Entryway Wall Art

Entryway Wall Art and the Problem of the Narrow Wall

Most entryway walls are the wrong shape for most artwork. They are narrow, interrupted, and rarely offer the clean rectangle that art is usually sized for. Working with that constraint rather than against it is most of the job.

Measure the actual usable area first, not the wall. Subtract the door swing, the light switch, the coat rail, the radiator and anything that will sit on a console table. What remains is frequently much smaller than the wall suggests, and it is often taller than it is wide. That single measurement rules out more options than any question of taste.

Where the usable space is tall and narrow, a vertical piece is the natural answer and has the useful side effect of raising the apparent ceiling. Where it is wide and short — above a bench or a row of hooks, say — a panoramic format sits far better than a squarer piece squeezed in.

Above a console table, treat the two as a unit: keep the artwork slightly narrower than the table so the table visibly supports it, and leave a hand’s width between the tabletop and the bottom edge. Wider than the table and the arrangement looks top-heavy.

Because entrances are transitional, they are also forgiving about mood. This is a reasonable place to hang something you love that would be too much elsewhere — a stronger colour, a busier composition, a more unusual subject. Nobody sits with it, so it never becomes tiring, and it sets a tone for everything beyond.

If the hall has a mirror, hang the artwork where it will not be reflected. Two versions of the same image facing each other in a small space is more distracting than an empty wall.