Tips to Decorate a Narrow or Small Hallway

Decorate and Paint a Little or Narrow Hallway with These Top Tips

Learn how to decorate and paint a little or narrow hallway so it appears larger and more spacious. Choosing the proper tools, like paint sheen and color, and learning how to choose your wall art, turns a narrow hallway into a welcoming space.

Visual Breaks

Minimize the visual breaks when decorating a narrow or small hallway. Keep the flooring the same in the hallway as it is in the rooms that open into the hallway. Avoid area rugs that stop the eye. Save wainscoting, chair rails, or picture molding for larger rooms — they create visual breaks that stop the eye.

Choose all of the colors from one paint chip. Changing the tone or shade of the paint provides interest and depth without creating that unwanted visual break.

Paint

Hallways are typically high-traffic areas that get dirty. Narrow hallways may get dirtier than wider hallways, so selecting the best paint product will help with clean-ups down the line. Pick a paint with luster. The shinier the final paint finish, the better it washes up. Consider a semi-gloss, eggshell, or satin finish.

The specific name may vary slightly depending upon the manufacturer, but this paint finish cleans up better than a flat wall paint which makes it a better choice for narrow hallway spaces.

Select your paint color. Choose a color that blends or coordinates with all of the rooms that feed into the hallway. If the hallway isn’t a long space, paint all of the walls the same shade of paint. Select the same paint for doors and baseboards.

Keep these items the same color as the wall they’re located on. Paint the ceiling shade darker than the shade selected for the walls. If the floor is being painted, paint it the same color as the ceiling.

Painting the ceiling and floor a darker shade visually makes a narrow space feel wider. Paint the farthest wall with the same shade as the ceiling and floor. This brings the wall closer, visually shortening the hallway.

Lighting

Update the lighting in a narrow hallway. Choose small fixtures that are unobtrusive and that sit close to the ceiling. Avoid lighting that extends into the space. Choose ceiling-mounted recessed lights that are clean in design and place them in evenly spaced increments along the length of the hallway.

Select an odd number of lighting such as three or five lights. Center the first light and evenly space the remaining. Simply shedding light on a narrow hallway enhances the visual appearance of the space.

Doors

Take a look at the doors that are located in the hallway. Decide if these doors are really needed. If not, remove as many of the doors as possible to allow more natural light into the room and to make the hallway appear larger and less closed off from the rest of your living space.

For doors that can’t be removed like bathroom doors, consider replacing them with glass panel doors. Choose decorative privacy glass that allows the light to filter through, but retains privacy, or choose traditional glass doors and hang lightweight sheers on the inside of the doors.

Decor

Learning how to decorate and paint a little or narrow hallway is a fun and simple process if you keep the area clean and uncluttered. Opt for a less is more mentality.

Choose a monochromatic color scheme to work with your artwork and wall hangings. You could always create your own wall art to make sure everything coordinates perfectly.

Place a large, framed mirror so it leans against the wall. Position this mirror near the entry where it catches natural light and reflects it back into the hallway.

Choose wall prints that are the same size. Frame them in white frames that are much larger than the prints. Matt the prints in white mats and hang them on the wall. Hang them all at the same height, in a straight line and in odd numbers.

Bring texture to the space with metal wall art. Choose long and thin pieces. Hang them vertically in between your artwork. Add matching metal art pieces on either side of the mirror to create a cohesive look throughout the space.

Avoid using multiple groupings of small pieces of artwork or photographs as this gives the impression of clutter. Clutter always makes a space appear smaller so cluttering a narrow hallway will only make it appear narrower than it really is.

Use fabric in your decor. Hang a twin-size quilt on a decorative curtain rod. Fold the quilt in half and drape it over the curtain rod. The fabric helps dampen the sound that can echo down a narrow hallway.

Avoid furnishings that take up floor space or that obstruct the flow of traffic. Keeping the floor space clear makes the hallway feel larger. If a table is mandatory, choose a small table that’s glass so it doesn’t visually block the space. Set a floor lamp on it or add a vase of fresh-cut flowers. Keep the flowers fresh so the appearance of the hallway doesn’t look unkempt or neglected.