To repeat an oft-quoted phrase, there’s only one opportunity to give a first impression. Your hall and stairs need to be welcoming and uncluttered; but they also need to be durable and practical.
Decorating halls and staircases
One of the most popular searches on our website is how to refurbish halls, stairs and landings. People are looking for ideas on carpets, decoration, lighting and other features. Here is a selection of our designs.
Striped carpet on a winding staircase
When it comes to a striped stair carpet, there’s nothing more frustrating than to see stripes that don’t line up. This is a particular problem with a broad stripe because the deviation is very obvious. But there is a solution. We use a supplier who cuts between the loops, bends the stripes then re-fixes them so they all line up from tread to tread. We’ve written a separate blog on this topic: striped carpet on winding stairs.
In this project, we also reorientated the staircase to create more space in the hall, installed a new oak bottom step, fitted parquet flooring and other features including an art deco style coat rack with seat and storage.
Victorian staircase decoration
This Victorian staircase was in a raw state before we refurbished it with a stylish striped carpet runner. The stairs and spindles were painted white gloss, while the pine handrail was stripped and varnished. We also reinstated a dado rail for an authentic Victorian look.
Understairs spaces
We make good use of understairs spaces both as a cloakroom and as storage for clutter. We’ve even fitted a home network hub beneath stairs – accessible, but out of the way. In the left hand photo you can see how easy it is to recreate a period panelled look with MDF strips. When painted, the understairs space looks like it belonged to the original building.
Hall storage
Shoes are the bane of a hallway’s life, so convenient storage is going to be useful. With some imagination, this extends to letters, keys, coats and general detritus. We design and fit bespoke shoe storage, pigeon holes and key hooks as well as hiding electric meters and water softeners(!). All to keep the hallway tidy.
Coat Storage
For coat and general storage, we design multipurpose furniture. This art deco style coat rack with settle also hides a fixed water softener (that was just sitting in the hallway!). The oak seat lifts up to provide more storage.
Hallway furniture
The hall is also a place where you can show off some fine furniture and art. We’ve supplied side tables, plant stands and even made a mobile for one client to complement her paintings. Our lighting plan picks out these features, bringing them to life.
Hall flooring
Many of our halls feature wide engineered oak floorboards. They have proved particularly impressive when finished in hard wax oil, and give a wow factor when entering the house.
Thirties staircase decoration
This thirties house featured a dark carpet and stripped pine woodwork, giving the space a particularly gloomy feel.
We brightened it up with white paint, leaving only the handrail stripped and varnished, and chose a monochrome decorative scheme with black and white striped carpet runner and patterned wallpaper.
Hallway lighting
To light a hallway, a stylish chandelier will set the scene. Make sure you check the drop; chandeliers look great in photos, but some hang too low. We also set spotlights around the hall on a separate lighting circuit to pick out paintings and other features, creating interest and a warm welcome for guests. You can read our separate advice on home lighting.
You can also be a bit more imaginative. Here we took the opportunity when the hall ceiling was being replaced to add peripheral LED lighting. This complemented the low level lights which look fantastic at night.
Carpets for awkward landings
A challenge for odd-shaped landings with spindled balustrades is to decide how to finish the carpet edge. Here, we designed the carpet runner to track the adjacent walls and whipped the carpet edges short of the spindles.
Selection of stairs and hallways
