Your front door is a gateway and what lies beyond it is a realm of happiness for you and your family.
“It is easy to forget that an entrance hall is a room. It often receives corridor status, but it is, in fact, an important space. As the place for arrivals and departures, it sets the tone for the rest of the house, so it needs to be welcoming”, says Rita Konig in a House & Garden article.
The passage or the entryway, hallway, corridor, or however you’d like to call it, is more than just a place to pass through or leave your shoes. It’s the most exterior part of your home’s interior, the first place you come in contact with once you put the key in the front door and bring your shopping in.
Though your home is your sanctuary, we all appreciate a bit of a change now and then- It doesn’t have to be fancy or extravagant, makeovers can happen by following simple steps.
Have a clear outline of what you want to achieve with this makeover and the resources that you would need. While there’s no pressure on getting the job done, putting a date on it might motivate you to get it done faster, resulting in a quicker outcome.
Proceed by clearing the clutter. This is one of the basic and recommended steps towards having an improved home. The space should be free of any unnecessary items- it should be breathable and allow free movement without the fear of bumping into something when you’re hurrying out the door.
Author Seth Cohen has aptly said, “When your home is filled with unnecessary junk and things you never use, it puts you in a mindset that you need more and more stuff rather than simply learning to appreciate what you already own and getting the most out of the items you have already bought.’”.
Once the clutter is cleared, you’ll automatically sense the freshness in the ambience. However, if you find yourself in a fix when it comes to deciding what to throw out and what not to, you’re not alone. You could always replace the existing homeware. For instance, replacing the carpet or the rug would bring in warmth. While the majority of houses have marble or wooden flooring, having some material to walk on adds an extra feel to the entranceway. If you don’t have a rug already, perhaps it’s time for you to invest in one.
You can add a stool or a bench if space and budget permit, as it’s easy for you to put your shoes on while seated. Obviously, you don’t want to be dragging a chair out of the dining room or for those who are particular about keeping the outside shoes outside.
The colour that you choose on the interior of your front door adds a great deal to the entire home makeover equation. While it’s often difficult to visualise what a certain shade might look like on a particular style of door, with the Palladio door designer, this worry is kept at bay. The Palladio door designer allows you to design and visualise your dream door on a picture of your home, not just the outside, but also the inside.
Try it here: Door Designer
You can add layers to your hallway by having a false ceiling embedded with halogen light bulbs that are quite in vogue, again, if your budget permits. If spending on a false ceiling might not look feasible or maybe against your ideas of doing a makeover, revisit that in the future. You can add a lampshade or exchange an existing one for a size bigger/ smaller than what you currently have to help enhance the hallway further.
Time to focus on the walls. Hacks such as using contrasts or light colours can make any space look bigger than it is. Shades such as off-white, ochre-yellow, beige, cream, coffee, light grey, or sage can make a statement not only in your hallway but also in your overall home interiors.
If you want to take it up a further notch, hang a few pictures on the walls or get in a few mirrors. One giant mirror might also do the trick.
You can then add in a few homeware products such as indoor potted plants, shoe racks, a welcome mat and perhaps an air diffuser. People are big into DIY these days and if you feel confident enough, you can add some DIY homeware to your hallway.
These are only tips, and decorating or re-decorating any space is rather subjective. You don’t have to burn a hole in your pocket just because your neighbour is doing an upgrade or someone you came across on social media is. While minimalism is the talk of the town, it might be no harm to unleash your creativity and experiment with colours or a few accessories. It’s your home and hallway, ultimately, you can choose what suits your taste and what works best for your lifestyle.
