What colour to paint this hallway? (photos)

[kitchenplans]

We're coming to the end of an extension and I've got decision fatigue!

We've had a new front door put in and the hallway freshly plastered, and now I have to decide on what colour to paint it.

Our old door was a cheap UPC one which was almost entirely glass. Our new composite door is absolutely gorgeous, but it has cut out a lot of the light compared to the old one.

I tend to favour darker colours (kitchen is F&B Bancha, dining room F&B Stiffkey Blue, sitting room is creamy walls but with dark bottle green sofas,) but I'm a bit thrown by how dark the hallway looks now. I know it will get lighter once the ceiling is painted white and the plaster has dried.

Flooring will be oak Amtico herringbone (mixture of Canopy Oak and Eden Oak). We're keeping the greigy stair carpet. We previously had Egyptian Cotton, which is dull and I'd quite like something more interesting. Taste veers more towards period than modern.

Anyone got any suggestions for paint colours? I guess I'm looking for something that is strong, but won't suck the light. I'm open to any colour as long as it looks OK with the existing flooring and the Amtico.

Like you I’m a fan of dark colours but a hall without much light can be a bit oppressive. I always search Pinterest. My house is mainly darks but my hall is pale but has a warm parquet floor and dark painted console so it still feels warm.

Dark is always my go to too and I warm it up with life like usb lights/wall lights and brighter colour elements and mirrors etc.

A small space without a lot of natural light is always going to be a small space without a lot of natural light. You can lean into it and make it something that suits you or you can go pale and hope it doesn't look too boring.

I'm in the process of changing my front door (currently wood, painted white with glass at the top) & although i
otefer wood doors I've decided composite is safer & easier to maintain. Are you happy with yours? Which brand is it?

i had the house plastered throughout & have been living with it like that for a while (ling story) and I actually don't mind the colour. Once your plaster is dry, why don't you see if you'd like a similar colour.

So many colours do suck the light in & it doesn't sound like you'd be keen on the neutrals that don't?

hopefully others are more helpful.

I also have lots of pictures on my walls and up the stairs so I don’t really think of my walls as pale because they’re quite busy.

Friends of ours have a similar hallway but with a solid door. It's a gold/ochre colour with a white ceiling and I think it's really effective: darker than many colours but lighter than dark, if that makes sense.

We absolutely love the door! I've put a photo on, but it's grubby at the moment as we're still mid building work, it needs a really good clean. It feels really solid and sturdy and looks great. Unsure of the brand as my builder got it for me, I just chose from a catalogue and I can't remember the brand name. Cost an arm and a leg though!

I would look in the weird f and b column. The one with cord, string, new white, old white etc. They look awful on the colour chart but actually really nice colours. Also love Joas white.

Or if you tend towards the greens and want to go deeper - bone perhaps? Or if you do want light but not boring then James White with whirlybird details to contrast.

Paint the wall around the door a dark colour and the rest a light colour or a tinted white.

Have you considered doing that thing you see on farrow and ball catalogues where they paint the bottom two thirds a dark colour and the top third pale? Or maybe half and half? Then you could have a lovely dark cozy colour but you would still have some light and it would have the benefit of making the ceiling look higher too.

Like this or this

That's an interesting thought. It's a 1930's house, so we have picture rails in most of the rooms, so that could sit alongside that quite well (and I agree that having lighter at the top absolutely lifts the room and makes the ceilings look taller).

I quite like F&B Sudbury Yellow or India Yellow. Does anyone know whether those colours would suck the light? Ceiling white, door to downstairs loo (not currently fitted, but will be in front of stairs on left hand wall as you look at the front door) will be white. Could also have extra white either by doing some walls white and some coloured or doing as Geneticsbunny suggested and having two colours on one wall. I also quite like Crown Overjoyed, which is a similar colour.

You could make the colour change sit slightly lower than the window in your front door and it would really draw the eye to the lovely door. And the light from the window would light up the top half.

Either of those would work for the bottom an it definitely wouldn't be too dark.

If you want light but with darker / stronger colours choose a satin sheen paint as it helps the light bounce around rather than matt which is very flat. And white ceilings in a satin sheen too.

What about a patterned wallpaper up the stairs and paint the rest, inc the ceiling, in a lighter colour?

I too love your front door and would be interested in the make.

Having gone back over my internet history, when we were fiddling around on the planner to decide which door we liked the most, I think the door is Endurance Doors
PENTLAND
Door Color: Irish Oak
Frame Color: White/White
Glazing Style: Clear
Handle: Finger Pull
Letterplate: Architectural Letterplate
Knocker: No Knocker.

The hallway is a lot less dark when you stand by the front door and look towards the rest of the house. I think maybe that painting the door wall white (which would work with the white door frame) would mean that the rest of the hallway could tolerate a darker colour?

Thanks everyone for your help. I have a starting point now with yellow/gold/ochre colours and some brilliant ideas of techniques to add some extra light in.

The yellows you're looking at are good choices for a space with not much natural light. I read up about it for our hall and a "muddy" version of a colour is the best choice. Your yellows fit that description. We ended up with a blue shade after a disaster with a wallpaper that was not good quality.

That looks like a dark wood floor? I'd be going a deep bright yellow ( not pastel)

Yes, I'd do this, I think, if I really wanted a deep colour. Otherwise I would go for a light off-white/ivory (I'm a big fan of Dulux Timeless) which would look lovely with the flooring, then go mad with a big mirror and pictures etc. I prefer houses to have a sort of colour 'flow' instead of each room being a different colour, though, which I know is not everyone's taste.

similar issue here and the light that comes in is northern so colder..

current plan is to go bold and warm figuring all the white from doors/ mirrors/pictures and a decent light ...will help
favourite is little greene Canton which is a warm teal...

i like the sudbury yellow but looked like nicotine stain... although a friend has just used Hay in her similar directed room and looks lovely...so am getting a sample

Please not grey. If not too much trouble you could do a dado rail and have darker colour below and toning in wall paper above - it looks quite nice.

I would go with a mid tone light colour with warmth, like Joa's white by farrow and ball, it gives warmth and coziness without been to cream.

Yes to the India Yellow (or similar!) Here is my dark room which i have just done in this shade - it's added so much warmth and the white really pops. Btw i used Little Greene Light Gold - very similar to India Yellow but much better finish and far less paint needed.