“Our messy hallway bothered me for years”—Niina transformed the entrance of her home into a functional and beautiful space

Why did you decide to renovate the hallway specifically, Niina?

“Our old hallway had been bothering me for years. Even back when we moved into this house, I disliked it, as coats and shoes always ended up untidily in the entryway. Once we finished our previous renovation project, we decided it was finally time to update our home's hallway as well.”

Previously, items would easily pile up in the hallway, and the coat rack quickly filled up with coats. Accessories were stored inside the bench and in a small basket on the hat rack.

The renovation brought a wealth of additional storage space to the hallway. Coats can be tucked neatly away into cabinets and shoes onto the shoe rack. Keys and other small items are conveniently stored in the chest of drawers. The shoe rack features Airam battery-operated motion sensor lights, which will be attached to the side walls of the rack.

What is the best thing about your new hallway?

“We can now conveniently hide coats in the cabinets and keep shoes neatly on the shoe rack. In our old hallway, we had a bench for tying shoelaces, but it was always filled with coats and other stuff, so we usually ended up sitting on the stairs to put on shoes. Now, there’s plenty of seating space, which makes our everyday life easier.

We walk through the hallway a lot every day, so it’s wonderful to have it be a more pleasant environment. When the hallway looks good, you want to keep it tidy!”

Can you tell us about the hallway furniture?

“The cabinets were made to our specifications by Nordica-Keittiöt in Kokkola. The slatted panel is from K-rauta. I picked up the lighted mirror at Minimani for 99 euros, it was a real find! My husband and I have a renovation company, and we installed everything ourselves.

The hallway is still missing a black, metal closet rod that will go under the overhead cabinet for guests to hang their coats. The shoe rack is also missing a baseboard. So the hallway isn’t quite perfect yet, but small additions are on the way.”

Niina and Juhani each have their own cabinets in the hallway, where clothes and accessories stay organized. Seasonal accessories can be conveniently stored in the overhead cabinets. When the season changes, they can be moved back down.

Where did you find inspiration for the new look of the hallway?

“I used Pinterest a lot. I found many ideas there that I then combined in a way that worked for our home. Making efficient use of the corner in our hallway presented some challenges, but we think the result is a success!”

Images: Niina Hakalax-Lahti