Hallway Make Over In Rented Apartment

First impressions count, even when it comes to your home.  The first space to greet you when you arrive home is your hallway; it’s the space that invites you in and welcomes you, which is why appearances are important.  I believe you are an extension of your home, which is why I prioritised decorating this area when I first moved in as I wanted my friends and family to get the right impression of my new home.

Unfortunately, when I moved in the hallway wasn’t very welcoming.  The walls, which were a dull shade of cream, made the space look dark and claustrophobic.  The pictures that were left hanging on the walls were dated, mismatched and generally made the area look cluttered and messy.  Looking at it now, it’s unrecognisable.  It’s amazing how a few simple changes can give an area a new lease of life.

A transformation will mean different things to different people but with some work, you can achieve the entrance way that you want with your home.  Unsafe structure for going up to the next floor?  Choose trusted staircase manufacturers.  Looking dark and dingy?  Get a lick of paint on the walls!  No where to store anything?  Get some extra storage space!  Funny smell?  A deep clean and some home fragrances will soon sort that!  If you want to transform your home, you can.  I did and when I’m completely finished, I’ll share snippets of each room on here or areas like I did in my blog post all about how to create an at home bar area on a budget.

The first thing I did was freshen the space up with a coat of Deluxe Paint in the shade Natural White. This really helped to brightened up the space, making it look much bigger, and even made it look brand new again.  My landlord didn’t allow me to gloss or change the flooring so I borrowed a carpet cleaner from my friend and made sure to really deeply clean the I took down the photos and replaced some with pieces that reflected my style, for example this stunning Gemstone Crystal picture that I got from Next and this sparkly frame from George homeware in Asda.  Being a renting newbie, I realised early on that I wouldn’t be able to afford to buy everything new, so I decided to get a little thrifty.  My mirror, which is one of my favourite pieces in my hallway, is from a charity shop and with a coat of silver spray paint from Wilkinsons it was like new.

I knew that when designing my hallway that I wanted the decor to be fluid with the rest of my home. This is why I chose a coat stand from Mano Mano with a marble bottom, as I have marble touches in my bedroom and kitchen and the crystal light – also from Mano Mano – complements other accessories in my home. Instead of buying a new side table, I used one that I had in my old bedroom, as it already went with all my other pieces of furniture, and to ensure it fitted with the theme of my hallway I upgraded the handle to a crystal one I found on eBay.

I’m a big believer that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get that glam and sophisticated look. I’m all about getting that luxe look for less, which is why I have a Jo Malone-inspired reed defuser and candle from Aldi on my side unit.  I mean, it’s always been my dream to have the Luxury Candle from Jo Malone, but when I moved in I really needed to prioritise where I spent my disposal income, and these ones smell incredible for the price.

Another reason I have these in my hallway is because the smell of a home is incredibly important to me.  Just like first appearances, I want friends and family to walk in and be captivated by the smell.  Luckily for me, thanks to these fragrances, I’ve had many compliments on the scent of my home.

On my side unit I have a crackled vase that I got years ago from Next filled with faux flowers I bought from Dunelm Mill. I personally prefer fresh flowers, but in a space where there’s hardy any light it seems very impractical.  The vase is stood on a small mirrored disk, which you can get in the form of coasters from various retailers.

This accessory is then finished with a string of copper lights from Primark and large lantern, which I got from Next a while ago.  Not only are these perfect for creating a calming ambience, but since the lights are battery operated and I use a battery operated candle in the lantern it means I can go out with them on knowing it’s not affecting my electricity bill and I’m not coming home to a dark house.

Leading up the stairs to quite an ample landing, which I will cover in another post, I have placed a Buddha ornament.  I brought this from my old home where I lived with my dad and to ensure it complemented the rest of my decor I sprayed painted it silver with the same paint as was used to revamp the mirror.  It looks awesome on the stairs and since the ceiling is double height, I have a large white metal clock that I found in a local coffee shop boutique on the wall to create a focal point as you go up the stairs and to break up the vast white space.

I want to buy a garland to go up the banister this Christmas and for on the stairs I’d like to get one of those catch all baskets to put all of the things in from downstairs that need to go up, so that they’re not cluttering up my space.  I think a silver lantern next to the Buddha would look lush too.

At the top of the stairs is a larger landing space that I hope, in time, to transform into a reading nook. Since I don’t have the money at the moment, I’ve filled this space with a large fluffy rug and more recently, I’ve added a clothes rail and I actually LOVE the look.  Maybe I’ll end up keeping it as a little dressing area.  More on that in another post!

I absolutely love how my hallway as turned out. In the future I hope to save enough to place a rug runner in the hall, so it’s not all wood, but in the mean time I’m really happy with this space!

How does your hallway look?  What design tips do you have?