Every hallway should have a hallway runner. This nifty little gem brightens up your entrance hall easily and on budget - and it keep scratches and marks off floorboards and laminate flooring.
Country Homes and Interiors shows you how best to use this foot-fiendly style essential, whatever the space you have to play with...
1/10 Dotty runner
Liven up transition spaces such as hallways, landings and stairs with circles and spots. Place a dot-design runner underfoot and add colourful accessories, such as spotty bags and wellies. Plain walls and wood flooring prevent the scheme being overpowering. Don’t forget a comfy bed for your pooch; put one in the hall and he can keep an eye on the household's comings and goings.
Similar runner
The Alternative Flooring Company
2/10 Lively red runner
This jolly red striped runner earns extra points for warming up a tiled hallway. Keep the cosy theme going by teaming cable, bobble and super-sized knits with distressed farmhouse furniture for contemporary homespun appeal. A selection of cushions, throws and a patterned weave blanket will welcome the wayfarer home. The furnishings pick up on the red-edged panels in the stained glass door for a harmonious look.
Similar runner
Fleetwood Fox
Similar blanket
Labour and Wait
3/10 Sail-stripe runner
A flatweave runner in a bold blue with a fine stripe of red cuts a dash in this hallway, opening the way to a sailing scheme. Team it with a breezy sail-stripe curtain in a subtle faded blue. White painted floorboards and pale grey walls are livened up by a painted blue chair and a striped canvas shopper.
Similar runner
Roger Oates
Similar curtain
The Natural Curtain Company
4/10 Smart grey runner
Bring warmth and texture to a plain white hallway by decorating in country lodge style with clever log-effect wallpaper on one feature wall. On the floor, oak boards in a natural, honeyed tone are sharpened up by a charcoal runner edged in pink. A polished dark wood side table and an umbrella stand with a brace of walking sticks complete the country look.
Similar runner
Roger Oates
Similar wallpaper
Andrew Martin
5/10 Soft neutral runner
If you have the luxury of a wide hallway, dress it in style with a comfortable upholstered bench. Add extra comfort to the scheme with a plush neutral runner edged with a wide trim to match the bench. Classic parquet flooring suits the scheme perfectly. Painting the woodwork and panelling in a moody blue/grey tone focuses the attention on the wallpaper panels depicting black swans in flight.
Similar wallpaper
St Vitus
Similar paint
Farrow & Ball
6/10 Plaited rush runner
Natural rush, harvested in the UK and plaited by hand, creates the perfect runner for a hallway floor. Lay it over brick or stone flooring and team with a painted console for a country look. Make a floaty curtain for the back door from a selection of green ribbons. A selection of wicker baskets and wooden crates tie in neatly with the theme.
Similar runner
Rush Matters
Similar console table
White Cottage Living
7/10 Painted runner
Create your own hallway runner design using floor paint. Once the base coat is dry, map out the pattern using a steel ruler and a pencil and apply masking tape before painting. If you’re pleased with the effect, extend it from the stairs along the hallway floor. Make a focal point at the top of the stairs with a large mirror, painted vintage trunk and a flower arrangement.
Similar floor paint
Little Greene
Similar chest
Chests & Trunks
8/10 Natural runner
A plant fibre runner made from sisal and finished with a narrow strip of pink lends country appeal to white-painted floorboards on this landing. Get the sewing machine out to create a our homemade doorstop in the shape of a quirky handbag. On chilly nights, slip on a pair of soft slippers and you can pad around in comfort.
Similar runner
Crucial Trading
Similar doorstop fabric
Osborne & Little
9/10 Pretty plastic runner
This colourful plastic rug contrasts with traditional limestone flags in the hall of a country house. Its lavender shade and intricate pattern link it beautifully to the exuberantly flowery door curtain, lampshade and decorative suitcases. Cool down the effect with a white console table and coat stand. Off-white wall panelling is a practical choice as scuff marks will simply wipe away.
Similar rug
Rigby & Mac
Similar stone flooring
Flagstones Direct
10/10 Crisp red and white runner
This hallway scheme is easy to create, using one of our favourite country colour schemes of red and white. Start with a flatweave runner in a bold red, laid on a white painted floor. Add a vintage bench, silvery toned basket and bring in touches of grey and blue with a woolly cushion and a few homely knitted extras.
Similar runner
Roger Oates
Similar basket
Rowen & Wren
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