It’s been a few years since I designed and built this hallway – yet I still love it as much as the day I completed it. What does this tell us? Why is this hallway so powerful? Are there lessons that translate into simpler settings? Yes, and here are the design lessons we can all take from it:
(1) It is an event to walk down this hallway – it’s not just a utility passage way …Why not make your hallway eventful or an experience?!
(2) While doorways open into rooms in irregular ways, the graphic floor pattern distracts the eye entirely…Small or large homes have all sorts of functional but less than visually optimal elements; the key is to distract and pre-occupy the eye
(3) Uplighting adds drama to most spaces – it tends to raise your spirit. Why not use it instead of conventional downlighting?! This is opposite of simply throwing some recessed down lights into the ceiling.
(4) No matter the space, be it a room or a hallway, always think of a visual focal point. Flooring is a visual focal point in this hallway. The simple black and white tiles are graphic and define the space. It invites you to “travel along it”. We have blogged about the power of the right tile before ! As also some perhaps unexpected ways of tile. One important installation note: The mix of the black border and the tile field requires precise lay-out!
(5) Don’t overload the space – I could have added wallpaper, for example. But even that would have been visually confusing. Choose simple but visually dramatic materials and let them tell the story.
Love to hear about your entrance and hallway success stories- write to Sabine!