Creating The Perfect First Impression: Hallway Interior Design
When you come home after a long, hard day at work or expecting guests, you want to make sure your new home gives the perfect impression. When the front door opens, welcoming all into your home, the hallway is first room to be seen – so how can you make sure you show it off to its best?
The interior décor of a hallway should have just as much thought and effort put into it as a bedroom, kitchen or lounge – don’t let it simply be a room to deposit coats and shoes!
Let There Be Light
The first top tip for creating a welcoming hallway is using mirrors creatively. Typically smaller spaces, hallways need as much light as possible to create an airy feel to them, so place large statement mirrors opposite natural light sources (such as opposite the lounge) to make the most of this space-creating scheme.
On the subject of keeping things light, the latest trend for pendant lights is ideal for hallways. A multi-facetted pendant light will refract as much light as possible which, again, will help create the illusion of space and impress your guests when they walk through the door.
Mixing Practicality With Style
We all need somewhere handy to keep our keys to save us from the weekday morning panic just as we’re about to leave for work! Investing in a console table is the ideal solution – bringing a practical place to keep important items like car keys, and a touch of style to your hallway. You could even use it to place a candle or reed diffuser to make sure you and your guests are welcomed by an attractive scent the moment you walk through the door. Check out our blog on finding the perfect scent for your home for some inspo!
Deck the… Walls!
Now, onto walls: the latest trend is to have a gallery wall – a collection of various sized photos in different styles of frames, arranged in a cluster going up the walls on your staircase. This ‘organised chaos’ style adds interest and takes the formality away from showing off your cherished photos, inviting visitors’ eyes to explore your favourite memories as you arrange them however you wish. To decorate the walls of your hallway, why not try hanging a series of artworks, such as canvassed images?
Contain the Clutter
The final part of creating the first impression with your hallway is to make sure that all of your good efforts don’t go to waste by your hallway slowly accumulating clutter. It’s always tempting to leave your coat, shoes and bag in the hallway when you walk through the door, and for letters and takeaway menus to be left to pile up on the console table, but there are simple things to buy which can help keep your hallway picture-perfect.
There’s plenty of stylish shoe racks which you can keep in your hallway – like this handy shoe-rack and bench or discreet cabinet from Wayfair. Not only will these help to keep your hallway tidy, but they’ll also make shoes last longer – particularly with children’s shoes, carefully placing them away will increase their lifespan than kicking them off across a room!
Along with your new shoe rack, you can bring your own sense of style with your coat rack. These don’t have to be plain hooks - you could have on-trend stags, quirky doodles or words! And to stop letters and mail piling up, a simple and chic letter rack. Whether it’s traditional and wooden or modern rose gold, it will help bring a sense of order to your space.
Looking for more hallway inspiration for your new home? Check out our Instagram page!