Not all homes have a hallway – some front doors open straight into the living room so the first thing you come face to face with as you enter the house is your television, sofas or dining room furniture, but for those that do it does not need to be a dark narrow space used to get to other rooms in the house. The hallway can be a real feature of your home, worthy of as much attention as many other room. Here are some ideas to get it looking stylish.

1.    Can you add space by providing storage? This will ensure that there will be no clutter, keeping the space free. Could you remove your cupboard under the stairs, if you have one, to create more space?
2.    Create a lighter space by investing in a front door with a glass panel to let natural light in. Paint the walls light colours like white, beige, pale yellow, light blue and sage. Invest in good lighting – something ornate and decorative makes a nice feature for when you come in the door. Halogen lights are very bright and will lighten up a dark hallway.
3.    Add features to a hallway like plants, ornaments and hang art or pictures to decorate the space and make it feel more like a room than a passage. Large mirrors will open up the space. A side table or dresser will provide storage. Attach hooks to the wall to hang coats from or invest in a coat stand. Make sure the doors coming off the hallway are painted and finished to a good standard.
4.    Give the stairs a bit of attention. Paint the banister to fit in with the rest of your colour scheme. Moving a staircase is always expensive so if you can work with what you have. Consider glass stairs for a modern contemporary look.

When it comes to designing your home the truth is that often the bathroom is the smallest room. And with more and more people living in flats and smaller spaces, this is often the case. With most bathrooms being half the size of the average bedroom it’s important to design it properly to fit everything in.
The design of the room is important as you need to make sure that nothing is obstructing the door and that the toilet or sink is not blocking the way.
It could be that there is no space for a bath tub in which case you may have a standing shower cubicle, although there are compact bath tub styles that can fit neatly into corners allowing room elsewhere. Small sinks and toilets are readily available and there are clever tricks for allowing for storage too.
You can double up with your sink and storage by having the basin atop a cabinet. You could also attach a small cupboard to the wall above a sink with a mirror. This will also make the room look larger as you will be able to see the whole floor rather than having it taken up by cabinets.  You can further extend the idea of storage by having drawers fitted underneath a built in bath. Chairs or small coffee tables can be used to for storing towels or clothes while you’re having a shower or a bath. A box or basket underneath the chair or table can be used for additional storage space. Another idea is to use a cupboard in a bedroom or use the room under the sofas if there is one to store towels instead of storing them in the bathroom. A heated towel rail is a good investment. Attach it to the wall to allow floor space and it can be used for displaying and drying towels.