After living in military housing apartments followed by two single-story homes in my childhood, I was always enamored with the idea of having an amazing staircase in a future home. The first two homes Jeff and I bought as adults had staircases but they were enclosed and completely utilitarian. Our Minnesota house was the first house that had a staircase that was an architectural feature and I loved it. It was open to the foyer, but it was also a unique “scissor staircase”, which split in two at the landing making a “front staircase” to the foyer and a “back staircase” to the kitchen. When we started househunting in 2022, I never thought we would end up in a single-story ranch-style house. I think the fact I was in an orthopedic boot and on a scooter made me a bit more open to the idea of not having a staircase. It would certainly be easier for our parents and in the event of injury. Beyond that, this 1970 brick rancher ticked all of the boxes for our family (location, good neighborhood, a fun house for teenagers with a pool, etc.) even if it didn’t have the stunning staircase I was hoping for.
So, I am now the owner of a hallway the length of a bowling lane and I have found that to be one of the more challenging aspects of decorating this house. In fact, it’s taken me over a year to hang pictures, which is pretty unusual to me, but I finally gathered up the framed family photos and a few other pieces of artwork that have been stored in the basement and started arranging them in the hall. My mom helped me get started and then I finished on my own.
Here is how the hallway looked when we first moved in, looking towards the kitchen. The wall with the blue wallpaper was removed during the kitchen renovation last year.
I chipped away at the hallway last year, starting by having the wallpaper stripped. I actually liked the paper, but it was peeling in some places and needed to be removed. We also installed new fixtures that would provide more light in the hallway and I painted the ceiling white and walls and trim in Farrow & Ball’s Light Blue.
I installed a chair rail and picture frame molding to add some architectural interest (you can find a tutorial HERE), an antique rug (from ) for cushion and color, and then the artwork.
Here is the hallway viewed from the kitchen looking back to the bedrooms and bathrooms when we first moved in…
With new paint and lighting…
…and how it looks today…
What made me feel paralyzed about hanging artwork in this long hallway was that I wasn’t sure how to group the pictures and paintings so they would make sense and look good from different angles. I thought about it a lot and finally decided that there was no better way to figure it out than to get the pictures out and start putting some holes in the wall. As my good friend, Shaunna says, “Spackle dries in three minutes.”
I created groups of pictures between the doorways going by feel and instinct. There was some reason behind where I put things, like trying to group shapes together that worked well or putting something with color at the end of the hallway to draw the eye and tie it to the rug. I tried to not overthink it, though.
The needlework pieces at the end of the hallway were made by Jeff’s grandmother. I love that the sampler at the top is signed “wrought by Dorothy Parsons.”
My mom suggested changing the way some of the pictures were hung so they would all sit flat against the wall, but I sort of like having some of the frames leaning forward. It’s a pretty typical thing to see in old homes and I think it lends to the eclectic vibe of the hallway.
For more context, here is the hallway view with a peek of the kitchen.
If you’re interested in seeing how I’ve done gallery walls in halls and stairways in previous homes, HERE is the stairway gallery wall in our Minnesota house, and HERE is the gallery/hall wall in the staircase of our PA house. Most of the pictures are family photos in frames from thrift stores, antique markets, yard sales, etc. and I cut mats for them myself. (You can find a tutorial on framing HERE.)
In the portion of the hallway that is visible from the foyer, we decided to hang a group of paintings. You can see a peek of a framed antique document hanging to the left of that grouping, but we wanted there to be a bit of space between the two. The horse painting is one of my originals and I bought the two vintage landscapes from a few years ago.
I am planning on replacing this windmill print, which is a little wrinkled and discolored from water damage and age, with an original painting. I just haven’t gotten around to it, yet.
Now that I’ve lived with a long hall for over a year instead of a staircase, which do I prefer? I think my heart will always flutter over a beautiful staircase. The heart loves what it loves. But, I appreciate the practicality and ease of having everything on one floor (except our laundry room is in the basement.) I don’t know if this will be our retirement home or not, but it’s a house that we could definitely grow old in…
20 Responses
Wow, it’s always amazing to see what the right color can do for any area of a home. The hallway is like night and day. Love it and the antique rug adds another layer of richness. You have created a cozy retreat for your family, we all need that in this world today.
Stunning! What a difference! You nailed it…again, Marian.
(PS eclectic not electric, right? 🙂 )
Ha, yes! I didn’t catch that in my proofread because the letters are so similar and I knew what I was saying! 😂
I enjoy your blog so much. I often call a good friend to discuss the latest post.
One thing we would both appreciate: a sketch of your floor plan. My friend has tried to draw one herself from your pictures and descriptions but that involves a good amount of guessing. We would be ever so grateful for a clear picture of your room arrangements.
Thank you for considering this.
Very nice post. I need to hang photos and art in our hallway. I place a few things and then make changes. Currently nothing is up but with what you have done has given me inspiration. In a previous house that we resided in due to my husband’s work, we had a 25 foot long hallway. It was a ranch with bedrooms and a bathroom going off of it. I didn’t receive your blog post in my email today so I went to your site.
The hallway looks like a ROOM now! I love it! I would have been like your mom, suggesting making the pictures hang flush against the wall, but now that I see it, there’s a certain charm to having some of the frames tilt outward. It adds texture and interest.
Wondering how wide your hallway is? Ours is very narrow and has old plaster walls. I’ve never had the nerve to nail into it without being SURE what I hung was going to stay. And of course I’v never been that sure.
Terry, have you thought about a gallery rail? You could move things around without worrying about nail holes.
Our hall is 45″ wide and we also have plaster walls. I agree with Cassandra that a picture rail might be a good option so you can move things around, but I’ve never had any issues patching nail holes in plaster.
I was also wondering about the width of your hallway–thanks for telling us. I have considered a picture rail (my husband and daughter are both artists and I have more pictures than I have places to display them). Is there a brand that you have tried that you prefer?
Oh my goodness…SO much better! Not just the new paint, molding and rug, but I love the way you grouped the pictures. It looks like they sort of accumulated over time, which I think is the look you’re going for. And those star-shaped light fixtures are so attractive!
Did you ever do a post on installing all of that wall molding/trim that I see in these photos?
This turned out absolutely beautifully! I am sure your entire family (including Esme!) enjoy this hallway on a daily basis. I think my favorite is the chair rail and frame molding. It seems to really elevate that whole feel of the hallway !
Living in Northern California so many of the 1950’s ranch houses have added skylights to long hallways and bathrooms. Have you considered adding a skylight to brighten up and add natural lighting to your hallway?
Yes, I actually have considered putting 2-3 skylight tubes in the hallway to bring in more natural light, but we just had a new roof installed last year and Jeff isn’t in favor of putting holes in it. I’m also not 100% sure, but I think the skylights would be along the front of the house instead of the back, which wouldn’t look as nice from the outside. Anyway, we’ve considered it, but it’s not likely to happen.
I am dying to see the samplers at the end of the hallway up close, in fact all the pictures and the arrangement on the walls detailed.
Thank you for these considerations from nosy me and perhaps others ?
The end result is stunning!! What is that green paint color? Sorry if you listed it & I missed it.
It is Card Room Green by Farrow & Ball.
I had the same situation with my antique frames hanging forward among my other frames in the hallway gallery wall. I decided to leave them that way for the same reason.
I always work from the middle of the area and go from there and it comes out better than I expected. That certainly is a long hallway and the molding definitely complements the artwork.