Try Flor carpet tiles. Website is www.flor.com. They have a specific menu topic under "Shop" for runners (I'm considering one right now - 2' x 10'), or if you want to design one yourself, that's always a possibility.

For runners look to www.overstock.com. They have runners up to 16' long. I have had terrific luck with overstock.com, from towels, sheets and bar stools.

You want to be drawn into the main part of the apartment - not stopped/distracted in this narrow space from entering.

Therefore, I'd chose oversized abstract artwork for the wall with the lights on it - Either one huge canvas or a large diptych...
...but nothing else - no rug, no shelves, no doohickies - Nothing.

Keep the hooks, organizers and whateverelses to catch your coats, bags, keys and shoes squirrled away within the closet.

Hi Bernadette,

Carpet tile works super for runners. I have a very long hallway and group them together to make separate runners. Mannington Commercial has them, you have to go thru an architect or designer but they may be less expensive than what you can get retail and more choices.

Can you paint out your doors and trim around the doors? The ones that don't already match the wall. Right now they are unintended focal points. If you are handy, take a big artist canvas (between the light fixtures) and paint it a color... deep and dark. This will make this wall feel like it extends.

I'd put a photo mural, of an open door that looks into a great looking bedroom, on the blank wall. Easy way to add a room!

i'd make it a big art wall. assuming you have a bunch of framed prints or canvasses to hang. use similar frames for everything, and go high and low to accent the high ceilings. but just hang them on the wall with lights - keep it plain on the opposite wall. that way when you walk in the door, you have some visual interest in the foreground, but the group of frames will draw you into the main room beyond. if you hang things on both walls, i think you'll get more of a tunnel effect.

I have a similar situation, only my hallway is 50 feet long the entire length of the apartment! I'm still stumped on what to do, so I am waiting to read what people suggest.

My coworker suggested painting sections of the wall a different color frames for artwork and pictures to be hung and to break up the long long hallway.

Where is your landing strip?

if I owned my place I would do something like the paint-by-numbers wallpaper http://www.2jane.com/category/products/wall-art
or a geometric pattern paint job on that wall, enough to be interesting but not too distracting so you get an overall effect but don't have to stop to look at the details.

I agree! painting a canvas on the wall would be nice that's one color....that would really draw the people inside. Have fun with it!!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

Hi -

My landing strip doesn't really exist in any fully functioning form. There is a basket on the ledge of the kitchen that houses keys and the dog's leash. Shoes are kept in that hall closet, and jackets in the bedroom.

I should clarify my main concern with this hall. It's actually more important for me to make this hallway appealing from the inside, moving towards the door (angle shown in photos). After seeing beyond the ugly bi-fold closet, you are almost immediately drawn in to the rest of the home because of how the room opens up. But when I am looking towards my front door, doing laundry, leaving, etc. I find the hall so plain and closed in. Hope this makes sense.

Thank you everyone for the runner suggestions!

I would avoid a gallery wall or any intricate art, as you can't stand back to get a decent look at it and take it all in. It will just seem busy. One very large, simple-modern type piece of art to take up as much space as possible on that wall would be ideal. Or maybe a large vintage textile. You could get a runner in similar tones. I'd stay with something rather muted, again because anything too bright will make that narrow space crazy. On the wall between your utility room and pantry I'd hang some hooks and a basket to use as a landing strip - I don't think you have enough room in there for a piece of furniture.

A couple 8x10s, a mirror, and a runner. No need to over-decorate the narrow hallway. I'm going to disagree with a large painting/mural as it would make the space feel cramped.

How much can you do?, Open budget, landlord's blessing?

I would do mirrors and absolutely nothing on the floor....

You can paint the walls orange and have three tall mirrors framed in black.

Or everything bright white includind a big and very ornate (baroque) high gloss white framed mirror and sconces.

Or a brushed silver finish on the walls and nothing else.

paint the door a stand-out color and get a runner from Dash and Albert
http://www.dashandalbert.com/

What a coincedence! I'm trying to do the same with my hallway that looks a lot like Bernadette's hallway.

We're framing some of our favorite vinyls to put on the wall. They're small enough that they don't require a lot of light and space to view, they're colorful, and they're a cheap solution.

"It's actually more important for me to make this hallway appealing from the inside, moving towards the door ... when I am looking towards my front door, doing laundry, leaving, etc. I find the hall so plain and closed in."

In that case, maybe you need a mirror on that wall next to your laundry closet - perhaps one on either side...
...but it/they shouldn't be in thick, heavy frames and you need to have something substantial on the opposite wall for the mirrors to reflect upon - the reflected image is as important as the mirror itself.

I wouldn't use a runner unless you're worried about wear & tear on the floor or it's very modern, like some of the industrial felt ones in bright colors I've seen online. First, I'd get rid of both sets of doors. The utility closet should have actual doors if that's where your washer/dryer are, because those make noise. With the light switch panel and some sort of radiator above the doors, I can't advise sliding doors, but maybe you could improvise more modern glass bi-fold doors, and a matching door for the pantry? I also like the idea of doing something with the interior of your front door. But I would get a wall art mural -- like a picture of the Mona Lisa -- and customize it to the height/width of your door and put that on, and paint the doorframe black or some complementary color. As for the big white wall, can you replace those sconces with a pair that extend further out a foot or two with a more interesting bulb shape and more bulbs? I'm thinking if you bring them out so they extend to the center of the entryway, they'd act more like art but still give off good light, not leaving a shadow in the middle of the floor. And I wouldn't put a large art piece up on that wall. No one looks at art in narrow hallways. Plus, it'll get bumped, scratched and all manner of affected by normal traffic coming into and out of the apartment. You're better off painting some diagonal stripes that will also cover -- what is that? an electrical box? -- on the wall and create interest.

I'm fond of Japanese items, so one thing I might do in your situation is hang a kimono on a bamboo rod between the lights -- something large, eyecatching, and flat, since the space isn't all that wide. Maybe there is something with that kind of feeling that you especially like that would work in a similar way.

Maybe wallpaper with a large pattern? If you're a renter and worried about permanence, I highly recommend http://www.tempaperdesigns.com. I recently used it and was surprised how easy it was to put up (haven't taken it off yet but I did test it by pulling the corner up and it seemed like it will be a snap when the time comes).

@Deep6 - I am worried about the floor because the rain water/snow from taking off our shoes does affect the wood, and the condo bylaws don't allow a rug in the hall outside my door. I love your idea about changing the sconces. I've been looking for something that would extend up & out for a while, but with no luck. I'll keep searching. You're so right about the closet doors - they're awful. It's tricky to replace them because I think I need to get something custom to accommodate the furnace's air-intake at the bottom. When I figure out that little detail, the frosted glass is definitely on the top of my list.

@mrsyow - Thanks for the dash&albert suggestion. Just checked it out and I love their runners!

@bepsf - the mirror idea is really good, that would be great to have a functional piece that's also additional "art" reflecting art.

When I make some decisions and do this make-over I'll have to send in photos. Thanks everyone!

homedecorators.com has sisal runners with rubber backing. They come in lengths up to 14 feet. I bought one for my hallway; my hallway is twenty feet long. :D I got the Rio in Amber; it's a color very similar to hardwood floors. You don't want a rug that contrasts too much with the flooring; it will look choppy.

Too much art on the walls doesn't help. You may at first think art will perk it up, but it doesn't. The light (even if you have hardly any) bounces off the glass and it becomes just a long corridor of reflective blank spots. I like bepsf's idea of a single bold painting, with a mirror to reflect it.

I like the single bold painting idea, too. Why not make one yourself? Choose colors from the new Dash and Albert runner which you are now going to buy. Do stripes or splashes or dribbles or geometric shapes or whatever your heart desires, the looser the better.

New sconces that provide more light are also a necessity.

And I agree with the person who said the doors should all be the same. You could fasten painted hardboard over the louvered doors if you can't change them out. 4-6 screws that could be removed and filled when you move.

Alternatively, you could cover the back of your front door with one of the fantastic panels of doors leading to fabulous spaces which were featured here a couple of weeks ago. Can't find the piece now, but it was a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know if it is in your budget, but I suggest a new front door. I have the same sort of entry hall, and it was so dark. I bought a door with 3/4 frosted glass with a wrought iron detail in the glass - gorgeous! I found it a building salvage shop for less than $400, and it was worth every penny. I love the view down my hall now, and there is a ton of sunlight during the day. There is plain neutral paint with no artwork on the walls - the door is the focal point. And with double-paned frosted glass, I don't have any problems with privacy, energy efficiency or security (because of the metal grille). And it greatly improved curb appeal!

Oh yeah, I do have a long runner that I bought at overstock.com for about $60. That was mostly to cover previous damage on my hardwood floors, and prevent further wear.