Hallway/stairs - dark - help!

[Ughnotagain]

I live in a terraced house over 3 floors. The stairs go up the middle of the house and have very little natural light that gets to them.

There's no hallway as such - just a very small square (think like 1.5'x1.5', tiny) behind the front door, then straight up the stairs.

We're redecorating and I haven't got a bloody clue what colour to do the stairs/landing. I think it needs to be something quite light to stop it feeling gloomy but I don't want it to be boring.

Any suggestions? I've tried having a look around online but all I've seen are things like "ways to maximise small space", which doesn't really work in this instance.

It's not as though you hang out on the hall, stairs and landing is it so I would worry less about boring and concentrate and maximising light. Ime finding a paint colour that works in all the different areas is the key.

What's the floor covering? Think about getting something lighter if it's a dark colour. I know you want practical for this area, but if there is limited light then going a few shades lighter will help and you can go for something which isn't a solid colour - good for hiding general dirt.

Consider painting the banisters white if they are not already - it will make a huge difference. What about the doors off the landing? If they are white that will also help.

Use mirrors to reflect light from any windows. Think about lighting - additional wall lights or lamps on landings if there is enough space and they would not be dangerous could really help.

Colour - what about a soft pale yellow with white ceilings? If you have picture rails/dado rails you can look at introducing more than one colour and make it more interesting that way.

Floor is currently carpeted in a light brown but we're getting a new carpet as it's knackered. So really we have complete flexibility (and it's the starting from scratch that throws me, I've never had to decorate a house before!).

We're also doing living room and spare bedroom so it should feel like an exciting project but I'm just a bit overwhelmed

Okay - so I would do the living room first as you'll get the most out of that as you probably spend the most time in it. Complete one room at a time rather than living in uproar trying to, say, do all the woodwork at once.

Then do the spare room (unless you have visitors booked and want to decorate it ready for them first). Then do hall, stairs and landing finishing with the new carpet as you have to traipse all over that area to get the others so decorate it when the other jobs are finished.