Guides & tips

Hallway wall art: entryway ideas for a warm welcome

The hallway is the first room you see when you come home and the last one you rush through on your way out, keys in one hand and a coat half on. It’s small, it’s busy, and it’s the perfect place for one print you really love. Here’s how to hang art above a console, make a narrow wall or a long corridor work, lean frames when you’d rather not drill, and pick motifs that feel like a welcome.

Tulip Blue in an oak frame on a hallway wall between a white panelled door and a scalloped mirror, above a wooden dresser with a paper lamp — A print, a mirror and a lamp. The whole entryway in three moves.

Dalmatian Portrait in a black frame above a round wooden pedestal table with vases, beside a strap-seat bench and a small stool — Always happy to see you – and always with clean paws.

Harmony in Umber in an oak frame on a narrow beige wall beside an open doorway, above a three-legged stool — A stool, a print and a strip of wall. Enough.

The first wall you see

Open the front door and look ahead: that wall sets the tone for the whole home. Give it one print you’d happily see twice a day, rather than three you only half like.

Above a console or sideboard, let the art cover about two thirds of the furniture’s width and leave 8–10 in between the top of the console and the bottom of the frame, so the two read as one piece. On a slim console of 31–39 in, that usually means one 19.7x27.6 in or two 11.8x15.7 in side by side. Enter the width of yours below.

No furniture? Hang the center of the print 57–59 in from the floor, the same height as in the rest of the home, so your walls line up as you walk from room to room. Our guide to hanging wall art has the details.

Size calculator

What size fits your wall?

Choose the furniture, enter its width and see what fits – with the size, the gap and the height to hang it.

StatementSubtleWith decorA pairSquare

27.6x39.4 in · landscape

39 inwide in total
8 inabove the sideboard
53 infloor to center

One large print that sets the tone – the wall does the talking. Covers about 62% of the sideboard’s width.

Shop 27.6x39.4 posters Five gallery wall layouts →

Based on our hanging guide: 8–10 in above the furniture, about 2.5 in between frames and the top edge no higher than 83 in. Standard furniture heights and an 8 ft ceiling.

Green Kimono in an oak frame above a dark console table with a chrome table lamp, a small glass and a cream jug

Retro Disco Bar, a black-and-white photo with a disco-ball head, in an oak frame above a wooden console with a white lamp, books and a mug of pens

Narrow walls and long corridors

Hallways are full of awkward walls: the strip between two doors, the gap beside the coat rack, the corridor that goes on and on. They’re easier than they look.

A narrow wall: go tall. One portrait print, or two or three small frames stacked on top of each other, makes a narrow wall look taller instead of squeezed. Line the frames up on the same center and keep the gaps between them equal, 2–3 in.

A long corridor: go in a row. Hang same-size frames with their centers at the same height, about 57–59 in, and the same gap between each one. Matching frames feel calm; mixed frame colors feel more playful. Four layouts, drawn to scale:

A tall pair

Two 11.8x15.7 in, one above the other: about 34 in tall and only 12 in wide. Made for the strip between two doors.

A column of three

Three 8.3x11.8 in stacked, about 3 feet tall. Small enough for the tightest spot, tall enough to be noticed.

A corridor row

Four 11.8x15.7 in in a line, about 54 in wide. Same frames, same gaps, same height – and the corridor becomes a gallery.

One portrait print

A single 19.7x27.6 in. On a wall that’s under 3 feet wide, one good print is often all it needs.

Ultramarine Swirls in an oak frame on a cream hallway wall between two doors, above an oak wishbone chair

Textured Birds in a white frame on a narrow beige wall beside a white door frame, above a wooden stool with a stack of magazines

Lean instead of hanging

Renting, a wall full of pipes, or simply can’t decide? Lean. A frame resting on a console, a bench, a deep windowsill or even a stair looks relaxed, and you can swap it whenever the season – or your mood – changes.

Layer, don’t line up. Put a small frame in front of a bigger one and let them overlap a little. Two or three frames are plenty; more starts to look like moving day.

Want the leaning look on the wall? A picture ledge is a shelf just for art, so you can rearrange without new holes.

Composition no.3 in a red frame leaning on a white stair against a yellow wall, with a print in a blue frame on the step above

Retro Dance Character in a black frame leaning on a dark wooden surface beside a chrome lamp, a cup and a book

Motifs that make a good first impression

You walk through a hallway rather than sit in it, so choose motifs that work at a glance: clear shapes, strong color or a view you could step into. Then borrow a color or two from the room next door, and the whole home feels joined up. Four directions to start from – or browse all our hallway posters.

Calm and welcoming

Soft shapes and quiet colors to come home to – and easy on the eyes at seven in the morning.

Solitude’s Journey

Walk in Sunny Fields

Subtle Calm

Graphic statements

Bold shapes you can read from the front door. One is enough to wake up a white hallway.

Nu Bleu III

The Ten Largest No.8

Modern Objects Blue

Places and views

A corridor, a mountain, a front door: photographs that open up a hallway without windows.

Pastel Corridor

The Matterhorn

Sicilian Door

Birds, cats and botanicals

Friendly faces and flowers that say hello on your way in.

Lousiana Heron

Grandmas Window

Elegant Cat

Ready-made hallway walls

Rather skip the measuring? These walls from our inspiration pages suit a hallway – one for a console, one for a narrow corner and one for a bench – with every print and size in one place.

The Black Beach and The Big Wave hung above a white console table, with Orange Knot leaning on the floor beside it and a paper lamp

Landscape and Black Flower in oak frames stacked on a narrow wall above a wooden stool with magazines and a candle

A gallery wall of prints in mixed frames above a low wooden bench with ceramic vessels

Hallway practicalities

Bags, coats and elbows: a narrow hallway gets bumped. Our picture frames have light, shatter-free glazing, which is reassuring where people squeeze past.
Can’t drill? Adhesive strips made for frames do the job – see our step-by-step guides to Tesa Powerstrips and Tesa adhesive nails.
A dark hallway: pale motifs and light frames stand out where there’s no window, and a small lamp on the console turns a print into a display.
Mirror and art: hang them side by side with their centers at the same height, rather than stacking one above the other, and both get their moment.

What size art works in a hallway?

It depends on the wall. Above a console of 31–39 in, one 19.7x27.6 in or two 11.8x15.7 in side by side. On a narrow wall, one portrait print or a stack of small frames in 8.3x11.8 in or 11.8x15.7 in. A long corridor can take a row of same-size frames, and a wide entrance hall has room for a 27.6x39.4 in.

How high should I hang art in a hallway?

With the center 57–59 in from the floor, like in the rest of your home. Above a console or sideboard, leave 8–10 in between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame instead.

How do I decorate a narrow hallway with art?

Go tall on the short walls and use a row on the long ones. Stick to slim frames, keep the gaps equal and leave the walkway clear – a stack of small frames or a picture ledge takes up hardly any space.

Can I lean art instead of hanging it?

Yes. Lean frames on a console, a bench or a picture ledge. It’s the easiest way to change things around, and good news if you rent or can’t drill.

Shop by size

Posters8.3x11.8 11.8x15.7 15.7x15.7 15.7x19.7 19.7x19.7 19.7x27.6 27.6x27.6 27.6x39.4 39.4x39.4 39.4x55.1

Frames8.3x11.8 11.8x15.7 15.7x19.7 19.7x19.7 19.7x27.6 27.6x27.6 27.6x39.4 39.4x39.4 39.4x55.1

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