It may seem like an odd place to start, but it's often the first thing visitors see in your home, so if you want to make a good first impression, this is where to start!

Having said that, decorating the Hall, Stairs & Landing can be one of the most expensive decorating jobs, not because of the surface area of the walls, but because of the amount of woodwork involved - rubbing down and applying two (or more) coats of paint to all the doors and door frames can be the most time-consuming part of painting a house, and if you add spindles, bannisters and so on into the mix, it's a big investment.  Not as much as a new kitchen or bathroom of course, but certainly one of the more expensive rooms when it comes to purely decorating.

Despite the fact that many of the photos here show wallpaper, I often don't recommend hanging wallpaper in "high traffic" areas, because of the risk of damage to it. If you have a lot of people coming in and out, children or dogs (or any other regular visitors who are likely to make a mess of your walls), I would usually recommend a hard-wearing paint which will withstand regular cleaning, such as a durable acrylic matt or eggshell.

In many cases I'm not a big fan of using wallpaper in hallways and up the stairs - these are "high traffic" areas, and if you have a lot of people coming in and out of your house (kids rushing in with school bags, for example) there's always a risk that the paper will get damaged. However, as you can see in this instance it works really well to create a very calm, classic, sophisticated feel.

Although a large open space, the light wasn't great in this house, so we kept the colour scheme very simple - white satinwood on the woodwork, Dulux "Potters Clay 4" on the walls, and all the remaining woodwork was left as natural as possible.

I really like this space, with its light, fresh feel. Everything was done using water-based paint, so no risk of the white woodwork yellowing over time. The wallpaper makes a nice feature without dominating the space, as does the small under-stairs cupboard, painted to match the wall behind it.

• Ceilings - Johntones Covaplus Vinyl Matt Emulsion in white
• Cream walls - Crown Vinyl Matt in "Ivory Cream"
• White woodwork: Crown Fast-Flow Eggshell in white
• Grey wall and cupboard - Crown Fast-Flow Eggshell in "Granite Dust"

I know, I keep saying I'm not a fan of wallpaper in hallways, and then keep showing more examples of it!

But this "enchanted forest" paper always makes me think of Narnia or The Hobbit, and somehow it draws you in and makes you want to see what's behind the door at the far end of the hall!

The other walls were painted with Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt in "Chic Shadow".

Simple yet striking! By using one colour throughout - in this case Crown's "Classic Duck Egg" mixed in their hard-wearing Clean Extreme matt emulsion - the colour scheme is kept simple, but the strong contrast between the walls, the white woodwork (Benjamin Moore Scuff-X Satin) and the natural wood doors is really impactful. If you're not afraid to use stronger colours, and you have a space that can take it, go for it!

Here's a little video of a Hall, Stairs & Landing transformation from the end of 2020. As well as all the painting, I replaced all the doors upstairs, and came up with a clever trick to "lose" the dated tongue-and-groove panelling downstairs....

Best viewed in "Full Screen" mode.

Sometimes keeping everything really simple is the most effective solution. Here, the ceilings, woodwork, and the top half of the walls are all white, and the bottom of the walls are grey, meaning that the home-owner can add whatever soft furnishings, pictures etc she wants to, without fear of any clash. And when space is a bit limited, simple is always best!