Ideas to "perk up" my "meh" hallway....
It started out as ‘purchasing a mirror’ for the hallway. I picked one; I liked; it arrived, and…. now I’m not sure what to do. (This often happens) Should I keep it? Should I return it (£20)?
I think I need to think about the hallway as a whole, and I’ve realised that it needs to ‘perk up’.
Would love to hear people’s ideas. Currently I think it’s a bit “meh”. I’d like it to evoke “Gee what a nice hallway!”, but still keep a calm, timeless style. (ie clean lines but not too contemporary).
The house is a 1930s semi, with a very nice original door. The hallway is north-facing (so a bit dark) and we have 4 kids so lots of shoes, bags, coats, helmets etc. To cope we have IKEA storage furniture; which works very well. This means all of the IKEA furniture frames have to stay (but the boxes can change).
The front reception room comes off the hallway. It was designed around the original fireplace (a weird mustard colour). It includes an art deco mirror – a nod to the 1930s – and some 1930s ornamental pieces (eg an old phone, globe, glass bowls, camera).
The rest of the house is timeless. The linking colours are grey (from Dulux steel grey range) and off-white. Each room has an accent colour dictated by things like an original fireplace. Eg mustard (front room fireplace), burgundy (music room f
ireplace), green (large kitchen/family room which looks onto garden).
Here are my questions. Should I:
· keep the new mirror?
· keep the clock?
· add some wood to the top of the IKEA units to disguise them? If so, what colour wood: painted white; natural oak; whitened oak?
· add some wallpaper to the ends of the units to disguise them (and to inject some colour)? If so, what style?
· add an accent colour? Which colour? (I dislike bright yellow, red, orange).
· keep the lamps?
· keep the ornamental duck (for keys etc)? and the bowl?
· Keep the current storage boxes?
Comments (11)
kl55hp
3 years ago
Sonia
3 years agoThat is a lovely hall, especially the front door and the floor. Now is the mirror the white one which is partly in one of the pictures? If so have you got a picture of it all, and which wall were you wanting to put it on? The clock looks like it would be more at home in a kitchen maybe. The colour scheme is lovely. Now the bit that lets the hallway down, in my opinion, is the storage. There’s lots of it, which is good, but the fact you can see all the items just looks untidy. Much better to get storage which has doors, which will immediately calm the space down. Sorry, I know that’s the one bit you didn’t want to change! Here’s some ideas
kl55hp thanked SoniaRelated Discussions
Jesse's kitchen - what kitchen would look good?
Comments (1504)we bought these beautiful colourful hexagon porcelain tiles for out kitchen walls and floors and everyone is really impressed with them. here is a photo from their site...See MoreI know this CAN be a fabulous room ... I just lost my way a little
Comments (660)So funny! I'm planning to paint the bannister at the new house (TNH) black and am veering towards painting the treads and risers black too... I've been searching for images of black staircases on Houzz and putting them in my entrance hall ideabook. They are few and far between. In your case, I think, with your white walls, maybe the stairs white and the bannister black? (Assuming the white walls continue up the stair walls enabling the b/w contrast.) You've already put black firmly into the equation, adding some more may give more reason for the black rad cab. In my case, there is a very off-centre radiator that could so very easily have been directly opposite the front door in TNH which is rather annoying as it stuffs up the focal point. We are leaving here with every radiator covered with a cabinet - and going to TNH that has loads of radiators ...but no cabinets! Yes, the work ahead is daunting - especially since the area of Ireland we're going to is very basic and not full of DIY resources, etc. I keep thinking I'll paint TNH white - to make things simpler(!) But try as I may colour keeps wandering through my mind! Lovely to be in touch again!...See MoreHelp with Windows and Front Door needed
Comments (29)Hi Minnie thank you for the help darling, yes we will mirror the right side porch brick column then split the as rest sidelights. Nice and centered for my symmetry obsessed brain. I think I know what you mean about the horizontal bars, especially as they would have to work with the panels in the doors and I can't really see how that would work. I am still fighting with the idea of plain glass though, not sure how I could get to see some modern clear glass leaded panels?? I have this strong gut feeling that adding a bit of detail to the panels will make the whole entrance feel nicer. Colour wise I think would rather have a little contrast especially as we have the garage door as well, but I'm not feeling the stronger colours. I am considering light blue from farrow and ball, too safe????...See MoreNew house restyle
Comments (41)Looks good :) I don't know whether it fits but could the piano go in the radiator corner (although not right in) facing the other way? I might just try painting the picture frames personally. If you've got any left over paint I'd also just paint the radiators in the wall emulsion and see what you think. I don't know whether this would work structurally plus you may hate them (!) but I feel like a hanging chair could work next to the tv. It would need to be a slimmish one and I'd go for one that doesn't visually feel the space too much...See Morekl55hp
3 years agopeggysue67
3 years ago
E D
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSonia
3 years agoThe first picture I shared is actually from Ikea. Here it is at another angle. I think the mirror would be great on the wall behind it. I will reiterate the hall is lovely, just needs better storage. The Cotswold Company do lovely storage, but pricier than Ikea.
From The Cotswold Co
kl55hpOriginal Author