Help! What exactly isn't working with this decor? (Pics attached)

[Acey68]

I'm in the middle of decorating my new flat and I've just had my hallway done and I used a pic I saw online for inspo (attached along with mine) but I don't love it and I can't quite work out why or what I need to change.
My thoughts are...
Is the dark grey dado just too dark in a real life setting? Should I paint it back to white?
The blue carpet will be changed to a neutral hard floor- could this be why I'm being thrown off?
Are the walls too cream? I used Dulux timeless which lots of people rave about on here and describe as a not creamy white but to me it looks very cream! Should I paint the top PBW to match the woodwork?

Any feedback appreciated :)

The angle of your photo. If you had a mirror and a plant and cropped it, it's v close to yours. I wouldn't mess with the radiator! It's a colour scheme that I'm not sure translates terribly well to a corridor rather than a closeup I'm afraid, sorry.

I wouldn't repaint the dado until you've got the floor down. I think everything will look different without that carpet.

The dark stripe (rail???) against the lighter colour looks 70s/80s to me. I would make them the same colour

At the moment the dado rail looks weird and dated because it is paired with dated old carpet. Once you’ve swapped that for modern hard wood flooring and added some more modern lighting and pictures/accessories then it will look interesting and trendy rather than dated. Don’t paint it white! Wait until you’ve changed everything else first and I think it will look really good.

(So basically what @Candleabra said)

For me, pink and grey is a very 80s colour combo, so not really a fan - sorry! Maybe ditch the grey rail?

Thanks, yes will definitely get a dark framed mirror and a new ceiling light too. I did think about panelling but the radiator is so big I wasn't sure if it was worth doing as it takes up most of one side of the hall!

It may just be the lighting but to my eyes the colour above the dado has a greenish or cool cast which is fighting with the warmer pinker shade below. In the inspo picture the two paints are tonally in the same (pinkish/warm) range with the top one being lighter, so it's more harmonious. Maybe have a look at Delicate Seashell or Natural Wicker instead of the Timeless?

I wouldn't bother doing anything with the radiator personally and if you can get the colour balance right between the top and the bottom then the dado will look fab as it is.

Yes I'm not sure if I am totally set on the top colour either. I thought Timeless would be a safe choice after hearing so many good things about it on here

I'd say add a radiator cover and mirror or picture above it. A plant would also help soften things

The carpet is very distracting but mainly I think the top and bottom colours aren't tones like in the inspiration picture. Collectively at the moment if I saw a house on the market with the same decoration I would think it desperately needs redecorating as looks really old and tired.

For sure it’s the carpet , throws everything else off. But as others have said a large mirror in gold or rattan would lift the whole thing . Or a print with some green in it .

I don't know if it's the lighting, but the top colour seems to have a slightly green tinge to me.

Agree with PP who said leave the dado rail until last. I'd be inclined to paint it white but the new flooring and accessories could make all the difference

Oh Timeless would totally work in your hallway but only if you had a different and cooler shade on the bottom - it's the clash of warm and cool that's the problem. Well to my eyes anyway!

Rather than mess up what you've already got though if you've a big bit of lining paper or similar why not go grab a couple of testers and paint them on that with your lower colour beneath each one and then pin that up on the hall wall. You'll know when you hit the right combo.

Timeless is a lovely colour but it has a hint of lemon in it, while the colour under the dado has a hint of pink, so they aren't in the same colour range. It will look better once the carpet has gone, and it needs something to echo the colour of the dado, which is the function of the mirror in the first photo. I think painting the dado white would be a mistake, though. Although I'm not sure about the current colour.

The dark carpet narrows the room.
Would a large mirror beside the kitchen door make it seem larger.
Use matching emulsion to paint the radiator so it blends in more.
A couple of prints on the wall above the radiator might make it seem more furnished.

I hope you don't mind but I did a v quick (and rough) photoshop job on your wall - warmed up the top bit up to the doorway (because that was the easiest bit to select) and also darkened out your floor to get rid of the blue. Does this fit more with what your were thinking?

And this is it going the other way - keeping the Timeless but with a cooler greener shade on the bottom

That radiator dominates - can you get someone to box it with fretwork front & top?
Carpet removal and nice floor - will make significant difference.
Need something interesting to lift the space - interesting lighting/mirror/artwork.
Will you be adding coat hooks at entrance?
Do you have space for a small bench with hooks over? Like this www.cotswoldco.com/hallway-furniture

I think change the carpet and then look at it again with fresh eyes - there are some good suggestions here but it might be fine once the carpet is removed?

Timeless is in theory a good neutral but in practice in north facing rooms without much light it can look a bit green and sickly. I speak from experience as we used it all over our house and ended up repainting all the dingy rooms as it just didn't work. Agree with PP that you need a warmer cream shade above the dado and to ditch the blue carpet.

Well yours is not the same colour as the inspiration pic. Your top is cream and the inspiration pic is more peachy.

The carpet yes.

But the two colours on the wall with the dado looks wrong too….

Even the inspo pic looks dated sorry.

Agree with everyone else, the blue carpet doesn’t work. Once you change it out, things should improve.

Also the creamy yellow colour above your dado rail doesn’t go well with the pinky beige colour below your dado rail. The top colour should also have pink undertones.