In our post back in March, 'More Feng Shui', we gave you a little insight into the front door of your property and how it's the ‘key to your home’. We explained how important it is to entice some great energy flowing through the door and into your life.
After the front door we would generally come to the hallway. This is the first internal space in your home, where you greet guests and welcome them into your sanctuary. This space needs to be personal – the hallway sets the tone for the entire property and should show the personality of the building and of you.
Why decorate?
Often forgotten when decorating, people tend to spend their time decorating and planning their rooms without giving a thought to the first place you see - the entrance hall. Having a great hall is said to make or break house sales and could add up to 10% to the value of a property.
It seems obvious but if your hallway is light, warm and welcoming, it will make your visitors instantly feel relaxed and at home. Conversely, if the space is dark, dingy and full of clutter it will create a negative feeling and make the space feel much smaller and uninviting.
In the 18th century it was normal to make hallways tranquil. They were places to greet and calm weary travellers, arriving from what was probably a long and arduous journey. In most homes today it's a small area often primarily used for hanging coats and funnelling traffic as people come and go. But the fact we do not actually spend a great deal of time in the space means this space allows you to be a bit more daring.
Make an impact
First, make sure there is a coherent flow between rooms. Colour schemes need to co-ordinate and styles need to be consistent. You don’t want to walk from one style into another or from one soothing set of colours into a high intensity feast for the eyes in another. Make the transition easy for the visitors.
Bold (but remember light) colours will work well. Go for something you wouldn’t go for in any other room, or take a colour from an adjoining room and go a few shades brighter to give it a real punch.
Keep it light! It’s a small space and you need to make sure it's inviting, for which you'll need a sense of openness to achieve this. It's well known that mirrors are a great way to create an impression of space and considering the small floor area typically available in a hallway they are an especially powerful statement on the walls.
There are also practical considerations in hallways. For example, carpet is not recommended in spaces of high traffic and footwear. Why not try a hard wearing tile like the black and white tiles popular in 18th century hallways, or perhaps paint some existing floorboards?
You should now have a nice open and inviting hallway so you can sit back, relax and wait for those all-important guests.
If you’d like some advice on improving your hallway get in touch to book your FREE design consultation and see how Create Perfect can help.