It's widely thought that when people are visiting a house they make up their mind whether they feel comfortable or not in the first eleven seconds. So, even though the front of your house and your hallway may be the areas you take the least notice of they have a real impact when it comes to the welcome it projects.
There are just two basic design principles you need to consider:
1. Layout
This should organise the hallway and front garden to work efficiently, identifying the most used pathways, ensuring they're floored in hardwearing materials, and making sure there's sufficient storage in the right places.
2. Colour
This should make the entrance, inside and out, feel light, bright and welcoming.
You can't often change the layout of a hall without major expense so the most critical factor affecting layout are the items you need to store in it. Hallways are busy places. In the mornings there could be four or five people rushing around putting on coats and shoes and looking for bags so any storage you do have can get in the way of this movement.
But it's a simple problem to solve if you follow these rules
1. First, assess all the space available including up the walls, around doors and under the stairs.
2. Often there are dead spaces that have potential for storage or display.
3. Stairways must be unimpeded, for safety, but landings can often house less used items. Just don't expect kids to put their things all the way up here. It won't happen.
And think about unsightly meters and fuse boxes, could they be disguised or even moved outside?
All your questions answered by Channel 4's property experts
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