8 Seriously Stunning Hallway, Stairs and Landing Ideas

In need of hallway, stairs and landing ideas? In this post I share some of my favourite hallway, stairs and landing ideas that I’ve taken inspiration from for my own Victorian terrace house renovation.

A hallway, stairs and landing can become an impactful transitional space between the living spaces in our homes. Regardless of whether you want to create a homely feeling, display items that conjure happiness or utilise the space to create more storage, decorating your hallway, stairs and landing is a great way of creating different moods that make an impression on your wellbeing and lifestyle.

Image courtesy of Eyeswoon.

Whether you’re looking for small hallway, stairs and landing decorating ideas, or modern through to traditional hallway decorating ideas, this post will provide inspiration for you to make the most of your hallway, stairs and landing.

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#1 Curate a gallery wall

Hallways and landings provide an opportune space to display your favourite artwork or pictures of loved ones. Taking this approach can help inject colour and character into the space, or establish a monochromatic look like in these black and white hallways.

Images courtesy of Hubert Zandberg Interiors.

There are some great companies, like MIXTILES, who provide a quick and easy way for you to turn your own photos into a beautiful gallery wall. What’s more, you don’t have to put any holes in your walls as they provide frames that will securely stick on to any wall.

Be mindful that art on both sides of a hallway can make walls appear closer together, therefore opting for hanging your artwork on one wall will help to create the illusion of more space.

But, some rules are meant to be broken so if you love a piece of artwork and there’s only space for it on the opposing wall, don’t hesitate to hang your favourite artwork up.

Images courtesy of Tom House.

Pictures needn’t be displayed flat on walls either. Take this example by Melanie Lissack Interiors that showcases layered colourful and black and white wall art hallway pictures, and stair wall decor, on shelving in an upstairs landing.

Image courtesy of Melanie Lissack Interiors.

#2 Go theatrically dark

If your narrow hallway is naturally dark, painting it white or light neutral colours can sometimes emphasise the lack of light, due to the white colour not having any light to reflect, and becomes quite cool and cold feeling.

Decorating your hallway, stairs and landing in a darker, warmer toned paint colour is a great way of creating the perception of depth and cosiness when you enter the space. Try decorating the white walls in your dark hallway with a dark navy blue or dark teal colour scheme like the example below to create a dramatic entryway.

Image courtesy of FrenchyFrancy.

Hallway Colour Ideas

If you want the colour to really envelope the space then painting the ceiling the same colour as the walls will optically lower the ceiling and create a blanket of colour. This approach provides a great canvas for adding in accent colours that are either complementary or opposite in the colour wheel to the main colour throughout the hallway.

Image courtesy of Livingetc. Photography by Paul Raeside.

Image courtesy of Livingetc. Photography by Paul Raeside.

Alternatively, painting the ceiling a lighter colour will help to retain the illusion of a higher ceiling.

#3 Choose to reflect

For the majority of hallways, especially small hallways that are dark and narrow, incorporating reflective surfaces, such as mirrors, will help to optically broaden the space.

By adding one large mirror or several towards the middle of the hallway, or small landing, it will help to expand the line of vision between the adjacent walls and reflect natural light.

Image courtesy of Brian O’Tuama Architects. Photography by Ed Reeve.

Another small hallway, hall stairs and landing decorating idea for those wanting to make a small space feel more open and bright is to either keep the walls a light colour or, for the brave amongst us, use a bold and bright colour that will create an eye-opening statement in the space.

Image courtesy of Kristy Spencer, Bare Studio. Photography by Louise Roche.

#4 Lay down tiles

Using tiles is a great way to zone an entrance from the other rooms in the house. With the large range of options available, tiles can be used to add a splash of accent colour to hallway colour schemes, or inject pattern to transform entryway stairs.

Image courtesy of VASD INTERIEUR & ARCHITECTUUR.

In such a high-traffic area, good tiles are easily maintained whilst also helping to inject warmth, colour and character – whether it’s a traditional, modern or more playful feel.

Take this hallway in the home of Olivia Silk. The playful floor tiles sets the tone as you walk into the space which is also accentuated with the pompom baskets and disco ball.

Also, the light colour of the tiles helps to accentuate the dark painted stairs, that add depth and lengthen the hallway. Alcove spaces have been utilised to hang coats and scarves, as well as creating a place to sit.

Image courtesy of Lust Living.

Whether looking to add a splash of accent colour or an injection of pattern, tiles can dramatically transform a hallway.

#5 Celebrate raw materials

In this project by CONTEKST there’s a strong focus on natural materials. The minimal concrete floor and bare staircase adds understated points of interest whilst also creating a continual flow into the rest of the house.

Image courtesy of Sam Peeters. Photography by Nils Van Brabant.

Small details, such as the subtle inclusion of this marble stair and delicate handrail, adds elegant focal points that make it a minimal and graceful part of the house.

Image courtesy of Baldwin & Bagnall. Photography by Tom Ferguson.

#7 Inject personality with wallpaper

Many narrow hallway ideas center around the best colours for stairs and landing but one of the best enclosed staircase decorating ideas for smaller hallways, and a great way of adding personality without adding lots of decorative items that take up valuable space, is to use a characterful wallpaper.

Image courtesy of Jillian Dinkel.

Wallpaper can be a cost-effective way of achieving a fresh feature wall or a bold new look, but if you think a particular pattern could be too dominating for the space, try papering the threads of the stairs with the wallpaper instead to add an interesting feature.

#8 Embrace panelling

Another clever way of creating the illusion of more height and depth in a hallway, stairs and landing is to incorporate mouldings or panelling.

Image courtesy of Undercover Architecture.

By panelling up to waist height, it breaks up a solid wall and creates a forced perspective which is essentially creating an optical illusion that creates more dimension in the space.

The detail can also help create an elegant, period aesthetic or depending on the style of panelling can create a more modern approach.

Image courtesy of De Rosee Sa.

I hope these hallway stairs and landing decorating ideas have provided you with inspiration for your own hallway, stairs and upstairs landing.

If you’d like to see what approach I take with my own hallway, stairs and landing, follow my renovation diaries on my YouTube channel and progress updates on my Instagram account.