Entryway decor ideas: 12 paintings for the first wall a guest sees

A cat at the letter box, a dog on guard at the stairs, a Japanese traveller at dawn and a Larsson doorway: twelve welcoming pictures for a hall, with how to hang them.

The entryway is the first room anyone sees and the last you see as you leave. It is usually small, narrow and busy, with a console, a mirror, hooks and keys, so the picture there needs to be welcoming, easy to read at a glance and in proportion to a small wall.

Here are twelve that do it well, in three moods: comings and goings, a friendly welcome, and halls and doorways. Each is shown with its colour palette, and each can be ordered as a print.

Comings and goings

Travellers, roads and umbrellas for the room where every journey starts.

1. Young Woman Holding an Umbrella

A young woman in a flowing kimono holds an open umbrella against a plain background.

Torii Kiyohiro, Young Woman Holding an Umbrella, c. 1750. Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e. Art Institute of Chicago.

Torii Kiyohiro made this tall, narrow print around 1750, when Japanese printers used only two colours, pink and green. A young woman pauses with her umbrella, ready to go out.

Its tall shape is made for a narrow hall or the wall beside the door.

See the print

2. First Light Over Fuji

A lone figure crosses a wooden bridge at dawn, with Mount Fuji in the distance against a pale sky.

Attributed to Utagawa Kuniyoshi, First Light Over Fuji, c. 1830. Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono. Art Institute of Chicago.

This small print of about 1830, attributed to Utagawa Kuniyoshi, shows a traveller setting out at first light, with Mount Fuji rising beyond the bridge.

A calm, hopeful picture to see as you leave each morning.

See the print

3. Shimada, Tokaido Road

Travellers and porters cross the shallows of a wide river, some wading and some carried on litters.

Katsushika Hokusai, Shimada, Tokaido Road, c. 1806. Color woodblock print; chuban. Art Institute of Chicago.

Hokusai made this print around 1806 for a series on the stations of the Tokaido, the great road from Edo to Kyoto. At Shimada, travellers are carried across the Ōi River.

Light and lively, in soft blue, coral and green.

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4. Three Gabled Cottages beside a Road

Three gabled cottages stand beside a country road among trees, in warm umber and ochre.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Three Gabled Cottages beside a Road, 1650. Atelier colour edition of the etching. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Rembrandt etched these three cottages beside a road in 1650. This is an atelier colour edition of the black ink etching, in umber, ochre and soft crimson.

A homely, welcoming picture for a cottage or farmhouse hall.

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A friendly welcome

Dogs and cats who seem to wait at the door.

5. Three Kittens Playing with a Letter Box

Three fluffy kittens play around a small wooden letter box, one batting at a blue ribbon.

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, Three Kittens Playing with a Letter Box, 1894. Oil on canvas.

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip was the great cat painter of the nineteenth century. In 1894 she painted three kittens discovering a letter box, a perfect picture for the hall where the post arrives.

A cheerful picture for a family hallway, in warm browns and cream.

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Create your portrait in this style

6. Lady Blessington's Dog: The Barrier

A large dark dog lies watchfully at the foot of a red carpeted staircase, with two small cats nearby.

Edwin Landseer, Lady Blessington's Dog: The Barrier, 1832. Oil on canvas. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Landseer painted Lady Blessington’s dog in 1832, lying across the foot of the stairs like a barrier, while two cats wait for their chance. It is a picture made for a hall.

Ideal at the foot of the stairs or in a traditional hall with a red or patterned runner.

See the print

Create your portrait in this style

7. A Jack in Office

A plump dog sits proudly on a meat cart, guarding it from a group of hungry dogs below.

Edwin Landseer, A Jack in Office, 1833. Oil on canvas. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Landseer painted A Jack in Office in 1833 as a gentle joke about petty officials: a well fed dog guards his cart while the hungry ones look on.

A witty picture for a hall, especially for a household of dog lovers.

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Create your portrait in this style

8. Polichinelle

Polichinelle, the masked clown of Italian comedy, stands boldly in a white costume against a pale ground.

Edouard Manet, Polichinelle, 1874. Colour lithograph. Harvard Art Museums.

Édouard Manet made this bold colour print of Polichinelle in 1874. The masked clown of the commedia dell’arte stares out at the viewer in red, white and green.

A bold, graphic greeting for a modern entryway with white walls.

See the print

Halls and doorways

Doors, halls and rooms that open into one another.

9. Old Anna. From A Home

A bright red door opens into a sunny room where Old Anna works, beside a sitting room with a tiled stove.

Carl Larsson, Old Anna. From A Home, 1899. Watercolour. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

In this watercolour of 1899 from A Home, Carl Larsson looks through a red painted doorway to Old Anna at her work. Doors and rooms open one into another, just as they do in a hall.

A cheerful picture for a Scandinavian or cottage hall in white and red.

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10. The Studio, other half. From A Home

A sunlit studio with a tall painted door, wildflowers on the floor and faces peeking from a hatch.

Carl Larsson, The Studio, other half. From A Home, 1899. Watercolour. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

Larsson painted the other half of his studio in 1899, with a tall door painted with a figure and children’s faces peeking through a hatch.

Light and playful, lovely in a family entryway.

See the print

11. Two Women and a Child Beside a Goldfish Tank

Two women and a small child watch goldfish swimming in a tank.

Katsushika Hokusai, Two Women and a Child Beside a Goldfish Tank, c. 1800. Color woodblock print. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Hokusai made this gentle print around 1800. Two women and a child pause to watch goldfish, an everyday moment of Edo life.

A soft, small print for a narrow hall or beside a mirror.

See the print

12. The Great Hall, Hampton Court Palace

The vast Great Hall at Hampton Court, with its timbered roof, tall windows and small figures below.

Charles Wild, The Great Hall, Hampton Court Palace, ca. 1800-35. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Charles Wild painted the great rooms of the English royal palaces in watercolour. Here the Tudor Great Hall at Hampton Court soars above a few small visitors.

A grand architectural picture for a tall hall or a stair landing.

See the print

Above a console table, hang a picture about two thirds the width of the table with its lower edge 20 to 25 centimetres above the top. In a narrow hall, choose an upright picture or a pair stacked one above the other. If there is a mirror, hang art on the wall facing it so you see the picture twice. For a whole wall of pictures, see our gallery wall ideas.

Questions

What art should go in an entryway?

Something welcoming that reads at a glance: a cheerful scene, a characterful animal, a doorway or path, or a graphic print. Upright pictures suit narrow halls.

How high should art hang above a console table?

Leave 20 to 25 centimetres between the table top and the lower edge of the picture, and make the picture about two thirds the width of the table.

How do I decorate a small entryway?

Keep it simple: one picture or a mirror, a small table or shelf, a lamp and a hook or two. A single good picture makes a small hall feel considered.

Should I put a mirror or art in the entryway?

Both work. If you have a mirror, hang a picture on the wall opposite, or hang a pair of small pictures either side of the mirror.