5 mistakes making your hallway look smaller and how to fix them, according to designers

Dark and narrow hallways are a common complaint, and it can be a vicious cycle – because of the fact the hallway is often a tricky, awkward space, we often overlook it entirely. So we give our decorating attention and love to its adjoining rooms, making the drab hallway look even worse.

However, the hallway is a key part of the home and should be considered as a room of its own. Below, we've rounded up some common mistakes making your hallway look smaller, as well as plenty of style solutions to remedy these, helping you find beauty in your hallway. 

Reading our tips on how to organise a small hallway will certainly help create a calm and orderly place for everyone to take off their shoes and hang their coats. 

5 mistakes making your hallway look smaller

Starting with some decluttering, after which it's worth researching ways to update and inject some love into the space, making it more than just a pass-through into the rest of the house.

Here are the hallway mistakes to avoid if you want to make things feel more spacious and welcoming.

1. Inadequate storage

If the storage you have isn't working right now, consider how you might be able to hide things away and keep your shoes organised more easily. With the right storage, it'll be easier to instil daily habits to keep your home tidy and hopefully avoid too many tripping hazards.

Perhaps you just need a new, taller and more sturdy shoe rack and some baskets, or a bench seat with hidden storage. Maybe you can maximise your under-stairs storage by adding some hooks and shelves to the inside of the hallway cupboard, creating space for winter boots and coats. 

Interior designer Sophie Clemson from The Living House recommends exploring built-in options if it's an awkward space. "Storage will help keep your hallway tidy and avoid any clutter," she says. We recommend exploring the latest IKEA shoe storage hacks to create budget-bespoke solutions.

Jen and Mar at Interior Fox say, "Slim consoles or wardrobes are fantastic. You can find and customize these on Tylko. Wall hooks for coats, hats, and bags help keep the floor clear. Built-in shelves or closed storage are also great options, allowing you to customize compartments for bags, shoes, and other items."

Sophie Clemson

Sophie Clemson is the co-founder of The Living House, an affordable online interior design company that helps busy families transform their homes easily, online and within their budget.

2. Neglecting the decor

It's the first place people see, so give the hallway some love. A few well-chosen decor pieces can give your hallway a custom, designed feel that makes your home look more expensive. 

Jen and Mar from Interior Fox share a few simple ways to raise the style stakes: "We love statement lighting! A unique light fixture can be a focal point and add personality to the space. Jen and Mar also suggest decorating the hallway with art and photos – hanging artwork in your favourite colours is a great way to give your home more personality and a more homely feel.

Just like the downstairs toilet, the hallway is a space where you can be bold with pattern and colour, perhaps with a brightly coloured rug that you'd never put in the living room. Sophie Clemson recommends adding a runner to bring textures into the hallway. "Go for a washable option for longevity and in case of any muddy footprints!"

You could go for a boho pattern to add depth, keep it simple with a neutral, coastal stripe, or opt for a graphic print or traditional pattern to set the tone for the rest of your home. For tips on choosing the right rug, you can read our guide.

Jen and Mar

Jen and Mar are the founders of interior design studio Interior Fox. Jen, a former New Yorker with Texas roots, has an eye for "Cali-cool" spaces, and draws design inspiration from her favourite cities: Amsterdam, Brooklyn and Miami. Mar grew up in the Philippines surrounded by interiors full of rattan, natural materials and organic textiles, which have shaped her design style today.

3. Poor lighting

Inadequate light is a common lighting mistake in any hallway. A well-lit hallway will feel larger and more airy than one lacking in light. 

As with any space, it's a good idea to layer your hallway lighting with a ceiling light and then a table lamp and even wall sconces. A lamp set on a timer is a lovely touch in the darker, colder months, and can help with security.

"Lighting is such an important element in any room," agrees Sophie Clemson. "You could go for a showstopper ceiling light to draw the eye up and create an impact. We particularly love Lights & Lamps for lighting at the moment." Take inspiration from this year's lighting trends or look for interesting lamps and shades in vintage furniture stores.

There may also be ways you can maximise the natural light in your hallway, as Sophie explains: "Use a mirror in your narrow hallway to bounce the light around and make the space feel larger." 

You can also create flow by painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls – doing this will blur the edges and soften the hallway, Sophie says.

4. Too much furniture

Avoid bulky furniture that takes up too much floor space, as this can make a hallway feel more enclosed – it's also a key interior design idea to make a living room feel bigger.

 If your hallway is feeling cramped at the moment, try our professional decluttering methods to help streamline your belongings, as a clear-out will free up lots of space.

"Hallways often become cluttered, especially when you have young children," comment Jen and Mar from Interior Fox. "Many people make the mistake of adding too much furniture or decor to the hallway, which makes it feel even more cluttered and overwhelming. It's best to choose minimal, functional pieces with closed storage."

5. Tired wallpaper or paint

Whether you go dark and cosy or light and bright with your hallway palette is entirely up to you – either can work beautifully. An eggshell paint finish will be easiest when it comes to cleaning walls and wiping away stains, but Farrow & Ball's dead flat finish is also fairly durable. Consider one of the new on-trend colours added to Crown's Easyclean paint collection.

If it's been a long time since your hallway has seen a paint roller or roll of wallpaper, consider freshening it up. This will make it feel different and have you falling back in love with it again. Not to mention that the right shade of paint can help to make a small room look bigger.

One hallway decorating idea I particularly love is painting the walls in warm white. Then, rather than painting the doors and door frames all the same colour, try painting them in a warm beige. This subtle contrast makes things look much more interesting and also highlights the details in the woodwork. 

Or, you could go for something more dramatic, and go warm white on the walls, and charcoal or black on the doors paired with antique brass door knobs, at Homebase. 

For tips on choosing the best white paint for your space, you can head to our guide to find the right tone for your home.

FAQs

How can you make a boring hallway look better?

"There are so many quick wins you can do to make your hallway interesting and filled with personality," says Sophie Clemson. "Here are a few tips to create a great first impression of your home:

"You could wallpaper a wall or be bold and wallpaper everywhere. This can inject colour and pattern into your hallway. Wallpaper can also be a great starting point to create a colour palette for your space by pulling the colours from the paper into other elements." Textured wallpaper looks great behind artwork, and is available in peel and stick so you can give it a try without too much commitment.