Making an Entrance - 5 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Hallway Runner

The long hallways of traditional Australian homes are notoriously dull and dreary. Although they act as the first point of impression to a visitor, they are often forgotten by the home decorator or put in the too-hard basket as they can be challenging to style without cluttering.

Unlike most side tables and hallway furnishings, the right handwoven runner will add a welcoming sense of vibrancy and comfort to the front entrance while also serving the practical purpose of protecting floors and offering excellent heat and sound insulation.

Our broad collection of hallway runners are hand-picked from the traditional trading bazaars of Iran, Afghanistan and India. They are available in a vast array of lengths ranging from 1.5m all the way to 13m. Standard widths across all runners are 80cm with broader and narrower variants also available for atypical hallways.

Below we have outlined our top five tips to be considered before choosing a hallway runner for your home.

1. Selecting the right width of the runner is important as a piece too narrow or wide will affect the flow of the rug design and practicality of use. We always recommend a perimeter of flooring at least 10cm to ensure the rug is not bunching up against the skirting or walls. Length is less important, and we have many customers that opt for a shorter piece that floats in the middle of the hallway or away from the front door.
   
   Two often forgotten considerations when it comes to measuring are the clearance under the front door and for any arches that may interrupt the hallway of a victorian or federation home.
2. For unusually long hallways, two matching or complementing hallway runners can be used to shorten the visual length. The price of handwoven hallway runners goes up exponentially in longer lengths than 6m (as they become technically difficult to weave straight and source). So for exceptionally long hallways, including two pieces can also be a cost-effective option. Some of our runner listings include two matching pieces - however, if you spot a single example on our website and would like us to find a complementing option, please get in touch.
3. Corridors have close parallel walls that make any bowing in the weave of a runner super visible. We find that if there is a greater than 5% variation in the width of a runner 5m or less, there will be a noticeable visual impact when included in a hallway. For this reason, we reject many of the runners offered to us. Every runner in our collection is carefully measured before import to ensure that they are acceptably straight.
4. Many hallways do not have a vast amount of natural light. Light plays an integral part in the representation of the colours of all traditional rugs. For dark corridors, lighter and brighter-toned rugs with lustrous wool piles can help to liven the space and create a more inviting feel.
5. Every hallway runner in our collection is handwoven using durable natural fibres. As hallways act as the main entry point to most homes, it is essential to choose a quality that will withstand lots of use and is easily serviceable. A Persian or Afghan runner woven on a rigid foundation will not bunch and serve as a more practical choice than a piece with a floppy foundation and feel - like a kilim.

We hope this info serves as useful in finding the perfect handwoven hallway runner. For any specific styling, sizing or technical questions about our runner collection, please get in touch.