It is not often that hallways have windows, but if you wish to add some softness with furnishings, you may decide to cover the door with a full length curtain or blind a great boon if you also suffer from a draughty entrance. Special curtain poles (portiere rods) are available that lift as you open the door so that the curtain won’t drag on the floor or get caught as the door opens; or you may find it useful to have a curtain on hinged pole that will swing back against the wall when you would like the curtain open.

For added interest in the hall and up the stairs display favorite pictures and paintings; have a low but long bookshelf along one wall which will also serve as a handy shelf; and hang a mirror for the last is an especially valuable addition to a hallway. If the space is long and narrow, a mirror hanging on one wall will enhance the width by reflecting whatever is on the opposite wall (a light, for example, would become doubly strong) and if it can be positioned to reflect some outside light, so much the better.

A hallway, then, need not be the place where people come and go at speed. Turn it into a place to linger, somewhere where greetings and departures need not be hurried. Even a small space can be interesting.