Making An Entrance

We’ve all heard the saying “you only get one chance to make a first impression” so with that in mind, this article is going to give you some ideas on how to raise the profile of your hallway or entrance with some easy to follow interior design tips.

1)   Que the lights!

Lighting is key for creating impact in your hallway. It can set the tone for the rest of your home, both for you and your guests. For a traditional and elegant look, you could install a glass chandelier. This doesn’t have to mean you’re spending a bomb- there are styles and sizes to suit all budgets. You will however have to factor in the space it’ll take up. Look out for ‘minimum drop’ or ‘fitting height’ and then check with a tape measure where it will be fitted, so you can visualise how low it will hang. Most chandeliers come with chains for adjusting the drop.

For a more modern look, you could explore the possibility of using recessed lighting, spotlights in the ceiling or uplighting in the floor. For ceiling spotlights, your electrician will likely need access to the room above your hallway and may need to lift the floorboards. Think about the practicality of this i.e would tiles need to be lifted?

2)   What can you see?

Stand in your hallway as if you’ve just come in from outside and think about what you can see. Where does the eyeline take you? Can you see into the garden? Into another room? If so think about if these spaces look as good as the could. Do they flow well? Is there something spoiling the view? If so look into getting it sorted or how you could distract the eye to something more pleasing.

If you can’t see another room from the entrance then perhaps you can add some interest with a nice painting or print, or a statement chair.

3)   Flower Power

Nothing says “come on in” like a big bunch of flowers in a hallway. If you don’t want to go to the expense of buying a fresh bunch every week, you could pick flowers from your own garden and add volume to the display with greenery. You could get children or grandchildren involved, and picking from your own garden keeps it seasonal. Also, you’ll know exactly where the flowers came from. Can’t get much more local than that!

4)   Fragrance

I love candles. I have four differnet scents of candles on the go in my house as I type this. As the weather has changed in the last few weeks and the nights are darker and colder, I’ve started using my winter candles. I have cinnamon buns in my living room at the moment, and I’m using up the rest of fluffy towels, black coconut and midsummer night’s dream throughout the rest of my house (don’t try this at home) and once they’re used up I’ll have my autumn winter candles in every room.

Having scented candles in your hallway, especially at this time of year can be a real mood changer. If you have people coming over for dinner and want to make them feel welcome, then light some scented candles that they’ll see and smell as soon as they walk in your doorway. The fragrance and flickering light will set the mood. You could give a little votive version of the same scent to them as a party favour, to remember the evening by.

If you don’t feel that candles are an option, you could go for reed diffusers or plug ins. My favourite candle brand actually makes plug ins also… The good thing about these flameless fragrancing solutions is that you can come home after a long day and be met with a beautifully scented home.

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading. More articles coming this week,

Claire