On a cold winter’s night, the sight of a loved one opening their front door and inviting you inside is a most pleasant one. Warm hugs, the smell of dinner wafting down the hallway, a glass of wine placed into your hand before you’ve even taken your shoes off – an offer to make yourself at home.
At Christmas, these moments become all the more important as we welcome in guests both planned and unexpected for the celebrations. If you’re getting your home ready for the festive season, don’t overlook the hallway as an opportunity to decorate; start as you mean to go on, with a festive theme that begins the moment you step over the threshold. Here, we share our tips on how to decorate a hallway for Christmas.
Before you break out the Christmas hallway ornaments, turn to the corners of your space that could do with a little love. These areas can often become a little cluttered, so give the area a quick spruce ahead of decorating. Tuck shoes into storage if you can, and consider clearing a few coat hooks for guests to use. Our Hallway Storage Unit is specifically designed to cover all of these bases with its boot cubbyholes, bench and coat hooks.
As we head into the colder months, wet and rainy weather will be on the cards, so be prepared with a doormat and umbrella stand; you could even place a few umbrellas by the door to escort guests back to their cars on particularly drizzly nights.
If your hallway has wooden or tiled flooring, create a warming atmosphere with rugs or hallway runners; they’ll be particularly appreciated on colder evenings, both at Christmastime and beyond. Many of our rug designs, such as the Alanya come in both rug and runner sizes, so make sure you have an explore to find the perfect fit for your space. If you want to go the distance for guests, place fresh socks and slippers out for them to slip onto their feet once muddy boots come off.
As the above would attest, the hallway is first and foremost a practical space, so naturally a bright overhead light is essential – especially when you’re scrabbling around for shoes at the end of the evening. However, lighting such as this isn’t always the most aesthetically pleasing, and nothing makes a space feel more welcoming quite like an ambient light. If you want to give your home an instant injection of warmth, consider placing a table lamp on a console table, or adding a floor lamp by the door.
If you are wondering how to decorate a hallway mirror at Christmas, look to fairy lights to bring a soft glow – and a dose of festive cheer – to your home. Simply string them around the frame and watch it sparkle.
If your home has a staircase, then you’ve got the perfect stage for styling your Christmas hallway decoration ideas. Often the focal point of the hallway, the stairs offer the perfect opportunity to introduce some festive foliage to your look; why not wrap a faux garland around the bannister?
You could wrap Christmas lights around the spindles for added sparkle, or hang baubles for an extra festive touch – we recommend using less fragile styles, such as the Honeycomb Paper Baubles in our collection, to avoid any unwanted damage.
Don’t overlook the stairs themselves for hallway ornament ideas, either; place artificial tealights in lanterns and arrange them up the steps to take the festivities to new heights. If you wanted to go the extra mile, you could even wrap old cardboard boxes in wrapping paper and ribbons, to create a festive focal feature.
There’s no better occasion than the festive season to go all out, so allow your creativity to run wild. For those with more space to play with, bring in a Christmas tree for the ultimate decorative statement; it offers a welcome sight through an open door. You could also utilise doorways themselves; create a dramatic entrance with a Christmas garland draped over the doorframe or hang a festive wreath on internal doors – they’re not just for outside. You could even use them on a hallway table as a striking centrepiece; place a festive pillar candle in the middle for an extra seasonal touch – we recommend using an LED alternative so you can leave it to flicker unattended.
Allow your Christmas hallway accessories ideas to encompass every sense – it's not just a visual affair, after all. From fresh pine to mulled wine and mince pies, there are so many scents that feel evocative of the festive season. Cinnamon candles, a diffuser or some traditional pot pourri of dried oranges and cloves will cloak your home in a festive fragrance – creating the warmest of welcomes and the perfect introduction to a Christmas celebration.