Colour for a long narrow hall.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Hall has been the same pale green colour for about 15 years. It has lots of doors but really only gets sun through part glass front door in the morning (house runs east to west) and from the kitchen window (if I leave the door open) in the later afternoon and evening. The stairs runoff at a right angle and has a north facing window at the top. It;s mainly doors (5 doors plus the stairs) and is not much wider than the front door.

I think it needs to still be pale but fed up with green, don't want grey, lilac, peachy type but don't want no colour either

Floor is engineered oak - slightly orangey as been down 20 years, don't want to replace it as it runs through most of the downstairs.

There must be something nice?

Thanks for any help.

Clinch from farrow and ball or slipper satin?

pin.it/5I7H1KY

On deck from Wilko. It’s a beautiful beige grey that has worked in all rooms for me, no matter which way they face. It’s light and bright but cosy and classy too. I’ve spent so much money on paint that I’ve hated but I really love this. You can get a tester for about £1.

Thanks both, very similar colours and also similar to a B&Q one that I use instead of white/magnolia. Lovely. To be honest I really don't know what I am looking for but if you try to go pale but have some colour in, it inevitably looks like a pastel and that's not what I want

I asked DH and expected a "I don't know/care" but he immediately said a mustard yellow which I actually quite like. I even had a sample from when I was thinking of doing a bit of that in the livingroom. However, I think it would be too much in an actual mustard but as soon as you start to try to get a paler version, it ends up creamy yellow or lemony, neither of which I fancy...

Now wondering if I should do the wall that faces you as you come in and that then goes up the stairs in a proper mustard and do some neutral on the other walls?

I'll try to post a drawing of what I mean.

So this would be facing you as you look from front door, basically the kitchen door and then wall running up the stairs.

I like farrow and ball paints (if if I sometimes swap them out) so I looked up "yellow hallway farrow and ball" on google just now. Quite a few choices. The India yellow is nearest to mustard but I think it needs a good bit of light to work. It is gorgeous in a south facing sitting room-I once had it, or something very similar, and it looked warm and sunny.

Sudbury yellow might look nice?

I think shades of yellow and mustard, more than any other colour, change a great deal depending on the light available in the space, and the shades used alongside them. Also, some can be a bit acid or brash or contain green, whilst others are a bit brown and tobacco.

I think in your shoes I would go to an F and B stockist, try a few shades on the wall on sheets, and in different lights, and once you have chosen, decide whether to invest in F and C or eg Johnston's fake version. Estate emulsion would be tricky in a hallway, unless you could guarantee family members wouldnt put their hands on the wall. A tall order!

If you ever need a very pale yellow, I love jasmine white in my small south facing guest room, with mustard betting. It is very pale but has an eggy tone to it.

Thanks for all the info and yes, fancy estate emulsion not really a goer in a narrow hall as going in and out seems to necessitate rubbing your back pack along the wall..

DS2 is nearly 19 and still runs his hands down the walls coming down the stairs.

I'll look at the colours though thanks :)

No change of a FB stockists though, we are still limited to 5 miles and nearest will be about 30 miles away. I have B&Q which can mix valspar and that's about it. I have heard a rumour of a dulux station in a bit of an industrial estate a bit closer though but that could be a myth!

I think it's actually quite a hard colour trying to not get lemoney, custardy or greeny.

the light just isn't great since it's so narrow and only really borrowed light from a north facing window at the top of the stairs or what comes through a half glass leaded and patterned front door.

If it's darker and north facing, I think yellow is a good choice. It'll make the space sunnier.

In my utility I recently bought a made up shade from Dulux, in a finish called "Diamond Matt". It does actually work quite well, and there's no question that it is scrubbable-they refer to it as 'repeat scrubbable'. I would definitely consider it for a hallway with children.

Ps go for eggier tones-in your chosen depth of shade-they definitely avoid both the green and custard!

I would not use farrow and ball unless it's the even more expensive wipeable one. But it's a waste of many when valspar, Crown, dulux and Johnston all do great washable paints and the decorators or paint centres in your area will colour match.

The mustard and way you have described which walls to do, sounds great and I think it would tone nicely with the floor.

@onlinelinda

If it's darker and north facing, I think yellow is a good choice. It'll make the space sunnier.

In my utility I recently bought a made up shade from Dulux, in a finish called "Diamond Matt". It does actually work quite well, and there's no question that it is scrubbable-they refer to it as 'repeat scrubbable'. I would definitely consider it for a hallway with children.

I see why you'd suggest that - I have a dark long hallway and when we move din, chose a diamond matt yellow. I bloody hated it. The diamond matt finish was awful and the long hallway meant you were always at an angle to see the worst of it. Although it wiped very well, it scuffed very badly due to the really chalky texture. The yellow did not brighten the hallway but instead looked so dirty and depressing.

It was awful and the most akward room to repaint but we recently bit the bullet and did it in F&B Joa's White. It is so much better now!

I don't have children as such , they are adult teenagers but the worst is probably DH who takes a back pack every day for work, boys not so much anymore, and drags it along the wall when he is going out the door.

Mine are grown too, just. Personally I'm finding the diamond Matt pretty good, and happily not too shiny. I've only had it since July last year, though.

I've used Dulux endurance before, in fact I think that's what we currently have. The backpack marks are more scratches rather than dirt, DS2s dragging hand marks mostly wipe off as well as the cat prints as she like to run down the stairs or along the hall but bounces her feet on the wall to get round the corner.... I go between still liking the green that is on and then hating it depending on the light, I want to love whatever I replace it with.

I think some form of yellow/gold/mustard is still a good idea but it's just getting the right shade. It's just a pain at the moment, we are really stuck with B&Q but it's still a matter of queuing and the mixing centre isn't always open either so I need to call ahead to see if someone is actually there - and then you have to queue again.

DH and I both work full time and the shops are open limited hours so that doesn't help either.

Maybe wait a while. A hall is a problem to get wrong, as it can be a big job. Or perhaps buy tester pots from eBay if possible, or online?

but the worst is probably DH who takes a back pack every day for work, boys not so much anymore, and drags it along the wall when he is going out the door.

Sorry but why??

Why does he carry a back pack? Because he has stuff to take to and from work.

Why does he drag it along the wall? It's not deliberate but it's a narrow hall and even though he is in his 50s he's not yet got his spacial awareness sussed out. DSs used to to do the same with their school bags. I've even been known to do the same. 🤷‍♀️

How about a copy of F and B Pale Hound?

Mustard Jar by Crown