Entrance hall design ideas


42 Entryway Ideas for a Fantastic First Impression

Homes + Decor

An elegant foyer introduces your home’s personality and welcomes your guests—these AD-approved entryway ideas are guaranteed to make a stylish first impression

Photo: Oberto Gili

Consider the entrance hall your opportunity to sweep guests off their feet. There’s no shortage of entryway ideas; whether visitors are welcomed into a soaring space crowned with a sparkling chandelier, or a cozy foyer with warm wood floors and a bouquet of blooms, the entryway sets the tone for the rest of your home. This transitory spot is the perfect place to showcase a sleek console table and statement mirror, a bold painting or sculpture, or an ornately tiled floor with a vibrant color palette.  

If you’re looking for entryway decor ideas, why not take a cue from some of the most stunning entrances featured in the AD archives to ensure that the foyer of your home is as spectacular as the rooms that follow? You know what they say: You rarely get a second chance to make a good first impression. 

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74 hallway ideas to make a great first impression | House & Garden

“It is easy to forget that an entrance hall is a room,” says decorating maestro Rita Konig. “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.” For this reason, pay as much attention to the stuff in a hallway as you would in any other room, and don’t use it as dumping ground for furniture or art that has no home elsewhere.

Just because you’re moving through a space regularly to get to another room where you might spend longer, that doesn’t make it less important – if anything, it makes it more important. The hallway is nearly always the part of a house that you and your guests will encounter first, so make sure it leaves an impression, perhaps by hanging a statement piece of art in it or by introducing an unusual colour.

Hallway ideas: decoration

Since hallways, especially in city houses, tend to be narrow, the walls are an important feature. Opt for a warm paint colour, some elegant wall panelling, or a patterned wallpaper to lend the space character. Also consider adding wall lights, for a gentler glow than an overhead light. This is a great place to display art. We’ve seen some brilliant examples of statement pieces taking up practically an entire wall, but gallery walls are also a great option in a hallway, perhaps displaying a collection of photographs or botanical prints.

“Traffic is a consideration when you are decorating,” notes Rita. “The floor, for example, has to be practical while remaining in keeping with the style of the house.” We love a flagstone hallway, or the traditional tiles you can still find in Victorian houses, but sisal or jute can also be a great, hardwearing option for this space.

Don’t forget to take into account the other rooms you can see from a hallway – if you have easy views into lots of rooms or one particular room, try to keep the colours of the walls tonal, and think about positioning hallway mirrors to allow unexpected glimpses throughout the house. Pocket or sliding doors can also work well for the rooms that lead off a hallway, especially if it is a dark or narrow space, allowing the doors to be open most of the time, letting light flood in.

Hallway ideas: furniture

“The furniture here should be good,” continues Rita. If you have enough space, consider a hall table, either a console table that can provide a space for keys, post, along with flowers, lamps and decorative objects, or something a bit grander to go in the centre of the hallway if you have a larger space. “The hall table can be quite magnificent – just as it is in many of Robert Kime’s projects, and in William Yeoward and Colin Orchard’s house in Gloucestershire.” A bench or pair of chairs can also be a great feature, allowing people to perch and take off their shoes, or providing a place to wait as you prepare to leave the house.

Hallway ideas: storage

Finally, hallway storage is absolutely key if you want to maintain tidiness. Hallways are always prone to get cluttered up with shoes, bags, umbrellas, coats and other paraphernalia. A bench with storage built in underneath can be a great option, while wall-mounted storage or a simple row of hooks can work well in super small spaces. If you have a bit more room, a coat rack, wardrobe or built-in joinery can look rather distinguished.

108 photos (real) and 5 Ideas

Many people pay too much attention to the design of the hallway, forgetting that every room in the apartment should be functional, and the appearance of the interior is far from the first place. Let's take a quick look at design theory, then see real photos of functional hallways.