Narrow hallway is a serious problem for most urban apartments. The outdated layout in Soviet-built houses does not indulge in space, so residents need to use the maximum of their design abilities to get out of the situation. Thanks to the right finishes, good lighting and well-chosen furniture, even a limited area can be comfortable and beautiful.
How to decorate the interior of a narrow hallway
The entrance hall is the first thing we see when entering an apartment. The first impression of the house depends on the correct interior design, so the design of the room needs to be thought out to the smallest detail. The main drawbacks of the hallway are a small area, a disproportionately elongated shape and a large number of doorways leading to other rooms. In this limited space, you need to place quite a lot of furniture: a shoe rack, a coat rack, a pouffe or chair, a mirror, shelves or boxes for storing small accessories and keys.
To make the space look harmonious, you needtry to make the shape of the hall close to the square. This can be achieved through the correct arrangement of furniture. To save the already limited wall space, a mirror can be placed on one of the doors. However, this should be done carefully: you can’t just hang an ordinary mirror on the door, it should only be a one-piece structure made specially.
The minimum width of the passage should be 80 cm or more, otherwise it will be difficult to walk along the narrow hallway: on your way you will touch all cabinets, chests of drawers and racks, and people with a large build will experience even greater difficulties. In a small room it is extremely difficult to find a place for a closet, so it is better to choose a format with sliding doors. There are few design options in this case: most wardrobes are made according to a single project and differ only in filling and coloring of the doors.
In a narrow hallway, it is recommended to actively use optical illusions and various visual effects. For example, a large pattern on the wallpaper will make the room seem more spacious, vertical stripes will make it look taller. If the room has high ceilings that create the feeling of a well, you can stick a decorative molding on the wall, departing from the ceiling by 30 cm or more. This strip should be painted in the same color as the ceiling. To make the room wider, use more shiny surfaces, such as lacquered furniture. In addition, visual effects can also be created on the floor with the help of carpet paths or transverse laying of parquet boards. Rugs with wide stripes or cleargraphic ornament will decorate the situation and expand the narrow space.
The floor should be made light, and if possible, then glossy: in this case, the light will be reflected and make the hallway more spacious. Of course, caring for such a surface is a little more difficult, but the interior will look elegant and spacious.
Colours
The design of a narrow hallway will benefit if predominantly light colors are used in the decoration. The ideal wall color in this case is white and its closest derivatives, they will help make the space wider and more voluminous. However, this finish has its drawbacks: white walls get dirty quickly, and if there are children and pets in the house, the process takes place in a matter of days. In this case, it is recommended to pay attention to more practical, but still light shades of gray, blue, powdery, light green and pale lilac. To keep things fresh, add contrasting accessories such as black furniture handles or a dark mirror frame.
Mirror in the hallway
Mirror is an integral part of any hallway, and strategically placed, it will add some volume to a narrow hallway in an apartment. It is not at all necessary to hang a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror; a medium one located at chest level is enough. Hang it on a long wall and the room will instantly become visually wider. It is not recommended to place dark cabinets or other objects opposite the mirror: a dark color reflected in the mirror surface, on the contrary,will make the corridor even narrower.
Art objects in a cramped hallway
Large perspective paintings are also able to visually expand a narrow hallway. Choose canvases with painted landscapes, city streets, roads, and bridges stretching into the distance, sea horizons and mountain peaks. The picture can be real, hand-drawn by the artist, or simply printed on a color printer - it depends on personal preferences and income level. If the picture is placed opposite the mirror, the effect of expanding the space will increase several times. The photo below in a narrow hallway shows how you can position and beat the picture.
Proper lighting
Properly selected lighting plays an important role in arranging a narrow hallway. As a rule, this room is devoid of daylight, so lighting fixtures should be used as widely as possible. Several ceiling lights located in one longitudinal line will evenly flood the entire room with soft light, making it much more spacious. For the ceiling, you should choose small light or transparent chandeliers so as not to take up extra space. This design of lamps will make the interior light and airy. The main light is desirable to complement the sconces. If you use paintings and mirrors in your design, then the ideal order would look like this: hang a picture on the wall, place a special light above it, and on the oppositeinstall a mirror on the wall. In this way, light and perspective will be reflected and multiplied, and the narrow hallway will look wider.
Storage
Hooks and hangers are a good solution for a narrow corridor, but it is far from ideal from an aesthetic point of view. This arrangement of things makes the space untidy, cluttered and even more cramped than it actually is. For various things, it is necessary to provide a comprehensive storage system: shelves for hats and other accessories, boxes for keys and various small items, a clothes hanger, a shelf for bags, and a shoe cabinet.
For things of various purposes, compact ergonomic furniture is required that can accommodate all the necessary items. The design of a narrow hallway (photo above), when a small but spacious closet equipped with open and closed shelves, drawers and a compartment for outerwear, was used for the arrangement is a vivid confirmation of this. Thanks to this storage system, all things are at hand and available at any time, and the hallway acquires a neat appearance.
Shoe rack
At first glance, it may seem that such a shelf is not needed: why take up free space when there is already very little of it. However, a compact shoe rack in a narrow hallway allows you to store shoes arranged in several rows, which means that there is much more space on the floor. The most suitable option in this case is a tall cabinet with doors and special shelves,fixed at an angle. In this design, the shoe rack is only a few centimeters wide, looks stylish and even elegant.
Clothes hanger
If there is no space for a full-fledged closet, you can limit yourself to an open hanger. Such a design should be multifunctional: in the lower part it is necessary to provide boxes for shoes, and in the upper part - shelves for hats, scarves and other similar accessories. In the middle part there should be hooks for outerwear, and under them - smaller hooks, on which keys are usually hung. Such filling of the hanger will allow you to place almost all the things you need daily so that they are at hand and not lost. To save some more space, the hanger can be equipped directly on the wall: fix the hooks at the right level, hang a shelf above them, and put a small shoe rack on the floor.
Closet in a narrow hallway
Ideal when you can place a closet in a narrow hallway. This type of furniture allows you to freely arrange not only casual shoes and outerwear, but also a significant part of the wardrobe, spare pillows and blankets, a picnic set and other similar items that you use infrequently. A narrow wardrobe in the hallway up to the ceiling is usually equipped with sliding doors that do not take up extra space when opened. The surface of the door should be decorated in a minimalist style: the decor creates a feeling of clutter, andsimple straight lines do not allow the eye to catch on, so the room seems larger. When installing in a narrow hallway, the depth of the cabinet should be no more than 45-50 cm: this size will allow you to hide everything you need and leave enough passage.
Proper arrangement of furniture, thoughtful decor and laconic finishes will help expand the boundaries of the hallway and make it more spacious. If it is impossible to move the walls, simple visual effects will come to the rescue: light shades, an abundance of light, reflective surfaces, paintings with three-dimensional, perspective images. Ergonomic furniture will allow you to store things in perfect order, while taking up minimal space. Thanks to such design techniques, the hallway will become much more comfortable, neater and acquire a stylish appearance.
