Halls- with Dado rails...what to do

[3rdnparty]

We have finally arranged to get someone to redecorate our hall/landing stairs...he has of course quite reasonably asked what colour paint we want - and also if we want different colour below and above the dado rail-

In my head I just want it not the colours it is (currently terracota below paleish orange above) as I really really really don't like the colours on there so hadn't thought about it..but...

he suggests it would be more practical and also more suitable to the house (late victorian/edwardian) high ceilings not a lot of natural light...

If I go for two diff colours how extreme different or do you just do tones I quite like this white.....
www.farrow-ball.com/james-white/colours//fcp-product/102010

and the colour of the skirting I also like

www.farrow-ball.com/lichen/colours//fcp-product/100019

or is that too institutionalised... I do need to be practical though as always have kids around........help am clueless

oops links-white
www.farrow-ball.com/james-white/coloursfcp-product/102010

skirting
www.farrow-ball.com/lichen/coloursfcp-product/100019

I'd love to have a dado rail but unfortunately ours was ripped out sometime in the past. My neighbour has a similar White to the one you've chosen but with something like this www.dulux.co.uk/colour/soft_apple underneath. It's light and fresh but works well.

I think that green is quite dark.
I'd be more inclined to go a bit lighter like this one for skirtings if you want coloured

this one for under dado and dado itself

and then the james white above

Watching with interest, we've got the same problem Op not helped by the moss green stair carpet. I'm tempted to do the lot all the same colour. At the moment the skirting is white, the lower half cream painted anaglypta wall paper and the upper half duck egg blue patterned wall paper. Sounds nice but it really isn't.

Thanks all, love the blue grey...have the French grey in our bathroom but its south facing so quite green.....think your right about lichen, was thinking of doing all the woodwork white as its so dark...then leaving the handrail wood... Old white not on my f&b card... Will need to get some samples I think..f&b put the blue grey with slipper satin...

Had soft apple in my old house think will be too yellow in this room though might dig out my old pot!

We have a grubby peach carpet too, definitely doesn't Help

Could I do the woodwork bog standard white gloss with the v matt walls ?

We have a small Victorian house with dado rail in hall, stairs and landing. Floor is light yellow-painted boards. We have off-white woodwork, ivory above the dado rail and on the ceiling (more creamy than the woodwork), white cornices, and below the dado - wait for it - purple. Looks fab! at least I think so, and visitors are too polite to contradict me

I do like purple!though have never used it in a room on the wall although am considering one for the front door so maybe should consider the theme but it is so dark.....esp upstairs ....

But our purple is only below the dado rail - light floor, light upper walls and light ceiling. Oh, and we have purple/white drapes around the windows and now have a purple stripy runner in the hall.

And the lower walls are sponged with a lighter purple (probably really old-fashioned these days but who cares?!)

satin instead of gloss was my big discovery - looks sooooooo much nicer with a soft sheen to it.. - and B&Q Colours range DON'T stink up the house for a month!!!

Yeah, we did all our woodwork with water-based satin (not sure which as it was a few years ago now). Being water-based even the satin isn't that shiny. Much easier for cleaning up brushes, lack of smell etc. and mostly it's still fine now, though wearing a bit on the grubbiest doors that I have to keep wiping. There's the odd chip but then you get that with gloss too.

ive just done my hallway and stairs
it was f&b ball green which i loved but it was too dark mid stairs and landing as we have no natural light up there.
so we added a dado rail and now have..
ceiling, top of dado -all white
below dado-shaded white
dado and all woodwork- all white
wheat/drk gold carpet
dark wood floor in hall,
the shaded white looks rich and fab in the dark areas on the stairs and landing but i think it looks too pale in my light flooded hallway so im going to paint that a shade darker maybe hardwick white ??

wonkylegs

if dado rail is what you want, buy some from a timber merchant.

I strongly recomment fixing it with small countersunk screws, so it is easy to remove one day without wrecking the wall dec.

My hallway is duck egg on the bottom and white on top. I think it's calming. I looked at colours similar to the lichen but found them a little green for my tastes.

The blue grey is lovely and would be so calm and peaceful compared to terracotta.

off sample shopping tomorrow, am not sure the shaded white will be practical enough for all the manky children! but as no natural light maybe better bet....