A hallway has the serious task of setting the tone for your arrivals and departures, yet it is also the space most likely to be starved of light, sandwiched between rooms and far from a window.
A coat of white paint or strategically placed mirror can help to lift a dark hallway, but no intervention can match the brightening impact of internal windows or glazed doors, which effectively borrow natural light from adjacent rooms, as well as offering an enticing peek inside.
We first reported on the trend for internal windows at the end of last year – Houzz too found that demand for glass wall partitions had increased by +202 per cent in the same period – and they have continued to pop up in stylish home renovations ever since.
How to use a glazed door
The simplest place to start is with the doors that lead off your hallway. Swapping a solid panel for one with glass – which only requires a modest outlay – makes an immediate difference.
'A door with clear or translucent glass is a fantastic way of flooding a hallway with light, and therefore making it seem larger and lighter,' says interior designer Joanna Wood.
Reeded or fluted glass can be used wherever privacy is needed.
The two stylish homes above have chosen different finishes that have opposing impacts. The natural oak frame recedes into the architecture of the home, whilst the vivid grass-green frame becomes a bold punctuation mark.
Adding internal windows
If you want to go further, a run of steel-framed internal windows shares even more light between spaces and creates a visual connection that makes both rooms feel larger.
'Removing walls is no longer the only option when it comes to reworking our living spaces,' says Gisela Lancaster, head of sales at Sofology. 'Internal Crittall doors and look-throughs into other spaces are a clever way to create cosy areas.'
This approach works especially well in Victorian and Edwardian terraces, where the hallway often runs the full depth of the house but rarely benefits from a window of its own. A glazed opening into a side return, kitchen or living room can transform the whole feel of the ground floor.
Don't forget the details
Once you've tackled the structure, it's worth thinking about the finishes that can amplify what you've already gained.
Using mirrors is the oldest trick in the book – position one opposite a glazed door or internal window and it will effectively double your light source, bouncing borrowed rays back into the darkest corners of your hallway.
Your paint finish is equally worth considering. Most people default to a flat or eggshell finish in hallways, but switching to a full gloss or high-sheen paint can make a remarkable difference – the reflective surface catches and amplifies light in the same way a mirror does, but across every wall simultaneously.
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