Out of a nondescript bit of hallway, I made one of my favorite features in my apartment: A hallway gallery of travel photos. What small space in your home have you transformed?

A post in the Small Spaces series.

In small spaces, waste not

I’m not exactly sure what they call the layout of my apartment (linear?), but I do know that no one would call it spacious. My small space means that I don’t want to waste any of it, and that includes a tiny hallway that I turned into a little gallery of my travel photos.

Small spaces Hallway gallery of travel photos
As seen from the living room. Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

Reminders that I haven’t traveled in a while

Facebook reminded me that I’d planned out my 2018 South American adventure on February 18th of that year and that I’d taken my business trip (to Philadelphia) last year on February 19th. While no replacement for cool trips, my little hallway gallery features photos of  recent travels, and I’ve found myself spending more time looking at them this month. My South American trip, a trip to Budapest later in 2018, and also some snaps from UK business travel and that trip to Philadelphia. There are also some snaps from my time in Laconia in 2020.

Gallery from the kitchen

A hallway gallery, dedicated to travels

I’d wanted to do something with that tiny hallway right after I moved in here, but, aside from a couple of mirrors to try and brighten it up, I didn’t undertake it until after I got back from my parents’ house in May 2020. Faced with the fact that I would spend a ton of time here, and missing travel something fierce, I took advantage of a Mixtiles sale and got a bunch of my Instagrams printed.

Small spaces hallway gallery wall
UK and Philadelphia

Reminders of adventures, and inspiration for those to come

The Children’s Railway in Budapest, which I rode because a friend recommended it after seeing it featured on Travel Man. Los Andes from the craziest bus ride I’ll ever take. A fantastic bookstore in Buenos Aires. Uruguay. The top of Gellért Hill in Budapest, right at sunset, after a day at the baths. Independence Hall in Philadelphia. A funicular in Santiago. An underpass in London. A canal boat after the snow in, of all places, Kidlington, UK. A blue heron taking off in Laconia, New Hampshire. A most beguiling door from Valparaíso.

And a whimsical print of Somerville, Massachusetts, from Rusty and Ingrid, to remind me of home.

Looking to the living room
Hallway gallery
The view from the loo

Using small spaces creatively

Et violà! From an otherwise blah bit of hall from the living room to the kitchen to a point of interest that reminds me of some grand adventures. I ordered a few more than I could use in the hallway gallery, so I’ve hung those throughout the rest of my apartment.

A project for some weekend is to take my loads of other travel photos and hang them in the kitchen, along the back wall, but for now, my hallway gallery positively delights.

What about you?

Is there some corner in your home that you’ve spruced up and now loved? Tell me all about it in the comments!

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