Decorate a Hallway in Your Home

Hallways are often areas that are forgotten or overlooked as we design and decorate our homes. There are so many ways to dress up these functional spaces in our homes, and the great news is that you can achieve a unique look specific to your styles and tastes for a very small investment of time and money.

One thing to keep in mind as you begin planning your hallway decor is the functionality of the space. By design, hallways are meant to connect the livable spaces in our homes, and your decorating plan should accentuate this. Depending on the size of your hallway, you may be able to incorporate some furnishings in your design. If your hallway is like most standard hallways though, you will want to focus your efforts on floor, wall and doorway decor.

One quick and inexpensive way to change the look of your hallway space is to add some floor decoration. Whether you have hardwood, tile, or carpeting in your space, you can personalize your space with a rug. You can find long and narrow rugs or carpets that will add both flair and function to your home. These rugs are often called 'runners' and can help protect the flooring in your home.

If you are remodeling your home and you are considering using floor tiles for your hallway, you have the opportunity to personalize this space even more. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to integrate your children's names or perhaps some of their favorite colors or items into the area just outside of their bedroom doors. With proper planning, this can be a fun and cherished mosaic project for your family. One tip regarding this type of project: keep the personalized floor space the same size as the square footage of the rest of your floor tile, so that if you move, you can easily break out the personalized area and replace with tile that matches the rest of the hallway.

In addition to flooring, every hallway space has walls, a ceiling, and doorway trim that you can decorate, further personalizing your home's decor. Choosing a color of paint or textured wallpaper for the walls in your hall is just one more way to bring often forgotten space into the overall design and decor of your home. One unique and recently decorated hall space incorporates some textured wallpaper that creates the look and feel of a classic library; the paper depicting leather-bound books of various sizes on rows and rows of shelves. Another beautiful and recently remodeled hall employs a textured paint process that looks like suede-covered walls. Your choices for wall decor will set the stage for your doorway trim and hallway lighting choices.

Once you have completed your wall decor plan, you can finalize your trim ideas. Open your mind to the ideas of non-traditional materials, or repurposing items. If you want to achieve a rustic look, consider using old and grayed wood planks from a barn as your doorway trim. This option is exceptionally customizable, as you can opt for squaring the joints, or creating a truly rustic 'slapped together' look by leaving the pieces raw on the edges. You can create a faux rusted appearance on your nail heads, as well, and if you are willing to spend a little time, you can even opt for wood-burning the names of your children, or perhaps the room's name into the entryway: 'Saloon' over the kitchen, or 'Bunkhouse' over the guest room -- run with your creativity.

There are really no limits to trimming your hallway; you can use a decorator fabric of your choice and some hot glue to cover simple or plain doorway trim; shells from family trips to the ocean for a bathroom doorway, a bottle cap collection, matchstick blind pieces cut to fit for an island getaway feel, self-hardening clays with handprints or other imprints of your choice -- these options and many, many more are available to you. Once you have planned your hallway trim, you can focus on wall accents and lighting.

If you collect art or have a collection of photographs that you'd like to display, the hallway is a perfect gallery space just waiting for you to utilize it. Perhaps you have children that enjoy bringing home art projects from school? You can create a fun gallery for their artwork in your hallway quickly and easily by stringing some decorator cord or other material of your choice along each wall. Depending on your style preferences, you can opt for wooden clothespins, contemporary metal clips, or any other idea you come up with for hanging your child's masterpieces.

The lighting you choose for your hallway is one of the final finishing touches. Consider track lighting with directional lights so that you can draw attention to your decor, whether it includes a favorite painting or a cherished photograph. Consider wall sconces if you prefer indirect lighting. Installing a dimmer switch for your hall's lighting can add to the decor as well, by creating mood lighting for parties or enabling you to keep the hallway lights on unobtrusively for young children who need help quieting their fears of the dark, or finding the bathroom at night.

Whatever your design ideas include, be sure to have fun expressing yourself in the hallway spaces in your home.