Home Decor | Decorating The Hallway
It’s so easy to forget about decorating a hallway, especially when you’re tight on artwork, and want to hang favored pieces in prettier places, like a living room or bedroom. I must admit, our tiny hallway went undecorated for about a year. Finally, I’ve collected enough art to subdue my stinginess and bestow some loveliness in this high-traffic area of our home.
If your hallway is also small and undecorated, I have a few tips for you:
- Keep things organized. You might be tempted to arrange artwork in an assymetrical arrangement, but I’ve found this to be a bit chaotic in such a tight space, so I’ve opted to vertically stack art of similar widths. If your hallway is long, you might want to arrange them horizontally.
- Find a very low profile table for a wall. This table is about one foot in depth and has no corners, not obstructing the traffic area, but lending the space more of a roomy feel, instead of a feeling of a cramped trasitional space.
- A hallway is a great place to showcase family photos. I don’t use many in main living spaces, but have found that the hallway and bedroom are more intimate spaces that serve as great galleries for such personal “art.”
Frank Llyod Wright was a big believer in not wasting his energy on hallways. He thought they should function to highten anticipation for entrance into a larger, more imposrtant spaces. But if you want to add a little more excitement into a well traveled and mostly ignored place in your home, decorating a hallway is a great little weekend project and something to keep in mind during thrifting trips.
S P A C E D E T A I L S & S O U R C E S :
- Hallway width: 42 inches
- Table: garage sale find by my uncle
- Books: from our personal library
- Photo frame: Target
- Photo: childhood photo of my father
- Art: thread and nail piece from the thrift store
- Sold sign: Route 43 Antique Mall
- Floral art: thrift store
- Mirror: Route 43 Antique Mall
your hallway looks great! Boy do I need help with mine… it has been the most awkward space in my house to decorate. Thanks for the inspiration!
goodness it looks beautiful. that photo of your dad is adorable!!!!
I just hung a few little paintings on our bed room and office doors to spruce up our hallways. yours looks lovely!
ps your sidebar link for Fine and Dandy Vintage isn’t working. it loads like this : http://www.etsy.com/shop/FineAndDandyVintage%20target= <-- and the extra target= make it say that the shop doesn't exist.
Frank Lloyd Wright is my/my dad’s favorite. I respect his aesthetic and appreciation of nature. Plus he’s from our hometown! But he also didn’t think air conditioning was good.
Our hallway, unfortunately, is a lost cause. :C
so cuute! you have the best taste…i always get such great decorating ideas from you! we have a small narrow hallway that i never know what to do with, it’s also not very well lit and i am trying to come up with ideas for that (maybe wall lanterns or something?) dunno. anyway, great ideas!
@Stephani: THANKS SO MUCH for letting me know! :) I fixed it.
@Anastasia: Frank Lloyd Wright is my hero too. And being inside a house he designed (Fallingwater being the only one I’ve visited) the effect of tunnel-like hallways and stairs leading to larger rooms with scenic views was really quite breathtaking. It just doesn’t work quite the same way in my apartment. haha I wanted to paint our hallway a dark color to get that effect, but my husband didn’t like the idea. So, oh well. :)
I love your home decor pics and tips! Thanks :)
It looks great; elegant and stylistic, but simple enough to lead into bigger areas!!
Wonderful post.
excellent tips.
I love how you are very intentional and thoughtful about your home.
It makes me want more space!!!
anna
I’m all for decorating hallways right away – they’re the first bit of your home people see; they set the mood! But mine is TINY – five doors, two lightswitches and the handset for our entry system; it’s a struggle to squeeze in anything else.
beautiful!
it draws you right on through…just like a good hallway should.
p.s. i’m a little bit in love with that clock.
Hi Mandi –
I love and am so inspired by how you style your home, especially your walls. I noticed that you move wall art around quite a bit. . .would you consider a post about placing nails and patching holes? I’d love to get your take on the not-so-fun part of hanging things up on walls. I stress about that way too much – and it keeps me from making progress ;) Truly, I love your advice. I found myself thinking back to your posts and Rachel Denbow’s recent Style Your Home e-course for tips as I was picking out a little vintage side table today. And it’s perfect! Thanks :)
Hi!
I’m an every-day reader of your blog, love it.
Your apartment is INSANELYAWESOME!
Just wanted to let you know I have posted about it on my blog, Fancy
(A design blog) http://www.newzealanddesignblog.com – have linked back to you, of course.