Hallways Interior Inspiration Small Space Living

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

April 9, 2019
Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

Having written my post on Style Up Your Hallways a few weeks ago, we’ve now prioritised our hall, stairs and connecting landings as our next project. It’s been neglected for years and, to be honest, it’s a completely uninviting space. Plain and boring doesn’t even come close to describing this space. Soulless does.

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Moodboard of Crane Bird In Forest Green Wallpaper from Woodchip & Magnolia
Crane Bird in Forest Green Wallpaper – Woodchip & Magnolia

We’ve definitely become more adventurous with our decor choices in recent years and are now ready to inject some colour pattern and character to our small hall, stairs and landings.

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Bedroom makeover using Va Va Frome wallpaper from Woodchip and Magnolia. Nature inspired design that has been the basis to introducing botanical wallpaper to our small hallway.
Bedroom Makeover – Va Va Frome Wallpaper – Woodchip & Magnolia

Our inspiration has really sprung from the fact that we now have a botanical kitchen and elegant leafy bedroom. With our love of nature inspiring our decor, it was only right that we connected these spaces with similar choices.

I’m also of the mindset that small shouldn’t mean we should hold back on style and make less of a statement. In fact, opting for a statement wallpaper in smaller hallways/spaces can really add the wow factor. And as I mentioned in my previous hallway post, our hallways are the opening chapter to our homes (much like a book), they should be a reflection of you and the rest of your homes. It’s now time for me to take my advice and go for it.

Nature Inspired Decor

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Crane Bird in Forest Green Wallpaper - Woodchip & Magnolia. Nature inspired design for our small hallway decor.
Crane Bird in Forest Green Wallpaper – Woodchip & Magnolia

We’ve opted to go with another Woodchip & Magnolia wallpaper Crane Bird in Forest Green, designed by Nina herself. This fabulous independent wallpaper brand is all about making our homes unique and filled with interest no matter what your style. As Nina says “Walls Not Need Be Boring” rings true and we are now adhering to the same philosophy and decorating how we want our home to look rather than playing it safe.

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Small narrow hallway which we are going to transform with nature inspired decor.
Its been around ten years since we decorated our hall. At the time it was the least important space for us to update and as a result, it had a lick of paint and that was it.

Surprisingly, even though we have a hallway of doom, I’m almost thankful that we have neglected our hallway for the past ten years. Now we’ve found our love of colour and pattern, we’re making bolder choices that make us happy as a family. I literally cannot wait to get started!

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Crane Bird in Forest Green Wallpaper - Woodchip & Magnolia also available in 6 other colourways. This nature inspired wallpaper will be used to create a feature wall in our small hallway.
Crane Bird in Forest Green Wallpaper – Woodchip & Magnolia also available in 6 other colourways.

My affiliation with nature is an inherent one that stems from having lived and breathed flowers and plants as a qualified florist and owner of my own business for many years. It’s also how I and the I.E. Hubs met when he came in to buy some flowers for his Aunty and was cheeky enough to ask me out on the spot. You could say he is, in a roundabout way, connected to my love of leafy designs and greens within our home. And why he is happy to get the paint brush out again.

Mood Board

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Moodpboard based around nature inspired wallpaper, Crane Bird in Forest Green Wallpaper - Woodchip & Magnolia for our small hall, stairs and landings.
Tribeca Triple Wall Mirror – Antique Copper – Atkin and Thyme | Bloomingville Louis Green Glass Pendant Lamp – Beaumonde |Eichholtz Lagoon Side Table – Sweetpea & Willow |Pink Faux Monstera Potted Plant – Audenza | Faux Blush Magnolia Spray – Cox and Cox | Latva
Wall Coat Rack by Covo – Lime Lace | Hibernica Collection Jungle Vinyl Floor Mat – Amara

I’ve pulled together a quick mood-board of how I’m hoping to use this beautiful wallpaper. With no space for consoles or storage, I’m planning to use those walls to their fullest whilst also throwing in some nature-inspired designs to tie in with the wallpaper.

The plan is to create a feature wall at the top of our stairs to draw the eye away from the narrow hallway. You could do something similar with a large statement art piece if you have a wall at the end of your hallway. The eye will be instantly drawn towards it distracting you from any issues you may have with the size of your hallway. It also helps inject some personality and makes them more interesting.

Small Hallway Tips

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Ferm Living - Standing Metal Planter / Storage Tray - Taupe - Hurn & Hurn Small Storage ideas for small hallways to add interest and functionality.

Ferm Living – Standing Metal Planter / Storage Tray – Taupe – Hurn & Hurn

Most of us, ourselves included, have a tendancy to prioritise decorating the spaces that we spend the most time in. Throw in the fact most hallways are on the small side and you can probably relate to putting off updating them. I thought I’d share some helpful advice as to make the most of yours if like us yours is in need of some TLC.

Our decor, style and tastes evolve over the years. Making bolder choices helps us step outside of our comfort zone and explore what is often the unknown. It’s only by doing so that we can grow to know what we love or dislike when it comes to creating a home that you will end up enjoying and be at one with.

Maria – The Interior Editor

Connect Your Spaces…

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Down Pipe And Slipper Satin Stairs -Farrow & Ball paint for stairs entrance hall.
Down Pipe And Slipper Satin Stairs –Farrow & Ball

It’s important for your halls, stairs and landings to feel connected with the rest of your home. You can do this through colour or a repeating pattern through your decor choices. It helps create a sense of flow as you move from one room to another. You can achieve this with accessories, paint, art rugs etc.

That said, you need to be mindful that one colour in one room may look completely different in your hallways. Light or lack of it will change how it looks visually.

Hide Ugly Floors

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Agna Runner - Cox and Cox Adds textural interest to a small narrow hallway with neutral decor.
Agna Runner – Cox and Cox

I’d love to rip up our hallway flooring and put down some decorative tiles but with a budget to stick to we’re opting for a runner instead. It’s a much cheaper alternative to replacing your floors. A rug or runner will not only hide unsightly floors but you’ll give them a quick update without the expense.

Rugs are just one way to inject colour and pattern adding interest to your halls whilst distracting from the its small size.

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Hibernica Collection Jungle Vinyl Floor Mat - Amara Easy to care for and hardwearing ideal for hallways.
Hibernica Collection Jungle Vinyl Floor Mat – Amara

Another way to create a sense of space is to choose a rug/runner with a pattern/design that draws the eye outwards like this statement floor mat from Amara. It printed onto PVC, making it hard-wearing as well as easy to keep clean.

Hallways also lack texture from textiles (unless you are fortunate enough to have room for a chair or two). Rugs can help soften the look of halls particularly if you have wooden or tiled floors.

Storage

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own | Hawthorn Coat Rack Pine PR4 - Made.com

Hawthorn Coat Rack Pine PR4 – Made.com

It may be that you simply don’t have the space for storage in your halls. We have a cupboard under the stairs that houses both our coats and shoes but we also have the additional overflow coat stand. It’s also become a coat dumping ground and one that I’m hoping to rectify.

Walls Are Your Friend

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own
Wall above dado: Drag DR 1252
Wall below dado: Tessella BP 3603
Woodwork: Green Smoke® No.47 Estate® Eggshell
Coat hooks: Manor House Gray® No.265 Estate® Eggshell –Farrow & Ball

Walls are definitely your friend when it comes to small hallways or any small space. Use them to their full potential from wall hung storage to the decorative. You’ll create more visual space by doing so but remember to keep whatever means you want to hang your coats by in proportion to your hallway.

Wall Hooks…

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

Latva Wall Coat Rack by Covo – Lime Lace | Hawthorn Coat Rack Pine PR4 – Made.com | The Dots Metal Coat Hooks by Muuto – Nest | Bema Coat Rack Black PR02 – MADE.COM | Birds On Wire Coat Rack By Covo – Lime Lace

Opting for wall hooks helps you free up floor space. This, in turn, creates the illusion of space as your eye can see more. They’re the perfect way to utilise your walls and move away from the traditional coat stand and the inevitable coat Jenga.

Wall hooks limit the number of coats you store in your hallways which is just one way to keeping your hallways clutter free. Pretty much like the chair of doom, wall coat hooks help you break the bad habits that we tend to form over time.

The more floor space you see, the larger a space will feel.

Mirrors

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

We already have a large freestanding mirror in situ at the end of one of our landings. We’ll probably keep this and wall mount it as it really helps make this narrow space feel brighter and larger than it is.

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own
Champagne Full Length Wall Mirror – MY Furniture | Black Metal Industrial Vanity Wall Mirror with Shelf – Melody Maison |Burnished Gold Shelf Mirror – Cox & Cox |Umage – One More Look – Mirror –Sweetpea & Willow |Tribeca Triple Wall Mirror – Antique Copper – Atkin and Thyme

Wall mirrors are your friend if you have a dark narrow hallway as they help reflect and bounce light around. Ultimately, they create a sense of space. If you have the room, you could always introduce a small side table with a lamp and mirror behind to create more light reflection. It’s something the Georgians were doing way before electricity was invited with mirrored wall-sconces.



Multifunctional

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

Umage – One More Look – Mirror –Sweetpea & Willow

There are quite a few multifunctional pieces available that incorporate storage with reflection. Mirrors with the addition of a shelf are virtually everywhere now. They allow you to store essentials such as keys or just be able to add a plant or a vase of flowers to make your hallways feel part of the rest of your home and not just a space that you walk through.

Stairs

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own

Walls: Pointing Estate Emulsion
Wood panelling: Light Gray Estate Eggshell
Floor: Dove Tale Floor Paint
Stripes on stairs: Babouche, Mahogany and Arsenic Floor Paint – Farrow & Ball

Stairs (if you have them) are often the first thing you see in your hallways. They’re also a great way to add an impact and make a statement. I did contemplate patterned stair carpet, but unfortunately, our stairs lead to two opposite landings as well as a separate return which would make matching patterned carpet almost impossible.

Making a statement out of your stairs with patterned carpet is a great alternative to decorating your walls. Or if you’re feeling brave with the paintbrush, you could always paint them.

Paint In One Colour

Small Hallway Makeover Plans & Top Tips To Decorate Your Own
Strong White –Farrow & Ball

Whether you’ve decided to go bold with a statement feature wall or stairs, a great way to create a sense of space is to paint your hallway in one colour. You’ll blur the lines of where walls and floors finish and will make your hallways feel larger. Add some decorative artwork to add some interest and personality to prevent them from feeling bland.

So what do we think? Are you ready to brave bolder decor or maybe you’re looking to update your own hallway. I’d love to hear from you.

We’re hoping to implement our makeover within the next few weeks and will keep you updated! Until then, have a beautiful week…

Maria xx




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6 Comments

  • Reply Cara - Caradise April 9, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Love the look you’re going for in your hallway. Can’t wait to see it! xx

    • Reply Maria April 10, 2019 at 8:17 am

      Thanks Cara! I literally cannot wait to get started ☺️ xx

  • Reply Eilidh Horder April 10, 2019 at 9:39 am

    Absolutely beautiful pictures – so inspiring. Such taste!

    • Reply Maria May 12, 2019 at 8:40 am

      Thank you Eilidh!

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