I once had a very long, dark, narrow hallway I loved. Our first real home, half of a mission-style duplex in Hollywood. All bedrooms opened off it and had windows to the south, so THEY were beautifully sunny. It jogged at one end to the bath, so views toward both ends were of blank walls. We were such poor kids that I focused every cent on the rest of the unit and did absolutely nothing in the hall, literally the original bare bulb on the ceiling as the only detail. Not that I'm recommending that, but the cool quiet (wall-to-wall in this days) "minimalism" set off all the sunny prettily decorated other rooms extremely well and, not least vice versa. It made a pleasurable transition because it was so different, and I even sat down in there now and then just to enjoy its special quiet-far from the busy life everywhere else inside and outside on the street. All a way of leading up to the idea: could your hall be developed to serve as a wonderful complement to the rooms that open off it?

So happy to have you back, Anne. My life is so boring, even I'm snoozing throught it. Hopefully the rest of the KT have stories to tell to bring you up to speed on their goings on. Pris

ditto on the runner that covers 3/4 of the length. a pattern that has 'stripes' going side to side will push the walls back. wide stripes work best. keep the bathroom door closed, paint it a strong color that goes with the runner, it will pull the end of the hall towards the viewer. with the door open you are making the 'tunnel' 6 feet longer. (this works on long narrow bathrooms too, where the tub is at the far end... a strong shower curtain pulls the far end towards you). don't hang things on the wall, you'll never be able to actually see the fronts, only the edges, which will make the space narrower.

Congrats on your new home! The typical advice to place something interesting at the end of the hall does not apply here, so you need to add interest to the floor and ceiling instead. I’d use either two rugs as shown in previous photo, or a single runner. A hortizontal pattern or weave would help to visually widen the space. Replace the ceiling lights with something you love – maybe even a light that throws a pattern of light up onto the ceiling. You might consider painting the ceiling (or ceiling plus walls at a height above the door frame) a different color, to alter the perceived dimensions of the hall. If you describe your overall style preferences for your home, people may make more specific suggestions for lighting, or for the entry. Btw, does the entry relate to this hall?