Throw open that front door and there lays your hallway floor. Sure, some homes have the kitchen door or side door as their go-to, others skip the hallway altogether and have you stepping from street to sitting room, but the classic home layout makes the entrance hall the first room you clap eyes on, so it makes sense that people want it to pack a punch. If redecorating your entryway is on your to-do list, feast your eyes on our hallway tile FAQs to give you all the knowledge you’ll ever need to pave the way to a beautiful first impression.

Q: How do I pick hallway flooring?

A: Let’s go in with practicalities for this one because your hallway floor sees a lot of traffic. It’s a busy little place that gets everything thrown at it – mucky shoes and paws, wet brollies, bags of shopping dumped down on it. It’s also a passing place between other reception rooms so all-day, everyday it carries lots of footprints. That means you’re wise to pick a hallway floor tile that can withstand some rough and tumble. Think an aged limestone that’s already full of natural imperfections and markings, terracotta that looks like it’s been laid for years or a robust porcelain tile that’s patterned (pattern hides a multitude of sins). Porcelain timber-effect tiles are another good option, because few things say warmth and welcome like a wooden floor but the porcelain material adds the practical element.

Q: Do I have to have the same hallway flooring through the whole of my downstairs?

A: You don’t have to do anything! Continuing the same hallway throughout your downstairs is great for flow and to integrate your rooms. In an open-plan layout, the same flooring is a natural choice, and if you want to create subtle zones without that, just speak to your tiler or designer about changing up the tile layout for a row or two, and you’ll have an understated dividing line. But if you want your downstairs rooms to have distinct division, switch up your floor tiles between spaces and you’ll do just that. Be mindful of how different they are though and what your partitions are to make sure the transition from room to room isn’t jarring. It’s also worth checking the depth of tiles when you’re picking too, so that there’s no step up, or down, as you wander between rooms.

Q: What do I do if my hallway is narrow?

A: If your hallway is narrow and you’re keeping it that way, no tile is going to magic it into anything else, but it can help to stop it from feeling mega cramped. Large format tiles will help it feel a little roomier especially if they’re light in colour with light walls to match. Consider planks but create the illusion of space by laying them horizontally to help it seem wider or lengthways to do the opposite. Alternatively, lean into the size, it’s what gives your home character, dark walls (colour drench all woodwork in the same colour as the walls too), mirrors to bounce light around and interesting floor tiles help to really set the scene when people first walk in. And we’re here for it.

Q: What hallway flooring best suits a modern home? 

A: Beauty, as ever, is in the eye of the beholder, and so there’s no right or wrong about what sort of tile is perfect for any particular age or style of property. That being said, a good place to start is to lean into your home’s material palette and era. For example, a modern loft apartment might have a red brick exterior and so exposed brick hallway walls is a cohesive look that would in turn influence your hallway floor choice. Porcelain wood-effect tiles strike again here or an edgy slate-like floor tile such as our Metropolitan Slate. Or switch things around with a terracotta brick tiled floor and then a simple wall. Our Marlborough parquet tiles are great in this instance, whether you go for the natural terracotta or our porcelain version. Or in a modern townhouse that’s either a period property with modern decor or a modern take on a heritage home, be inspired by the tiles that would’ve been true to the time, and then invite them inside with a modern twist. Our porcelain Victorian Style tiles are an absolute winner here, inspired by old-age Victorian floors but with all the perks of modern convenience and innovative ways of styling them up.

Q: What best suits an older property?

A: Same goes here, there are architectural cues you can take from our home’s exterior design language but playing with contrast is also fun so tear up the rulebook as much as you like. Largely though, when it comes to heritage-style tiles, a natural companion to an old farmer’s cottage will also be a textured flagstone floor like the Rohan limestone tiles, Pont Neuf or Cotswold for a similar look in porcelain. Or if the cottage in question is a flint fronted Scottish cabin or a whitewashed one in Wales with a Welsh slate roof, a hallway floor in rugged sandstone such as our Highclere tiles will 100% look the part. How about a fancier Georgian rectory or manor house? Keep up the exterior’s grandeur with a majestic hallway floor such as our Lacock limestone flagstones with octagons and cabochons and all.

Q: Do you have any hallway inspo?

A: Reams of it, whittled down to these fab five hallway ideas to steal immediately:

1. Victorian Style: first up, our aforementioned brand new Victorian-style tiles that give you the coveted heritage hallway look with a whole lot of convenience too – being porcelain, they’re super easy to care for, clean and lay down thanks to their pre-scored mosaic design. This hallway uses the Finchley terracotta colourway and with those white walls and black balustrade keeping the rest of the scheme simple, the decor focus is rightly all about that showstopper floor.

2. Bergamo & Zuber: next up, in the swoon worthy home of Sheerluxe CEO, Georgie, who has given her hallway palatial feels with an elegant chequerboard of our Zuber and Bergamo limestone. With their slightly polished finish, they bounce the light around the room which is only made lighter still thanks to the chic and sleek off-white walls.

3. Marlborough Terracotta Parquet: this rustic hallway was designed by Folly & The Garden and it shows how modern rustic is done to perfection. Using our natural terracotta tiles, Marlborough, in the parquet shape, they’ve kept everything else pared-back as the Shakers advised to let the beauty of the materials speak for themselves. Warming, welcoming and just the right amount of weathered, this is a hallway that looks good and performs even better.

4. Cotswold: proof that flagstones don’t have to be made from natural stone to look the part, our textured porcelain Cotswold tiles echo the colouring and markings of mottled limestone in a warm grey finish and with tumbled edges to add further character. This hallway shows how continuing the same tile through to the adjoining sitting room makes for a serene flow from room to room.

5. Minerale: and finally, probably the most low maintenance hallway floor you could ever dream of, our Minerale tiles are the easiest in our whole collection to lay thanks to their click design which can even be laid on top of an existing floor. Immensely hardwearing and created to look like an exact replica of stone or timber, you get all the look perks plus a tile that’s waterproof, absorbs sound, works with underfloor heating and is mega pet friendly too. This hallway has gone for the Burley herringbone finish that looks exactly like an oak parquet floor. Charcoal grey woodwork is a modern accent that we just love for its partner in crime. We’ll be copying this one for sure.

If none of those favourite five tickle your fancy, get a load of this merry trio giving you hallway dreams to go forth and make true.