Hallway

Three almost obligatory elements are a shoe cabinet, a coat rack or hooks, and a mirror. A place to sit while putting on shoes is also handy, a narrow bench or stool, and where the width allows, a wardrobe or a chest of drawers for small items. A hallway set often combines the mirror, coat rack and shoe cabinet into one unit, but the pieces can also be bought individually and arranged along the wall.

A large mirror opposite or beside a light source bounces light back and visually widens the space, and light warm tones on the walls open up the hallway further. Choose slim, wall-mounted or open pieces instead of bulky floor-standing ones. The fewer things in sight, the roomier the hallway feels, so avoid dark, saturated colours that give a tunnel effect.

A shelf where shoes stand flat needs about 30 to 35 cm of depth. For narrow hallways a shoe cabinet with tilting doors, where shoes sit at an angle, is more practical, and it is only about 18 to 27 cm deep. In a tight passage every centimetre of depth you save goes back into room to move.

Once the furniture is in place, leave at least about 80 to 90 cm of clear passage, because below that everyday movement becomes awkward. In a hallway about 110 to 120 cm wide, a piece deeper than 30 to 35 cm starts to get in the way. That is why shallow pieces are chosen for narrow hallways.

A wardrobe where coats hang sideways needs about 60 cm of depth, while built-in ones go up to 65 to 85 cm. Hallway wardrobes and shallower models run about 45 to 70 cm. In a really narrow hallway choose sliding doors because they need no space to open, or a shallow model where clothes hang lengthways.