Homes Extra: Welcome Home

Make your hallway fabulously welcoming all year round, but especially sparkly for the festive season with Sara Whatley’s fun ideas 

Welcome to my home, says the hallway. This relatively small piece of real estate can actually speak volumes. It’s the all important first impression. The hug or handshake. So for goodness sake let’s make it count! 

At all times of year a hallway can be a warm and homely place, setting the tone for the rest of your abode. It needs to be practical as well, of course, providing room for coats, shoes, storage and keys. But at this time of year the hallway can also be a place for an extra special festive welcome. 

Open the door and instantly feel jolly with lights, greenery, decorations and fun. Yes, fun! As the hallway is unlikely to be the main focal point of your Christmas decorations, you can use this space to think outside the normal decs and get playful. But more on this later. 

First, let’s gather some ideas to turn the hallway from functional to fabulous. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

Open the door and what do you see? You want the hallway to hold it’s arms open, to make guests feel at home and to bring you some joy as the homeowner too. As hallways are transitional spaces you can get away with some seriously bold décor. Choose an olive green or petrol blue to envelop you, or how about a striking wallpaper design? 

Alternatively a neutral colour palette can create a bright and soft space, drawing you into the home. Giving your hallway some personality will naturally make it a much friendlier place. Think about art on the walls, lighting and plants. 

LIGHT 

The lighter the better for a hallway. Capture as much natural light as possible with glass panes in the front door, and opening up any windows that are available. 

Reflecting light can also be a smart way to make you hallway brighter. Strategically position mirrors to reflect natural light to make the space not only brighter but appear bigger too. And as a bonus it gives you a last chance to check your reflection before you leave the house. 

If you have a narrow hallway a good way to inject some style and character is with a statement lightshade. You might opt for a light-reflecting chandelier, or perhaps a warm oversized woven lampshade. 

STORAGE 

Neat storage solutions are key to a well functioning hallway. Make sure there are plenty of coat hooks for the family, plus extra for visitors. If you have another area to store coats more long term that’s ideal, then just the current coats can be hung on show.

Likewise, adequate shoe storage is essential. Opt for open storage racks or closed draws or cupboards. Specifically narrow shoe cabinet could suit smaller hallways or if you have the space a statement dresser or chest of draws might be just the ticket to store winter warmers, keys, wallets, and other essentials. 

A lovely touch, if you can, is to provide a small bench (extra points for a storage bench), or even a single seat to make getting your shoes on and off a little easier. 

PRACTICAL 

There is no getting away from the fact that hallways are high traffic areas. As such it’s important to think about hard-wearing floors. Laminate or tiles have particular longevity, especially porcelain, ceramic or natural stone tiles. 

If this sounds a little chilly underfoot a floor runner adds a welcome soft footing and can also visually aid the eye down the hallway and into the house. 

Washable paint or panelling might also be a good idea to combat unsightly grubby handprints. 

FESTIVE HALLWAYS

Some fun ideas to transform your hallway into a magical winter wonderland for the festive season 

• Wreaths: on the front door, hung on the wall or propped on the dresser. Get creative with pinecones, dried orange, cinnamon sticks and ribbon 

• Greenery: deck the halls with boughs of holly... and fir, pine and ivy. Create swags, garlands or sprigs to bring the winter forest into the home 

• Lights: a sheet of fairy lights can look stunning hung from the stair banister, and provide a fun photo backdrop too! 

• Baubles: hang them everywhere! Big and small, multi-coloured or monochrome, hang from the ceiling, lights or spilling out of bowls 

• Window dressing: if you have a hallway window you can have fun making a festive window display. Think outside the box and include untraditional characters/colours/ themes into your scene 

• Advent calendar: hang a large advent calendar in the hall for all the family to enjoy, and build the suspense of Christmas to come