HELP!! What have we done??? Pic attached

[QuietThyme]

DH and I live in military housing and had the bright idea that painting our hallway would be a great idea!

There was some good logic behind it. We moved in when it was newly built in 2017 and the walls just had a matt white base coat on them. With two young kids, the walls have become, let’s just say, less white!

We bought some matt but wipeable sage green paint but it looks awful now it’s done. This pic doesn’t show the severity but it’s much darker than we hoped/expected. We have some things to put on the walls which might help but I’m really upset about it. I think it doesn’t help that every other wall in the house is plain white 😩

DH would definitely throttle me if I say I want to change the colour so that’s not an option.

Any ideas on how I can improve this?

I'm failing to see a problem.

It goes with the carpet, it is very neutral.

It's not dark at all. Dark would be navy blue, or bottle green, or dark colours, this is not a dark colour.

It's never going to be beautiful because the doors, handles, etc aren't lovely, but it's fine.

I like it, it will probably look better in daylight.
This lady is on Instagram and YouTube, she painted her hall (looks similar to yours) in a very similar colour. She wasn't sure at first but it looked lovely when she styled it up:

It's a nice colour, you just need to accessorise.

Decorating obviously isn't may thing as I'm thinking-it's a hallway-do you have to really love it?

I love it.

It goes with the carpet, it is very neutral

It really doesn't go with the carpet.

Tart it up a bit, pictures and plants and maybe a large runner for the floor. The colours fine, it just looks a bit bare.

I love it! Get some nice frames up, maybe add a string of led soft fairy lights somewhere in a shadow corner for evenings and it will look lovely. You’ll get used to it.

I like it! I'd put a gold art deco mirror in.

@stophuggingme 🤣 you're much braver than me

I like it. I'd add a runner that matches the walls, change the lightshade for a larger one that uses the wall colour as an accent and put up your photos and your mirror. Then , put up a pic so we can see it

I love that colour! It probably just looks a bit dar because it in a narrow space and you are used to it being brilliant white.

As others have said - mirrors, pictures, plants - they will transform it

(Is that a Roland piano? it looks the same as mine)

I think it will look much better once the piano is covered up and the pictures and mirror are on the wall. I always think that shade of green looks nice in a garden room, with white and wicker/rattan furniture. Maybe buy a new rattan light shade and a pink/green runner?

My living room is that colour and looks lovely but I have paired it with red and burnt orange accessories and a red rug. That kind of green needs colour with it and lots of wall art and then its lovely. I'm not at home now or I'd send a pic.

Agree with everyone who says it needs accessorising, nothing wrong with the colour at all - it looks nice but the hall looks stark.

Your plant stand is lovely! add some pictures/mirror, a new light shade and definitely a runner and it will look gorgeous.

I think the light shade you have is too small and nondescript for the space, it doesn’t add anything. A big drum shade would look great - either in white or if you go for a multi colored rug you could pick out another accent colour which would look even better.

Honestly it will look great, you are just not used to colour and the hall isn’t ‘finished’ yet.

I would go for a runner like the first one a PP posted (grey & white) but a darker grey. Then a warmer lampshade. It will be fine

(But it's also ok to admit to partner you made a mistake, if you do it yourself - it doesn't take a huge amount of work to repaint if it's just a hallway)

I love that colour but I think it doesn't go with the style of door and handle!!

I think pictures and a mirror on the wall will make a huge difference, but if you could change the door handles I think that would make the biggest different, (You probably can't change the front door one, but you could change the others)

I love it! Definitely get your accessories up and style it and I reckon you will love it again

I really like the colour .

I don't think it looks awful.

Try any or all of these: Add a chandelier light fixture: you can pick these up fairly cheaply at antiques shops. Add a huge mirror with a scrolling, ornate frame, or do what I did: collect 5-6 frameless mirrors of various shapes and sizes (again from antiques shops) and make a wall display of them. Get a couple of large, brightly coloured pictures and hang them on the opposite wall.

It looks fine to me, and tones with the neutral carpet, but if you hate it, surely a can of white or off white paint won't break the bank?

@QuietThyme
I painted the hallway a yellow colour, expecting it to be 'Cheerful'...It was so horrible..Harsh and institutional looking.
I had spent a lot of money on paint...But had to repaint.

BUT...Yours doesn't look bad at all.

It is not easy , is it, to realise how a finished job will look.
Even tester pots don't give at the full story.

I think it looks quite nice in the photo but perhaps it is too dark in real life. It also looks very severe because there's nothing on the walls. Looks a bit like a hospital corridor at the moment.
Put pictures back up, a couple of mirrors, a plant in the hallway and maybe a rug in a contrasting colour and see what it looks like.
If you still really hate it, paint over it.

I think it looks fine. The plant idea is nice - and plants which do not thrive in direct light are ideal for this hallway.

Put your pictures and mirror on the walls, think about buying a carpet runner - not white - and a new lampshade, then leave it for a week or two. It will be fine.

Looks really nice to me