How to design ... your hall
The first in an occasional series looking at each room individually and finding the best ways to marry form and function.
The entrance hall is one of the most underrated rooms in our homes. We barely give it a second thought as we sag wearily through the front door after a day at work or a night out, pausing only to kick off shoes, drop bags and slide out of coats before heading for another place that will better meet our immediate requirements – food, relaxation, gin.
And yet this is the first place we and our visitors see. It sets the tone for the rest of our home and reveals so much about who lives there and, not only, what they like but what they are like. Does your hall welcome you in after a hard day? Does it offer you a place to store everything and show you the way to the fridge and a cold beer after a stint at the office? Or does it sigh at your interruption, throw your coat back off an overloaded hook and leave you to stumble your way past piles of clutter to an empty fridge and a single slice of slightly stale bread?
You owe it to yourself to make the most of your entrance. To create a space that greets you when you arrive there from the bedroom in the morning and welcomes you back home in the evening. It should soothe your mind and smooth your path – and there are some easy ways to achieve that, whatever its size and your requirements.
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