iwantiwantiwant.com.au Blog » Narrow hallways

Apr

2012

Narrow hallways

Posted by Ria

Thanks to Jenny Wilson for the request for today’s blog post.

Her narrow, difficult hallway is killing her inspiration…so I’m hoping I can give her some cool solutions!

Let’s start from the ground up….

Rugs are your first port of call when dressing your hallway. The continuing pattern of a runner will extend the visual length of the hallway.

And, by virtue of the border the exposed floor underneath provides,…they increase the visual width too.

The next thing to look at …is what you’re looking at. Make sure there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. So cast your eye op the the hallway and make sure you have a focal point at the end of it.

So now to narrow hallway furniture options. I’m a very big fan of benches and hooks. Taking up minimal space, they give you more practical solutions than most larger pieces.

You can also affix a piece of furniture to the wall…making it both thinner…and more stable for use in a small thoroughfare…. love the piece below!

Wall panelling is enormously effective in adding character to a tiny hallway without taking up space. Not only does it give you texture, it also allows you to add colour and contrast by dividing the wall. Paneling is a great option if your hallway is simply too small for anything.

Next …shelving…. Love it to bits, but be very careful with your placement. If it’s not safe to have it at the right height visually, then don’t have it.

Too high shelving is a terrible look.

Shelving is also a great way of displaying loads of prints. It automatically gives you the flush line for the bottom and depending on it’s width you can overlap artwork as well.

Artwork presented with symmetry, as below, will always lengthen your visual space, so prints and photos are great tools in small hallways.

And who’s to say that a small hallway can’t be beautifully, perfectly overcrowded as well??

If you love the idea of loads of photos or prints, but want to minimize the business…then theme out your frames in white. What I also love about this approach is the white frames give depth to whatever wall colour you’ve chosen as well as ensuring the images are what is drawing your attention, rather than individual frames.

Wallpaper is another fab tool for small spaces. Choosing geometric patterns for space illusion, or sweet florals to soften but not crowd. There’ s no end to wallpaper choices. Or…you can use wallpaper above paneling to add yet another dimension.

And a little bit of wallpaper…cleverly placed, can add both interest and depth…

Or…you can remove all distracting factors and go the eternal favourite of white on white… (love the panelling!!!!)

Having something particularly quirky or cool allows you to rest aesthetically on the one piece…just choose well! It’s coolest when it has a reason …

And lastly…look up! If your hallway is poorly lit of course it’s only going to look smaller. Get the right number of lights…and the right wattage. And remember, the lighting source is almost as important as the light.