First of all, I was going to suggest something very similar to sweeby's. Hallways lend themselves to the idea of a destination. A way to combine function and decor is to follow what sweeby said. But I here you on the "we have so much to do" rant. The problem with hallways, and yours is like mine, they are sometimes narrow and cramped. Cool colors recede, warm colors advance. I would try to find a door color warmer than the wall color in order to "shorten" the hallway. Even a nice very golden-toned wood would be nice. Maybe something with interesting carving to emphasize the "destination" aspect. Or, what about using the normal door the closet comes with and upholstering it in a beautiful accent fabric, and then adding maybe a nice soft swag valance and "tails" hanging above on the header. Could be something soft like a tone-on-tone toile, or it could be something more bolder with a "statement" toward the style of decorating you're choosing. Maybe a soft sage-green bamboo motif. The fabric on the door can sort of "suggest" the function of what's behind it and no one will confuse it with getting lost on the way to the bathroom! I think fabric would soften the space. The stone floor speaks "hard," and then you have a lot of right-angles with the door frames. Looks great, but my eye wants to look for softness. I vote "no" on the mirror. Not in that narrow, bulls-eye of a hallway. And, like I said, I have one. Also, for the pictures on the two walls, I would try to keep their frames in a tone very near the color of the walls. The perspective in that hallway doesn't need bold lines to move you down it; in fact, if you want people to linger I would suggest as little contrast between the frames and the wall color as possible. And, yes, that length of hall lends itself very well to track lighting. I can see that curvy bendable kind meandering down the hall, with spots turned this way and that for illuminating your photos. Good luck!

Oh my goodness, I came back from work today and was amazed by all your creativity! I see the advantage of having a strong "end" to the hallway. I checked CL and visited some used furniture stores. I found a table and a small chest that may be possible, but I will hold off for a few days because they are larger than the space really permits. mo13 and patty cakes  Ledges may be the way for me to go if I cannot find a piece of furniture to anchor the space. And yes an assortment of smaller mirrors GumbosoupÂI will tidy the books, but they canÂt ALL go away  because there is no other place in the house! Bookends and painting the shelves are a good idea. My sense that is that multiple small round rugs will feel cluttered (because the hall space isnÂt as long as it looks in the first picture.) calicocat1967Âyes, I like this. Do you have its dimensions? Teacats  thanks for the source for mirrors caminnc  This looks beautiful and I see what you mean about making the end wall dramatic. The challenge is that size of furniture really shouldnÂt be much bigger than 30 inches wide by (an average of ) 10 inches deep. I found a rectangular chest (not as pretty as the one you have) that is 32 by 11 1/8th and has an off-white stone top. It is at a second hand store and could be stained ebony and I could change the hardware to be like the one in your pic. I also found a two tiered demi-lune table that is 13 inches deep at its widest. This still feels too big. ideefixe  My leaning at this point is to tidy up the bookcase. elizgonz ÂWhy thank you. My LR improved dramatically after getting suggestions from the kind folk on this forum. In terms of color, most of the rooms that fall off this yellow "spine" of the house are vividly colored: two red, two dark blue, one teal, and one brown. We are not adverse to vivid color, but were trying to have a more neutral core to the house.

and nothing in the hallway? I do feel I need the foot trafficked areas to have rugs to protect my floors. I like the idea of a wider rug in the entry area, but I still want a runner in the hall. I guess I’m just lost on how to approach mixing and matching rugs in a contiguous area.

This is the rug I’m considering. It comes in 8, 10, and 12’ lengths. 12’ would run the entire length of the hall from door to door with a couple of spare inches.