Help with hallway paint

[MrsBlondie]

I'm useless! New carpet and lampshades are grey. Bannisters will stay white gloss. Hall floor will be oak effect karndean. Any Any clue on good wall colour to go dir?

The lovely thing about a hallway is that you can really go to town (see also bathrooms) as you don't spend much time in there. Is your hallway dark or light? General rule is: if it's dark, go for dark paint; if it's light, go for lighter paint.

Another thing worth thinking about is the rooms that lead off the hall, and what other walls you can see as you move through the hall. I like quite strong colours in my rooms, but the hallway and stairs are white as I like that contrast, that sense of stepping from a light and airy space into a jewel box (ooh get me). The other way round works too: dark dramatic hallway leading to pale/neutral rooms.

The colours that are occurring to me are a bit random, because of course I don't know your taste or what the rest of your house looks like, and also I'm going to suggest posh paint which you can look at online, though of course you can buy cheaper alternatives:

So first, how about a blue/green/grey? I like Farrow & Ball's Oval Room Blue, or a paler choice would be Light Blue (which has a greeny sludgy tone). I've just painted a wall in Mylands Shoreditch, which is a green grey that changes tone throughout the day (green in the morning, grey in the afternoon, blue at night!). Mylands also does a colour called Mid Wedgwood which I haven't tried, but looks lovely: a blue-grey.

If you want to stay neutral, I'd stay away from pale grey because I think it might be a bit drab with the flooring. Go for a dramatic grey, then brighten the walls by hanging pictures in matching frames (black, gold, silver, or a strong colour). Paint & Paper Library has a soft warm grey called Quail which is strong but not too dark, or a pinker grey called Yesterday's Flower. Farrow & Ball has loads of good greys - I think Cornforth White and Purbeck Stone are very easy to use, but you might also want to look at something with more green (Hardwick White is fab) or taupe (Drop Cloth).

I think about paint colours far too much

Oh thanks will take a look

Peach colour?

Ah @Ketzele I always like reading your design insights! May need you to consult on paint colors for my own house.

@MrsBlondie I’d stay away from greys with that carpet, but like the suggestions of blue/green/grey and light peach or blush.

Or what about lavender or buttery yellow?

@Ketzele I like the cut of your gib😃 I’m always recommending Mylands, I love the stuff agree shoreditch is a good colour I was going to get a sample of mid wedge wood, to possibly use in my hallway.

@dontcallmeelen, just last night I was pondering mid Wedgwood and wondering if it would work in my kitchen! We are painttwins. Let me know if it's bluish grey or greyish blue. (I was also wondering about Islington - let me know your thoughts on that!)

[Not obsessed at all - oh no]

@Ketzele I think we are indeed paintwins, I think I may have a tester of Islington somewhere will have a root around & see if I can find it.
Yy the mid wedge wood I’m thinking possibly hallway or maybe my kitchen cabinets, they are currently fitzrovia with Lambeth walk on the walls, was thinking of going darker cabinets/lighter walls.
Going to order some samples shortly, so will report back.
I love nothing better, than perusing a paint chart😳

Is that pale pink with pale blue? Sounds lovely. Do report back! I was faithful to Farrow & Ball for years but I seem to have lost my heart to Mylands now. The paint thing has got so bad that I don't read a bedtime story to dd2 any more - we look at poncy paint cards together, and choose our favourite colour on each row . She has unerring good taste, so I'm just waiting for her to be old enough to paint nicely, and I'll have my own little partner in crime.

@Ketzele the fitzrovia is more a pale mushroom colour, it’s very easy on the eye, but have had it about four years now so ready for a change.
I have a mental image now of you & dd reading paint charts😃
Alas my dcs run away, when I get the charts & paint out.

While I've got you, @dontcallmelen, do you offer any advice for me on my (ugly) kitchen? When I moved in it had yellow walls and ceiling, fake wood melamine units, blood red tiles, scarlet trim, and worst of all a hideously orange tiled floor. I painted the walls and ceiling a pale warm grey, the tiles white and the units a stone colour - just to bland it all out. It was improved, but really dull. Plus the wall colour - also used in the bathroom, where it is a definite warm grey - goes peachy magnolia where the light reflects off the floor. In fact, every tester pot I've tried in there goes peachy.

I can't afford to replace the floor, sadly, so I've decided to go with the orange and have a kind of retro blue and burnt orange look in there. I've painted my units Hague Blue, left the tiles white, and already it is a lot better. I was thinking of Hardwick White for the walls, with Strong White on the ceiling, but the Hardwick White - which looks lovely in other rooms - goes a kind of grubby green in there. So now I'm searching for a neutral (because the orange and blue in there is statement enough) which is dark enough to contrast against the white tiles (it's a sunny room) but not too dark, that is strong enough to hold its own against the orange. Normally I go for warmer greys, but I wonder if I need to go for a very neutral grey or even slightly blue-grey.

So I'm thinking Purbeck Stone or Cornforth White, but not getting excited at the thought. If you have any ideas, please do let me know!

I have high hopes for dd2. Last year she asked for a black bedroom, and we compromised on pale grey. I repainted her yellow furniture blush pink, and her bed and bedside table in black. She's gently lobbying for a repaint - it's nice, she says, but not a strong enough statement, if you're going to use grey and black it should really say something, and her room would look much more striking in a very definite grey, with soft black trim. She is 8. My work here is done.

@Ketzele kitchen sounds good, sometimes it’s good to embrace what you can’t change retro definitely sounds the way to go, hmm I know what you mean about the sludgy, I have Greenwich meantime on the top half of my hallway, it’s a white with a definite hint of blue could that be worth a try?
Dd room sounds fab as does she.

The colour I just suggested is Mylands.

Will also have a look at some paint charts.

My friend has just moved house and one of her bedrooms has a carpet that basically looks exactly the same as yours. She has painted the walls a light grey colour to match the carpet. It looks lovely.

@Ketzele I found the Islington sample, it’s a pale grey with quite greenish undertone, in my kitchen which is very bright it’s look more green than grey, I also found a sample of Smithfield which looks quite mushroomy/taupe.

Ochre looks nice with grey

Huge thanks @dontcallmelen - those little paint charts don't give you a very good idea, do they? The hunt continues!