First Impressions Count: Hallway Ideas

Chic ideas for hallway lighting

When people visit your home, it’s important that they feel comfortable and if we’re honest, a little impressed by how stylish the home is. It’s like a trailer for a film, the hallway should be an exciting teaser for the home’s decor. 

Naturally there are different light fittings to consider. From lamps on tables to wall mounted or ceiling lights, there is a great selection of options to consider – but there are even more opportunities to enjoy light in a hallway.

To best showcase a hallway’s style, you need to maximise the light. Mirrors can help reflect light around the space helping to add a magical effect, but so too can the right lamp shade. While lamp shades are great vehicles for introducing colour and pattern, you can also add a metallic inner which will bounce light to create an elegant sparkle in any hallway. 

Consider door curtains

Curtains are well known for the beauty they can add to a window, but the same is true for doors. 

Curtains covering a door offer extra opportunities for adding colour or pattern into what can be a mundane part of the home. Helping you to set the scene of your home’s style, curtains suspended above your door will add something unique which guests will love. Whether you add a rich red curtain to pop against soft naturals used on the walls or a striking white to add to a monochrome inspired hallway, a curtain will help you showcase your personality perfectly. 

If the door leads out to the privacy of your garden, you could even consider voile curtains. The curtains will add to the chic style of the hallway, but in the summer months, they will let air in while keeping any prying eyes or creepy crawlies out. For maximum impact, find the perfect curtain pole too.

Best ideas for hallways colours

Hallways are often darker places than others, so making great use of colour should be high on your list of priorities.

Once you’ve mastered the light, you can consider pops of colour to add a bit of excitement and energy to a hallway. Whether it’s a striking patterned lamp shade, a colourful cushion on a chair or even pieces of art, having some colourful accessories in the hallway will add something even more special to the space. 

If you’re considering adding a couple of colours, look for more contrasting shades. For instance, if your walls are green, pink accessories will stand out and make the hallway’s detail more noticeable. If in doubt, be brave and add some vibrant shades into your hallway! If you’re curious to learn more about which colours work well together, read our Latest Colour Trends blog.

A scandi hallway

If vibrant colours really aren’t your thing, you could consider a scandi approach to styling your hallway.

Scandi interior design is personified by its minimalism and simplicity, and while growing in popularity, it has been a hit with fashionable decorators since the 1950s. For best effect, select soft, warm natural tones of grey, dark mossy greens and cosy red browns. 

Beyond the stylish benefits of these colours, natural tones enrich the comfort of any space while interacting well with the light! 

For something a little different, you could even explore the fashionable scandi boho design trend which adds patterns, texture and more of a lux finish to a scandi space.

Maximise the space available to you

It’s well established that hallways should have coat stands, a mat for wiping your feet and perhaps some hooks to hang your keys, but is that all they’re good for?

In short, the answer is no. In a hallway, you can add smart furniture from comfy chairs to chests of drawers for some extra storage. By making the hallway a transitional space, where it has no set function but is instead more fluid, you can enjoy your home even more.

A cosy reading space, storage area or even micro home office in the hallway will help you put the rest of your home to even better use. In many hallways, especially near front doors, there are windows to let in light. If you make your hallway into a space to work or relax in, and you want privacy from any windows, you can add a Day & Night blind, or Venetian blind, to let light enter while keeping your privacy.