Hosting Season: Making A Statement In Your Hallway
Every week up until Christmas time, we will be posting a blog giving tips and advice on how to make your home “guest-ready'' for the entertaining and hosting season. From dining table etiquette to a bedroom for your guests to rest their heads, we have it covered.
First up, and perhaps a part of the house that can be overlooked, we’re discussing the hallway.
The hall or entrance to your home is possibly one of the most important areas due to it being the first part your guests will see... After all, first impressions count.
A well-designed entrance hall can make a real style statement.
But whether your hallway is at the front door, or you have a hallway towards the back of the house, it just needs to work for you.
We’ve put together some tips on how to make a statement in your hallway and a place you will actually be proud to show off.
From furniture to flooring, here are our top tips on creating an eye-catching hallway.
Stylish approach for a tidy hallway
Many hallways are used as a place to keep the most regularly used shoes, to hang coats, and to display family photos.
If you are blessed with a slightly larger entrance space in your home, why not make the most of it with a large cabinet, bench or table.
Not only is this great for storing things, or sitting down to put on your shoes, but you can also use it to display items such as flowers or lamps, brightening up and giving colour to the space.
Our Cotswold range is the perfect addition to your home for hallway furniture.
Available in 2 colours and various formations, the range offers a classic and stylish approach to practicality.
Even if you have a smaller space for your hallway, the Cotswold range offers things like corner benches to fit neatly into corners and wall hanging coat racks for more space saving solutions.
Keep the area tidy by storing shoes in a shoe cupboard or inside a hallway bench.
Optical Illusion - Make the space bigger
Hallways can be a darker area of the home. For many people, the hallway can also be a small part of the home.
One way to make the space seem bigger than it actually is and to help with making a room brighter is the use of mirrors.
Mirrors are not only stylish but also functional in the sense that they reflect any light that shines on them, giving the illusion of a bigger space.
Another reason for having a mirror in a hallway is that it allows you to check yourself one final time before heading out.
In addition to this, walls painted bright white or another light neutral shade will help to bounce the light around.
However, you may want to do the opposite and embrace the darkness of a hallway by going bold and dramatic with a dark wall colour.
A darker colour can give more of a cosy look, especially when setting the tone with some lighting.
“It pays to think about how you want to set the tone for the rest of the house. Are you wanting something light and airy or something more dramatic?” says Davina Harper of Dulux.
When you are deciding on a colour, Harper suggests you consider other colours in the space, including the flooring and furniture, so you can choose a colour that will work well with these.
“Think about the style of the rest of your home,” she says.
“Your hallway should be in keeping with this. You may want to keep the wall colours light and bright to ensure a welcoming entry.”
Creating a focal point
If you have a small entry, ensure there is a focal point that creates interest but doesn’t overwhelm the space – it could be the artwork or a console table or stairs.
If the space is large, be sure to include something in the centre of the entry such as a round table or large decorative rug which will make it feel more welcoming.
If space permits, an accent chair can be an ideal addition to a hall. Functional, stylish and statement-making, accent chairs can give your space an instant refresh.
Not only will it provide extra seating for you or any guests, but it can also be a decorative item that will help complete the look of the room.
Our Archie and Abbey accent chairs both offer a design that evokes a modern classic appeal.
Abbey is a cosy little compact chair which will make itself at home with slim arms, fully padded seat cushions and metal studded detailing.
Choose between a variety of fabrics or natural leathers depending on the look you are going for.
Flooring
Hallway flooring needs to be both practical and good-looking. They need to be able to withstand moisture and humidity, be resistant to scratches and stains, and be easy to clean.
Many flooring options meet these criteria and are suitable for entrances, including wood, vinyl, laminate, stone and tiles.
After considering all of the practical characteristics, the next step is to look at the range of design choices offered within each range to find a beautiful floor that fits your style preferences and home decor.
A vast range of flooring options are suitable for entrances so you can have fun exploring different colours, designs, patterns and textures across a range of materials including vinyl, wood and laminate.
Vinyl is one of the most resilient flooring materials. It's durable, moisture and scratch-resistant, and easy to clean, which makes it a great, low-maintenance option for entrances and hallways.
And since it's relatively inexpensive compared to a lot of other flooring options, vinyl offers the perfect combination of durability, attractiveness and affordability.
The main drawback of wood is its inability to withstand moisture. Standing puddles of liquid will soak into and damage a wooden floor.
To reduce the risk of moisture damage, you could consider engineered wood floors as an alternative to solid wood floors.
Also made from wood with a top layer of solid hardwood, engineered wood is designed to be more stable in response to moisture and changes in humidity.
Once a trademark of Victorian and Edwardian houses, tiled floors are making a comeback.
And, if you want your hallway to make a statement it doesn’t get much better than this.
Tiled floors come in a variety of shapes, patterns and colours so you can really make a statement to your entrance.
A stair runner is a classic solution to carpeting your stairs and allows tons of room for creativity with your choice of colours and patterns.
Bold stripes will make a real statement and can enhance the angles for an incredible visual impact. Staircases see a lot of traffic, so you need a carpet that’s tough but still looks good.
If you’re fortunate enough to have the space and head height for a chandelier, this can provide a glamorous entry to your home.
The boldness of a single central light is all you need to make a remarkable hallway.
A variety of lighting options is best, try to include as many overhead, floor and table lamps where you can to offer a layer of lights to help improve both the practical as well as the decorative purposes of lighting.
If you have a sideboard or a console table in your hallway then a table lamp could be a great addition for some low level lighting when you don't want the ceiling lights on.
Place lamps in dark corners of a room to highlight and enlarge your space and also consider locating them near windows, which can become dark spots once the curtains are drawn at night.
If the space allows for an accent chair as mentioned, a floor lamp would be a nice touch next to the chair to show different heights. Particularly an arc floor lamp will help focus the lighting onto the area.
