Room by room: hallways
In the first part of our new design essentials series, Anna-Marie De Souza looks at hallways
The hall is the first room visitors notice and the first thing that will welcome you home – not to mention the fact that it sets the tone for the rest of your house. However, design wise it’s one room that’s often left until last, which can be disastrous – a bad layout and poor lighting will have a negative impact on the rest of your home. If you’re refurbishing it’s still essential that you to pay attention to the hallway – consider moving the position of the staircase, adding light wells and creating an interesting feature or focal point.
Hallways are multi functional – they must be inviting, connect with other rooms, house the staircase and provide storage. And don’t forget heating; there is nothing worse than stepping into a freezing-cold room when you get home. Underfloor heating is great way to remove the chill factor, but make sure you choose compatible flooring. Alternatively, you could choose a stylish modern radiator that will double up as an artistic feature.
Make a list of the essentials you want and need in this area and don’t overlook the placement of power points, phone jacks, and light switches. Think about where you want your telephone; where’s best for storing coats; and where your burglar
alarm will go – everything should be
easily accessible. Finally, ask yourself whether you’re overlooking any storage opportunities. For example, can you disguise any unattractive fuse boxes and meters with cabinets or shelving?
Your hallway is a passageway to the rest of your home, so don’t forget to enhance it. Remember – first impressions count so make sure yours makes a great one.
Storage
Hallways and clutter go hand-in-hand, so unless you want yours to become a dumping ground it’s essential to allow for storage. Think carefully about what you want to keep there – coats, shoes, maybe the vacuum cleaner? Then measure your items to ensure anything you do install will cater for your belongings – don’t put up shelves that the broom can’t fit under or fix hooks too low for your coats. Cupboards under the stairs are the ideal solution, but if you want a statement staircase it may not be possible, so compensate with alternatives elsewhere.
If your hall is wide enough you could fit floor-to-ceiling cabinets, which would give you plenty of storage for minimal floor space. Larger halls will benefit from fitted shelving, which can create a focal point when stocked with interesting nicknacks.
Alternatively, just use furniture –
there are lots of handsome storage
boxes, coat racks and sideboards
available, so make the most of them.
The Madras Chest (left) from the Holding Company is a great place to store keys and post – it also acts as a great feature too.
Lighting
Halls often suffer from a lack of natural light, which – unless the majority of your ground floor is open plan – is hard to avoid. This simply means you need to maximize what you do have and use well-placed artificial lights to give it a boost. But be careful, overdo it and you risk making the hallway look clinical, do too little and you’ll end up with a dingy area. If the space is narrow, downlighters will help to make it feel wider and if you’ve got interesting architectural features, use uplighters to highlight them.
In many cases, the inclusion of a staircase in the hall means that this will be the only double height area in your house – so make the most of it. You could install a dramatic cascading light fitting, for example.
Flooring
The floor in your hall will endure more wear and tear than any other part of your home. Choose a product that’s durable and easy to clean like this reclaimed oak floor from Quickstep (www.quick-step.com.) Both wood and stone are very hardy, whereas carpet may soon become worn in this ‘heavy traffic’ zone. If you’re a fan of the underfoot comfort that a carpet provides, hallways are the perfect location for a rug or runner – as long as you can place them safely without causing a trip hazard. For a budget option, vinyl is great. Whatever you choose, something with a pattern or texture will hide dirt and dust better.
Decorating & accessories
Your hallway is one of the best places to use bright, bold colours to decorate – vibrant hues will make up for the lack of natural light. Although white will always look great, hallways are a home’s busiest area so make sure that you choose a washable and durable product.
If you prefer wallpapers, strong colours and bold prints will give real impact. Bear in mind that if you have limited space it is important to break statement walls up with a pale colour to avoid the area looking small and claustrophobic.
A simple but effective tip is to accessorise your hall with mirrors. They’re an extremely useful tool in this type of area as the reflection of light will allow you to totally manipulate spatial perception and give the appearance of a significantly enlarged room.
< more articles like this