Spice Up Your Hallway and Entrance Porch

It’s absolutely true that the first glimpse of your home should set the tone for the interior; the front door should be crisp, clean and cared-for, the path should be tidy and weed-free, and the entrance porch and hallway should be welcoming and organised. If it’s a busy family home with children and visitors trailing through constantly, that is easier said than done! However, practical flooring throughout (and consider taking it through to the kitchen, utility, and dining rooms) makes life easier and can provide a good visual flow-through for the whole ground floor.

Making An Entrance

Of course, it helps to have a spacious hallway with tall ceilings, and we can’t help but admire this hall layout with the striking black door by Urban Front. The idea of a strong colour – black here of course, but equally a dark grey, navy blue or classic green is excellent, and adds a bold design detail. Keeping walls and floors white and light emphasises the feel of space.

Space-Enhancing Porcelain Tiles

Create a similar look in your hallway or porch with our Calacatta White Italian Porcelain tiles. A great way to bring the opulence of genuine Italian marble into your interiors without breaking the bank, these fantastic tiles not only faithfully replicate Calacatta marble but are hardwearing and very easy to clean too.

Colourful Walls

Ok, so we’re pretty certain that a tough and hard-wearing tiled floor is the best idea for a hall and porch … and that gives you free reign to indulge in some amazing patterns for the walls. Think about a narrow hallway as a gallery … choose a bold paint colour and cover the walls with prints and pictures, or use a ‘wow factor’ wallpaper. You don’t have to go the whole mile either – consider wallpaper above a dado rail and wall tiles or paint below. Either will have the advantage of withstanding scuffs (tiles especially) and marks (paint can be touched up if damaged by the bicycles or buggies), whereas wallpaper could be considered to be slightly less hard-wearing. We’ve picked out three fabulous designs here, any of which could certainly bring a design statement into your hall. From left; Wisteria in Noir wallpaper from Woodchip & Magnolia; Tiger Tiger wallpaper in Green from the Graduate Collection at Limelace; and Va Va Frome Noir Leaf wallpaper, once again from Woodchip & Magnolia.

Decorative Details

It’s all too easy for a hall to become cluttered. At the very least a hallway needs a row of coat hooks, a coat stand, mirror and a console table. If you’ve got a spacious hall or porch, think about some kind of boot-room-storage-bench arrangement, with a seat or surface to perch on whilst pulling on boots, plus cubby-holes to stow shoes and slippers away out of sight. A bespoke design is often the best solution, so consult with a local carpenter or joiner, or explore the idea with your builder or tradespeople working on your project. Anyway, when it’s all finished and you get to the enjoyable bit (that’s choosing accessories!) take a look at these suggestions.

From left; Keep coats and jackets off the floor with a tall, slender coat rack such as this Alessi Pierrot Coat Stand in dark grey, from Black By Design. Montana Vintage Console table with industrial-style metal legs, mango wood, reclaimed teak and cowhide, from a great selection at Atkin & Thyme. And finally for this little lot of ideas, why not have a bold and beautiful mirror in the hallway? The Black Sun Wall Mirror with bevelled glass by Ayers & Graces is guaranteed to create a bit of intrigue.

Practical Matters

If you’re going to town with colours, wallpaper and tiles for the walls, don’t let the side down with boring light switches. Halls and porches can often need a combination of double switches to control lights from one end of the hall to the other, and of course, from inside and outside the porch. Deal with all possibilities and eventualities with switches and sockets from Dowsing & Reynolds. There’s an extensive range of colours, materials and finishes available, and one of our favourites is the Double Toggle Switch in Copper. Other colour options include White, Smoked Gold, Silver and Black. We’ve mentioned bold colours a few times this week, and of course, after the excitement of the Colour of The Year 2019 announcement from Dulux and the new Farrow & Ball paint chart, we’re quite over-awed by new ideas. However, we’re suggesting Twilight Cinders 2 as a favourite dramatic statement hall colour.

Don’t forget … new hallway and porch décor needs to be kept clean; a couple of doormats – one inside, one outside – will help trap grit and avoid scratched floors. Have a look at the range at The Farthing, we love this Dorset Hare Doormat – there are other designs available too (including a flamingo and fox!).

Next time: We’ll be making some suggestions on how to create a cosy, warm and welcoming atmosphere in your home.

You might also enjoy these posts on the Tile Mountain blog…

Customer Tile Style Profile: Diane’s Conservatory Conversion

To Utility and Beyond! Five Tips for Awesome Utility Rooms

Customer Tile Style Profile: Kirstine’s Hallway Flooring Refurb