Making an entrance

Creating a brilliant first impression in your home often starts with your entrance hall or passage.

One of the smallest rooms (maybe) in many homes, it is key to setting the tone for the rest of the home. How you decide on a theme is individual. It may centre around a favourite painting, a chandelier or an antique piece of furniture, and should be sympathetic to the rest of the home interior colours, style and era. Here are some suggestions from Metropol.

Choose a colour reflecting your personality
Colours are personal, so what’s right for one person may not be right for you. For inspiration, have a look at the colours elsewhere in your home, and those that feature most in the clothes you wear. Talk to an interior designer.

Include the ceiling and trim
A pop of colour on the ceiling or painted moulding will add a wow factor, especially when coordinated with a feature wallpaper. Another trick is to mix and match semi-gloss and flat paint finishes, the latter on the walls and the former on panelling and trim.

Embrace your dark side
While pale colours create a relaxing, harmonious look, darker dusky colours can soften the edges of the space and help blur the boundaries, also creating a sense of spaciousness.