Good hallway furniture keeps at least 75 cm of walkway clear. In a typical UK hall of about a metre wide, that means pieces of 20 to 30 cm deep: a slim console table for keys and post, a shoe cabinet, wall hooks or a coat stand, and a bench if there is room to sit.
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Buying guide
The hallway is the first room people see and the one every member of the household walks through several times a day. It collects coats, shoes, bags, post, keys, scooters and dog leads. The aim is to give each of those a home without turning a narrow corridor into an obstacle course.
Note the width of the hall at its narrowest point, the swing of the front door and any internal doors, and the position of radiators, light switches, sockets and the meter cupboard. Leave at least 75 cm of clear walkway, and 90 cm where people carry shopping or push a buggy. Subtract that from the hall width and you have the maximum depth of the hallway furniture you can add.
In a Victorian terrace or a flat with a corridor of 90 cm to 1.1 m, choose furniture of 15 to 30 cm deep and keep it on one side only. A slim console table or wall-mounted shelf holds keys and a lamp; a tilt-out shoe cabinet of 17 to 25 cm deep stores a dozen pairs; a row of wall hooks takes coats without a freestanding stand. Mirrors on the wall bounce light and make the space feel wider.
With 1.3 m or more, you can add a bench for putting on shoes, a deeper cabinet or a coat stand in a corner. Group pieces by task: a sitting and shoe area near the door, a drop zone for keys and post further in, and coats where they will not brush past people.
Hang coat hooks at 160 to 180 cm for adults and around 100 to 120 cm for children. A bench seat at 40 to 48 cm is comfortable for pulling on boots. Console tables are usually 75 to 85 cm high. Hang a mirror with its centre at about 150 to 160 cm from the floor, or 15 to 25 cm above a console.
The space under the stairs is often the best spot in the hall for storage. Open shelving or baskets handle shoes and bags; a fitted cupboard hides the vacuum cleaner and recycling. Freestanding hallway furniture is easier to take with you when you move.
Hallways get wet shoes, muddy paws and bags swinging into walls. Solid wood can be sanded if it gets scuffed. Painted and lacquered finishes wipe clean. Metal frames are slim and strong. Choose a washable rug or a doormat sized to the width of the door, and leave a small gap below cabinets so you can clean the floor.
Most UK hallways have little daylight. A table lamp on the console adds a warm glow in the evening. Light colours on furniture and walls reflect what daylight there is; a darker colour below a dado rail hides scuffs. Keep finishes consistent, such as oak with black metal or white with brass, so several pieces of hallway furniture read as one set rather than a collection of odds and ends.
Families need more storage at child height. A low bench with baskets underneath gives each child a place for shoes, hats and school bags. Hooks at 100 to 120 cm let them hang their own coats. Choose hallway furniture with wipeable surfaces and rounded corners, and keep breakable items on higher shelves. A tray or tub by the door collects wet wellies and scooters before they reach the carpet.
Many flats have no real hall, just a few square metres by the front door or a stretch of wall in the living room. Wall-mounted hallway furniture saves floor space: a floating shelf with hooks below, a slim mirror cabinet for keys, or a narrow shoe cabinet with a top deep enough for post. A single console table of 25 cm deep can define an entrance area in an open-plan room, especially with a rug in front of it.
Start with the piece that solves the biggest problem, usually shoes or coats, then add the rest around it. Matching hallway furniture from one range looks tidy, but mixed pieces work if they share a finish or a colour. Keep the heights of tops roughly aligned, so a console and a shoe cabinet side by side read as one line.
Tall or shallow pieces such as shoe cabinets and coat stands can tip if children climb or pull on them. Fix cabinets to the wall with the anti-tip fittings supplied, using plugs suited to plasterboard or brick, and keep the walkway clear of trailing cables.
A surface for keys and post, shoe storage, somewhere for coats and a mirror. Add a bench if there is room to sit.
Leave at least 75 cm of clear walkway. In a 1 m wide hall, that means pieces of 20 to 25 cm deep.
Keep furniture on one side, choose slim pieces of 15 to 30 cm deep, use wall hooks instead of a stand and add a mirror.
160 to 180 cm for adults and 100 to 120 cm for children.