Give Your Victorian Hallway a Modern Slant
Keep the architectural integrity of your hallway while adapting it for modern use, with these ideas for floors, doors, walls and trim
The gateway to a home is often a hall, and it's the first impression visitors get of the interior. Hallways in Victorian homes were no different, but there were different lifestyles and requirements back then, so adapting a hallway in a Victorian house for modern use can present a few challenges.
As with the rest of the public rooms in a Victorian home, the halls are filled with architectural features. Regardless of whether you want to keep the style of your hall traditional or give it a modern slant, your design will show more integrity if you work with those lovely features. Vestibules, stained glass, dark wood panelling, dados and tiled floors were usually dark and extravagant, but they can easily be adapted for modern tastes.
As with the rest of the public rooms in a Victorian home, the halls are filled with architectural features. Regardless of whether you want to keep the style of your hall traditional or give it a modern slant, your design will show more integrity if you work with those lovely features. Vestibules, stained glass, dark wood panelling, dados and tiled floors were usually dark and extravagant, but they can easily be adapted for modern tastes.
The narrow Victorian entry hall normally has doors to the sitting room, dining room and kitchen. This layout doesn't naturally lend itself to today's preference for open-plan living, especially since many of us favor letting more natural light into our homes. With modern heating and insulation, we're not as concerned about drafts and dust from the front door, so opening the interior doors can be an easy solution.
This hall has a partially glazed paneled door at the end. The door to the sitting room could also be removed entirely, creating a wider opening. This isn't totally out of step with the Victorian age, as the Arts and Crafts movement of that time did introduce the "living hall," a space that replaced the formal drawing room.
This hall has a partially glazed paneled door at the end. The door to the sitting room could also be removed entirely, creating a wider opening. This isn't totally out of step with the Victorian age, as the Arts and Crafts movement of that time did introduce the "living hall," a space that replaced the formal drawing room.
The Victorians favored hard-wearing materials, so many Victorian Gothic-style houses used encaustic tiles in the hall. Original encaustic tiles often incorporated shades of red and brown with white and yellow patterns, but today's tiles are available in many colors and designs. Using these tiles can add an authentic and stunning feature to your hall.
Victorian homes, especially the grander ones, often used dark wood paneling. Dark wood doesn't work that well with more contemporary designs, but wood can look fabulous painted white and paired with a bolder color on the walls. Here, the painted paneling used with the white and wood stairs adds width and interest to plain walls in a narrow hall, which is typical of the era. If you're installing paneling from scratch, keep true to Victorian style and make sure it is elegantly beveled.
If you like your paneling and the Victorian era's love of the dramatic and dark, try this modern take: Paint the paneling a fashionable matte dark gray but add a burst of color.
This hall looks wonderfully contemporary and bright, with the original features painted bright white, and the addition of good lighting and an antique rug. The black door grounds the whole space.
Chances are, your Victorian home has wooden stairs in the front hall. Stair runners and rods remain a traditional yet attractive way to treat them. However, if your staircase is narrow or cheaply made, fitted carpets may be a better solution.
If you have encaustic tile in your hall, plain carpet in a similar tone can work well. If you have a wooden floor, then you have a huge range of styles to choose from. For a contemporary slant, try a bold geometric carpet with plain walls.
If you have encaustic tile in your hall, plain carpet in a similar tone can work well. If you have a wooden floor, then you have a huge range of styles to choose from. For a contemporary slant, try a bold geometric carpet with plain walls.
Anaglypta paper was a common hard-wearing choice in the latter half of the 19th century. This wallpaper was highly decorative and painted in dark, extravagant colors — and it often showed up on the ceiling too. It isn't a particularly common choice for a modern interior, but given that it's really hard to remove, you could try hand painting the paper in a contemporary color to achieve an interesting finish. Since most people don't spend much time in the hallway, you can use a profusion of colors and patterns.
In Victorian homes, drapes served a very practical purpose in keeping drafts out. It may not be necessary to use them for that purpose these days, but they can add drama and texture to a space. These drapes help frame the opening to another room, creating a beautiful way to introduce the design in the next room.
Finally, don't be afraid to mix old and new — it can work beautifully. This staircase was probably once all dark wood, but painting the balustrades white and adding the white console table and sculptures really gave this Victorian hall a contemporary twist.
Apart from being functional, it had the aesthetic purpose of reducing what was usually a long and narrow hall. The inner door to the hall would have had highly decorative glass to let through the small amount of light, provided by a fanlight above the front door. It's a handy space even today, but if you keep it, maintain practicality with easy-clean flooring and ensure that your inner door lets in the light. Think about bespoke stained glass to fit with the hall design.