Start with the route. Whatever you add has to leave about 23.5 in of clear floor where people pass and where you stand up from the bench.
Hallway ideas: what does a hallway actually need?
Four things, in this order. A place to sit while you take shoes on and off. A place to put down keys, a bag and the post. Light where you stand and where you sit. And a clear route through, so nobody steps over boots.
Where should a hallway bench go?
Where you take your shoes off: close to the front door, along a wall, out of the swing of the door. Under the coat hooks is the natural spot, because you sit, take the coat off and hang it in one move.
The seat should be 18.1 in, dining-chair height, so your feet rest flat while you lace up. Our hallway bench guide covers the sizes in detail.
| Length | Seats | Where it suits |
|---|---|---|
| 25.5 in | 1 | Beside the door or under a mirror |
| 39.5 in | 2 | Most halls, two people putting shoes on at once |
| 51 in | 3 | A long wall under a row of hooks |
Narrow and small hallway ideas
In a narrow hall, depth decides. Wilma is 15.4 in deep and Alva 15.7 in; add 23.5 in to stand up and walk past, and the hall needs to be about 39.5 in wide for a bench along the wall.
In a narrower hall, keep the walkway free. Put a short 25.5 in bench where the hall widens, beside the door or in an alcove, and keep the long wall for hooks. In a small square entrance, one 25.5 in bench and hooks above it are often all the furniture it needs.
Bench with storage or an open bench?
We make open benches, not storage benches. Shoes go underneath on the floor, where they dry, and the floor under the bench is easy to clean. You see what is there and nothing gets shut in wet.
If closed storage is what the hall lacks, a shoe cabinet does that job better than a lift-up seat you have to clear before you can open it. Put the cabinet on one side and an open bench beside it: one stores, the other is where you sit.
Which bench for which hallway?
For a modern, graphic hall, Wilma's black frame with Jade Black vegan leather is the strongest line. Our upholstered bench guide compares the seats.
| Your hall | Bench | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wet boots, children, dogs | Wilma in vegan leather, Jade Black or Latte | Wipes clean |
| Oak floor or oak doors | Alva in solid oak with a wood seat | A damp cloth is all it needs |
| A dry hall where you want softness | Wilma or Alva in boucle | Warm to sit on, quiet to look at |
| An alcove or an odd wall | Wilma Design Your Own | Any length up to 63 in |
How do you light a hallway?
With two layers. A ceiling light to walk through by, and a lower, warmer light where you sit, so you can see your laces without the glare of the overhead. A wall light beside the bench or a lamp on a shelf does it.
Candlelight by the door is a welcome when guests arrive, as long as someone is there. Keep an open flame away from coats and the draught of the front door, and never leave a candle burning in a room you walk out of. A floor candle holder that keeps the flame inside a glass cylinder suits a hall better than an open flame: see the floor candle holder guide.
How do you make a hallway a place to land?
Give every thing a spot, so nothing ends up on the floor. Keys and post in a bowl on a shelf by the door. Bags on the bench or on a hook above it. Coats on hooks, shoes under the bench, wet umbrellas by the door.
A mirror by the door, a rug that takes wet soles and one picture at eye height make the hall feel finished. A bench is the piece that makes it a place to stop, not just a corridor.
Sit, put down, light, pass
- Narrow hall
- about 39.5 in for a bench
- Lengths
- 25.5, 39.5, 51 in
- Shoes
- under the bench
