After you’ve put your coat hooks, shoe storage and a surface for keys and coins in your hallway, you probably think there isn’t much room for anything else. But one useful item you might well have forgotten is a seat — useful for putting on outerwear or just taking a breather when you get home. Check out these eight ideas for fitting in a handy perch.
1. Tuck it under the stairs. If you’ve run out of room in your hallway, how about using the space beneath your stairs? Knock out the doors to that awkward cabinet you can never access properly and turn it into a seating nook instead.In this home, the designers built a cozy bench seat with cushions and installed handy shelves above it. They even incorporated a wall light to enable the owners to use the space more effectively.
2. Make it a feature. Instead of tucking your seat out of the way, you could put it on display instead. Hunt around secondhand stores to find an interesting piece that could make a feature, like this vintage upholstered telephone chair.The owners put the seat right at the end of the hallway, so it’s on view as soon as you enter the home.
3. Go for something simple. Your hallway seat doesn’t always have to be fancy, however. In this streamlined space, a simple bench sits neatly against the wall to provide a perch for pulling on boots and doing up shoelaces.If you go for something like this, make it comfier by popping on some padding, as these homeowners have done with a made-to-measure cushion.
4. Build a narrow bench. The space just inside the door in this hallway is quite shallow, but that didn’t stop the designers from building a practical piece of furniture. There’s just about enough room for a cushioned perch with useful drawers underneath.Remember that your hallway seat is going to be used only briefly each time, so the criteria you would apply to a living room chair, such as a deep seat, aren’t so important.
5. Try traditional. The classic hallway seating option is a storage bench like this one. Choose a sturdy, attractive design with practical baskets below to store outerwear, and slot it neatly underneath a row of coat hooks.To make the most of your investment, make sure you hunt around for something that’s robust and easy to keep clean.
6. Opt for an ottoman. A storage ottoman is awonderfully versatile item to have in your home. Located in the hallway, it’s perfect for storing shoes, scarves, bags and gloves inside, and the padded lid makes a comfy seat.
7. Pop in a window seat. If you’re lucky enough to have a window in your hallway, it makes sense to put a seating area beneath it. By positioning a bench under this small window, the owners made a cozy nook for relaxing and gazing out at the front garden. It’s a great way to turn your practical hallway perch into something altogether more luxurious.
8. Utilize a stool. Perhaps the simplest version of a hallway seat is a stool. It might be basic, but it can still be stylish, as this cool entrance demonstrates. The white stool works in the monochromatic color scheme and looks striking against the black wall.If you’re opting for a stool, choose one that goes with the style of your space so that it doesn’t feel like an afterthought.