around it, see the guide How to combine colours.

A mirror on the end wall extends the hallway and returns the light. On the side walls, it depends on the width: in a narrow hallway, the mirror reflects the wall opposite, half a metre away, and you can hardly see yourself in it. It only works if there is something to reflect, such as a door open onto a bright room or a wall with a wallpaper worth repeating.

The hallway is a good place for family photographs and keepsakes: you pass them every day. Hang each picture with its centre about 145 cm from the floor, at eye level. In a series along the hallway, keep the same centre line for all of them.

• A composition: several frames treated as a single picture, with the centre of the group at 145 cm.
• One large piece: on the end wall, where it is seen as you enter the hallway.

In a corner or at the end, a plant adds life without taking up the walkway.

Hallways sit inside the home and get little daylight. Artificial light does the work, and there are several ways to add it:

• Light near the floor: recessed points in the wall, close to the floor, mark the way at night without switching on the lights of the house.
• LED strip: hidden in a ceiling recess or a skirting board, it gives continuous indirect light.
• Wall lights: along the hallway, they give a warm light and keep the ceiling clear.
• Ceiling lights: with a high ceiling, a ceiling light or a series of pendants follows the hallway.

How to combine these layers is in the guide The right light and on the Light page.

The runner is the hallway's own rug: narrow and long, it warms the floor and muffles the sound of footsteps. Leave 10 to 15 cm of floor visible on each side, between the runner and the wall. Measure the width at the narrowest point of the hallway. More rules for choosing a rug are in the guide How to use rugs in your home.

A wide hallway can hold storage: built-in cupboards, shelves or a console. There is one rule: the clear walkway stays at least 90 cm. Measure the hallway at its narrowest point and subtract the depth of the piece.

The HALL console is 100 cm wide and 40 cm deep: it needs a hallway at least 130 cm wide to leave 90 cm clear. Console measurements are in the guide Sideboard: measurements for the living room, dining room and entrance, and the entrance of the home in the guide Tips for decorating the entrance hall.

More pieces in the Entrance hall collection.