Hallway, Stairs & Landing Wallpaper: How to Make a Grand First Impression
The Room Everyone Passes Through
The hallway is the handshake of a home — the first space anyone sees, and the thread that ties every other room together. Yet it's so often left plain. Wallpaper is the quickest way to change that: a hallway, staircase and landing dressed in a beautiful design instantly feels welcoming, considered and full of character. And because it's a space you pass through rather than linger in, the hall is the perfect place to be a little braver than you might elsewhere.
At Claret & Key, every design is drawn in-house and printed to order in your chosen colour way, so your hallway makes exactly the first impression you want, made especially for you in our Cheshire studio.
What works in a hallway
Hallways reward designs with rhythm and movement. A stripe is a classic choice — hung vertically, it flatters the height of a stairwell and leads the eye up the stairs. A small or mid-scale pattern draws you through a narrow space without overwhelming it. And because you don't dwell there, a hallway is a wonderful place for a dramatic, moody design or a bold feature that would feel like too much in a room you sit in for hours. Florals, botanicals, birds and heritage designs all bring a hall real warmth and personality.
Stairs and landings
A staircase is a gift for wallpaper: the vertical rise gives a design somewhere to soar, and a stripe or a trailing floral climbing the stairwell is one of the loveliest things in a home. Landings, often forgotten, become a highlight when they carry the pattern through, tying the upstairs and downstairs together into one considered whole.
Built to last
Hallways are the hardest-working walls in the house — bags, coats, busy feet — so the finish matters. Our Heavy-Grade paper (300gsm, with a subtle sand texture) is the tough, hard-wearing choice for high-traffic halls and stairwells. Traditional (150gsm, super-matte) suits calmer spaces, and Removable peel-and-stick (180gsm) is ideal for renters. All are printed to order on FSC-approved, PVC- and VOC-free paper.
Hallways are often short on natural light, so order a sample and see your colour way in the space before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hallway Wallpaper
What wallpaper is best for a hallway?
Designs with rhythm and movement work beautifully — a stripe to flatter the height of a stairwell, a small or mid-scale pattern to draw you through a narrow hall, or a bold, dramatic design, since a hallway is a space you pass through rather than sit in.
Is wallpaper hard-wearing enough for a busy hallway?
It can be. Hallways are the hardest-working walls in the house, so our Heavy-Grade paper (300gsm) is the tough, durable choice for high-traffic halls and stairwells, standing up to bags, coats and busy feet.
How do I wallpaper a staircase and landing?
A staircase is ideal for wallpaper — the vertical rise gives a stripe or trailing design somewhere to soar. Carrying the same design up the stairs and across the landing ties the upstairs and downstairs into one considered whole.
Can I get hallway wallpaper in a custom colour?
Yes — every design is printed to order in your chosen colour way and scale, so your hallway makes exactly the first impression you want, made especially for you.
This wallpaper is just gorgeous! I used the one that requires glue and it was super easy to i stall. One roll was enough for a 6’ wide laundry closet with 7’5” ceilings. Even on our orange peel walls it set beautifully. I did this behind our new washer dryer set up in our laundry closet with white oak cabinets and it’s perfect! Highly recommend!
Truly love this wallpaper. Looks amazing in both our bathroom (the original project) and as an accent in the back of a cabinet (what we did with the extra). Everyone who sees it comments on how classy and beautiful it is. For these reasons five stars!
However I do want to call out two concerns:
1. The online "calculator" on the site recommend nine roles, which seemed excessive for our less than 100 sq ft bathroom. I even reached out to support to double check and they said to go by the calculator. I'm glad I didn't because I ended up ordering five roles and only needing 4. I will say returning the 5th role was a pretty smooth process, so kudus to Claret and Key for that.
2. Strangely the "autumn" color with pale nutmeg background reads more green than brown in certain light. With bright overhead light it comes across as the soft brown we intended, but in natural light it reads much more green. Not anything to terrible just unexpected.
Beautiful paper! Our decorator commented on its quality and how nice and easy it was to work with compared to other wallpaper he had used in the past. Thank you.
So in love with this wallpaper. We wanted a cosy cottage bedroom vibe so we chose the Eloise. It’s such a pretty design that completely transformed the space. The wallpaper is such great quality .We have very uneven walls but didn’t have any issues. Hanging it was a joy. Highly recommend.
We used Blanche to paper some built in wardrobes that double up as room dividers. It was brilliant to be able to sample several background colour options and we are delighted with the finished result
Thank you. Fabulous Wallpaper.
Great quality paper and easy to hang.
The design is so rich in colour and adds such decadence to my dressing area. Now for the finishing touches.
Poor customer service - rolls are only available as one off 10m runs, so if you need 11m.. unfortunately you’ll be paying double for a second roll! Unless your walls are 8m or less, I’d avoid. Wrongly assumed Claret & Key would be slightly more compassionate about the situation and even help with a slightly discounted second roll, considering we only needed 1m. How wrong we were!
Store owner replied:
Hi Emily,
I'm sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the service.
We sell our wallpaper by the roll, and we are unable to manufacture shorter rolls. This will be the same for most manufacturers as 10m rolls are standard, and most rooms require more than 1 roll to complete the job.
Thanks,
Claret & Key
I really loved this paper and thought it would look nice in my attic space. Delighted with the end result. Great service, excellent quality of paper and it really transforms the room. The eves are very low so the space was not utilised so making a feature with the wallpaper has created a cosy space to relax in. Thank you. M
Love this wallpaper. It’s just enough to show a statement but not so loud that it overpowers the space. Being able to pick the color is such a great thing also. You’re not stuck with 5 options so it can match your style and colors of your space. Would recommend to anyone looking for wallpaper. Very happy and my installer said its super easy to install this pattern.
This wallpaper is thick and sturdy. It’s very easy to work with and easy to apply. It was my first time hanging wallpaper and this paper was very forgiving. Great product!
