Regardless of whether it is a one-room apartment or a spacious single-family home: the entrance area is the calling card of every home. Comfortable and yet functional: Hardly any other area has to meet more requirements. We show you 30 ideas for a charming hallway design in vintage style. Finds from the flea market, heirlooms from grandparents and vases from the antique shop bring an old-fashioned cosiness into your own four walls.
Vintage style hallway design made easy
It’s not just a transitional room: guests are received and family members are welcomed in the hallway. So it deserves extra attention in the design. When setting it up, you should adhere to several basic rules:
- First, distribute the furniture around the room. Consider whether they are functional. Are they perhaps taking up too much space or getting in the way? Large furniture sets made of solid wood are typical of vintage furnishings, but can darken the room. If you don’t have enough space for a wardrobe etc., you can also get by with a vintage chest of drawers or a shoe cabinet from the flea market.
- Plan the lighting concept for the hallway. Especially with floorboards without windows there is a risk that they will be too dark. The problem can be solved with a combination of direct and indirect light. You can illuminate the entire hallway with wall lights. Pendant lights give the room more character and structure.
- The right decoration should definitely not be missing in a vintage interior. Pictures, mirrors and carpets make the hallway look homely and inviting.
- Match the color concept to the rest of the interior. Colors play an important role in the hallway. They visually enlarge the room, make it look brighter and create a harmonious feel-good ambience.
Hallway design in vintage style: the basic principles
Restore old furniture, new furniture becomes outdated. The antiques bring a touch of romance from bygone times into your own home. Selected and restored designer pieces are offered in the antique markets. If the price is too high for you, look for cost-effective alternatives. A visit to the local flea market can be worthwhile, as a lot of the old furniture ends up there. Although they don’t have much material value, they bring vintage charm to the interior. Heirlooms can also be restored and give the room a special character.
You don’t need a lot of experience to repair an old dresser or cabinet. First and foremost, pay attention to functionality. It should definitely be preserved. Before you get to work, check whether the cabinet doors open easily, whether the hinges are damaged, and whether all door handles are in place. Minor damage, such as chipped paint or scratched paint, can be easily repaired. Decorative strips and cracked veneers can also be repaired with a little patience, prior knowledge and craftsmanship.
Upcycle furniture and accessories
If you can’t find what you’re looking for at the flea market or Amazon, you can go for new furniture with an old look. Nowadays there is a large selection of furniture that successfully simulates the vintage look. Together with vintage accessories such as vases or mirrors, you can hardly distinguish them from real antiques.
Another option is to upcycle old furniture and accessories . For example, you can make a mirror out of an old window frame. For this purpose, simply have mirror glasses inserted and the window frame painted in an accent color. Let the paint dry and sand the edges with sandpaper to give the window frame the old look.
Repurpose old furniture
You can also repurpose furniture . Transform the old sorting cabinet into a chest of drawers that can hold keys, jewelry, scarves and other small items. Build a shelf out of recycled wood and pipes or make your own industrial-look pendant light. Let your creativity run wild and you will certainly come up with other ideas.
Hallway design in vintage style: The decoration
Old suitcases, industrial-look lamps, handmade vases, old picture frames: decoration is very important in the vintage hallway. The detailed decoration in particular creates the cozy atmosphere typical of the vintage style and gives the room a personal touch. Signs of wear, discoloration or even cracks are not a flaw, but are part of the appeal of the old look. When choosing home accessories, however, you should pay particular attention to functionality. An old suitcase, casually placed under the dresser with high legs, can, for example, accommodate the children’s shoe collection or provide storage space for shoe polish, shoe sponge and leather waterproofing spray.
Vintage world maps, oil paintings or black and white pictures can completely transform the bare walls. However, there are a few things you should keep in mind when hanging:
- Hang the largest picture at eye level and group the smaller pictures around it.
- When placing them, ensure that the paintings are not exposed to direct sunlight. The sun’s rays can cause damage that cannot be removed.
- If you want to illuminate a painting, choose cold light lamps with a luminous intensity of 100 lux.
- Radiators, high humidity and temperature fluctuations can also accelerate the aging process and make the colors brittle.
Hallway design in vintage style: flowers and plants
Flowers and plants are an integral part of a vintage style interior. Seasonal flowers also make the hallway more comfortable. A shoe cabinet offers the perfect storage space for vases. It’s best to group a vase, a lamp and other smaller decorative objects together. Hydrangeas are perfect cut flowers for spring. By the way, they can also be dried and arranged in vases, bringing a touch of nostalgia into the room. The roses are also among the classics. The lavender spreads a gentle scent throughout the room and keeps insects away in summer.
If you decide to have potted plants, you should first seek advice from a garden center. Because only a few plants can thrive in the hallway, even if it has a window. Only very few people can withstand drafts and constant temperature fluctuations. Begonias, holly and the aralia are perfect for this.
- The tuberous begonia that we typically see on the balcony or terrace also feels at home at home. If you want to welcome guests with a splendor of flowers, especially at Christmas, choose Lorraine begonias. This species blooms from December. All begonias thrive best in shady locations. Therefore, the hallway offers the best conditions for their rapid growth. However, it should at least have a window so that sunlight can enter the room.
- The European holly thrives best in the home garden. But you can grow a holly in the hallway or store it there in the winter.
- The indoor aralia feels comfortable in dark rooms. It is very easy to care for and looks very attractive with its large dark green leaves.
Hallway design in vintage style: The most common mistakes
1. Too little storage space. Vintage style furniture is beautiful, but not always practical. A chest of drawers or a side table takes up a lot of space, but offers little storage space. Storage space in the hallway is an absolute must, especially for large families. Modern hallway sets offer a solution, although they have a vintage look but at the same time offer enough storage space. Brass coat hooks, rattan boxes and baskets and drawers with vintage door handles create the perfect atmosphere and the shoes and jackets are out of the way.
2. Mix home styles . Scandinavian, industrial or midcentury modern: all of these living styles have one thing in common, namely the vintage touch. It’s no wonder that many interior enthusiasts tend to mix styles. An industrial lamp here, a Persian carpet there and a cupboard in a modern country house style: it couldn’t be more chaotic.
3. Combining patterns and motifs incorrectly . In vintage style, floral patterns meet natural motifs. Birds, animals and even fish harmonize perfectly with each other. However, geometric patterns are out of place. The rule of thumb applies, especially in the hallway: the larger the pattern, the better. Finely patterned wallpaper shrinks the narrow hallway.
4. Avoid hallways completely when building a house . The trend actually comes from Northern Europe. The front door leads directly into the rooms. There is simply no hallway; instead, a console table offers space for keys etc. and a bench offers the opportunity to comfortably take off your shoes. It looks very charming in magazines and on television, which is why more and more builders are deciding to forego the hallway. What at first glance seems like a good solution is actually impractical. No matter whether vintage or modern: the hallway offers storage space for shoes and coats.
5. Forgo the seat . In a vintage hallway, seating is an absolute must. Not only because you can sit there and easily put on and take off your shoes, but also because it is an important design element. It gives the hallway character and makes it appear cozy and inviting. A rug that keeps your feet warm goes perfectly with this.
Conclusion
A vintage style hallway design exudes charm and gives the room more character. To ensure that it not only looks good but is also functional, there are a few things you should consider when planning:
- Measure the room and don’t buy hallway furniture that is too large. Better to have a console table with rattan baskets underneath rather than a large, solid cabinet.
- Plan the lighting in detail and coordinate all lighting fixtures stylistically. Modern spotlights and an industrial-style pendant light do not go together.
- The vintage decoration is what makes the country house style so attractive. Paintings, black and white photos or vintage vases exude a rural charm and bring a touch of nostalgia into your own four walls.
Space-saving hallway design in vintage style
A seating option should definitely not be missing in the vintage hallway
Vintage furniture with signs of wear and table lamps made from old vases
Vintage hallway furniture and wallpaper on the wall
Space-saving hallway design in vintage style
This vintage-look furniture is actually mass-produced
Vintage touch in the narrow hallway
Vintage lighting in the hallway
Worn furniture as an accent
Stylish hallway design with console table
Vintage touch with bench and paintings and plants
