After a long winter hibernating with warming dinners, hours of Netflix and countless cups of tea, spring is the perfect time for a home refresh. As homeowners start planning upgrades and renovations, hallways and staircase experts Andy Fenton, staircase expert at Staircases by Andy Fenton and Lucie Levesley, director at Jackson Woodturners have collaborated on the latest hallways trends edit for 2024, sharing tips and advice on how to easily update this room.
Hallways have long been a neglected space in the home and this year, they are finally getting the attention they deserve. Instead of focusing on kitchens and bathrooms, decorating resources are being spread more evenly around the home. You don’t always need big budgets for hallway projects either, there are plenty of ways to transform your hallway space without breaking the bank.
Clever staircase storage hacks to aid spring cleaning
Homeowners want to make more of the space they have available using innovative storage solutions. There’s often unused space underneath and above a staircase that can be transformed with the right knowledge and skills.
Andy Fenton comments,
“The storage solutions that I can offer customers are becoming increasingly elaborate and complicated, especially as features like drawer systems are improved by manufacturers. Portable tools that companies are now making are fantastic and allow me to create more complex fixtures within my customer’s homes.”
“Alongside practical storage for things like shoes, coats or cleaning equipment, I’m also starting to see demand for lifestyle-enhancing design features such as wine cellars, reading nooks and home working spaces.”
Bring personality into designs with colour and pattern
This year, home décor is set to be bolder. Renovators are increasingly looking to bring personality into their homes, using bold colours and patterns to replace previously beige and grey rooms. Whilst muted colours such as sage greens and dusky pinks have become more popular, this is expected to be pushed further with bright and bold paints being used on walls, ceilings and woodwork. According to the report, “interest in green hallways is catching up with grey, black and white designs, with 1k average searches per month for green hallways. Grey hallway receive 1.3k and black and white hallways receive 1.6k. In addition, pink, yellow and blue hallways all receive more than twice as much interest as beige or cream hallways. The coloured hallways each receive 480 average monthly searches on Google, whereas beige and cream receive just 210.”
Functional lighting swapped for statement features
This idea of personality in design extends to lighting also. Statement feature lighting has been replacing modern spotlighting in kitchen and living spaces in recent years and this trend has now reached the hallway. Pendant lighting in particular is great for making use of high ceilings over the staircase, filling unused headroom with art.
New technology and manufacturing processes mean that feature lighting such as pendants, downlighting and sconces are no longer investment pieces that only the wealthy can afford. There is a huge selection of interesting and atmospheric designs available on the market at relatively low prices.
Traditional and modern staircase features sit side by side
Traditional staircase favourites won’t be disappearing, instead, classic wood products like oak newel posts will be used alongside more modern materials, fixtures and fittings.
Warm oak styles give a cosy feel but, when mixed with glass panels and metal fittings, the products can really transform the staircase, making it feel modern and spacious. They look stunning in old barn and church conversions but, equally at home in modern three-storey townhouses too.
Statement spindles that demand attention
Spindle design is getting more creative, with home owners choosing wooden and metal designs that will make an impact as you walk into the room. White spindles are an affordable pre-primed item that can be painted to match your décor.
Lucie Levesley said,
“We had a lot of people painting them grey or black in 2023 but, next year we believe renovators will become more daring. From warm shades like Pantone’s colour of the year, Peach Fuzz to delicate shades such as Dulux’s Sweet Embrace .
“Black metal iron spindles are still very popular. Due to this demand, we have introduced some new styles such as our statement, circle spindles that we think are sure to be popular.”
For more inspiration and advice on how to transform your hallway or staircase this spring, visit the Jackson Woodturners advice and inspiration hub.
