The hallway is the least-used and most-seen room. You pass through it twice a day (morning and evening), guests see it on arrival, the delivery person sees it when you open the door. It is seconds, not minutes. Yet it is the first impression the room gives of the whole apartment. A well-decorated hallway sets the tone for everything that follows.
The main constraint of a hallway is space. Most Parisian hallways are less than 4 square metres. Corridors are narrow (80 cm to 1.2 m). Available walls are often partly occupied by a mirror, a coat rack or a console. All factors that reduce the surface available for posters.
One hallway, one strong poster
The most effective rule for a hallway: one poster, but well chosen. A strong piece, in large format (50x70 or 70x100), which immediately gives the style of the apartment. A vintage travel poster against an ivory hallway wall, a black-and-red Bauhaus composition against a white wall, a large botanical on old parquet: these combinations work because they are legible in a fraction of a second.
If the hallway is very narrow (less than one metre wide), a single large poster is not recommended: it would be too close, poorly seen. In that case, a row of two or three small formats (30x40) hung at eye level, regular spacing, gives a rhythm that accompanies the passage without encumbering the space.
Choosing the right subject for a hallway
The hallway is the ideal place for a poster that says something about you or what you love. A poster of a city you adore (Paris, New York, Tokyo), a composition from an artistic movement that defines you (Art Déco, Bauhaus, japonisme), an illustration of an exotic plant that signals your tastes: this personal poster has its place here, more than in the living room or bedroom where the coherence of the whole takes priority.
The hallway is also the last room you see when leaving in the morning. A poster that inspires you or makes you smile during this daily passage has a real effect on your mood as you go out.
The poster and the mirror
The mirror is the other great classic of hallway decoration. Poster and mirror complement each other well if they are at the same height and 30 to 50 cm apart. The poster gives colour, the mirror gives light. Together, they enlarge the perceived space and make it visually more complex than a simple wall surface. Avoid placing them facing each other: the reflection of the poster in the mirror creates unnecessary confusion.
One last piece of advice for the hallway: think about lighting. Hallways often have little natural light. Indirect lighting that falls on the poster (an oriented recessed spot, a side wall light) completely transforms the effect. An unlit poster in a dark hallway is invisible after 6pm. Lit, it becomes a focal point.
