Following on from my dark hallway thread

[EachandEveryone]

I’ve bought some testers from wilko are they any good?

My sister thinks they are too dark

2 is fine. 1 too dark. I'd look at more yellowish colours to warm and brighten. Daffodil White is boring but works. Not Matt as it marks so easily.

I have that silvery grey in my kitchen and bathroom. It's lovely and bright and doesn't look cold.

Are they still wet or have you used silk emulsion? Can you post of photo of them dry as they will look different. The yellowy brown one is not nice and will make it feel dark.

Do you think I could do it myself or just pay £300 it’s w lot of wood work should I have plain white above the picture rail

Are those test patches dry? 2nd one looks nice and reflects light

I can go back to wilkos and get more samples but i do have a colour chart

Nearly dry😂

It’s the third one down. I have the light on now

The first one reminds me of breastfed baby nappies I'm afraid!

I love the green one (3)

A tip I saw once was to paint a large square of cardboard (One per colour) rather than the wall so you can walk round the room and see it in different lights.

2nd from bottom in that later picture looks nice.

Would you have chalk white for the wood work

And how big a job is it with a friend? Neither of us has done it before

The woodwork is the biggest job. Hallways a re a bugger with all the doorframes. The walls will be easy. It will take a few hours, but it's not complicated

White paint. A lovely big mirror. Keep it simple. Paint it yourself, you’ll be fine.

Painting walls isn't difficult provided you have a steady hand and don't try and rush. Painting woodwork is really time consuming, much more difficult to get a good look and can look awful if you don't prepare the woodwork properly. I would suggest that you could paint the walls yourself then get a painter in to do the woodwork.

It's really all about the preparation.

I used to ignore this advice and just get on with painting walls. The result was really not great. First time I saw a real decorator working, it was obvious why. They spent ages Sandi g down getting rid of anything like shelves in the way. Then Zik Zak paint all done in a few hours.

How good a result do you want?

All dry now. Maybe getting someone in to do the wood work with their own paint might be the answer.

Where would you put a big mirror? I might need some smaller ones as well

You'll easily be able to do this yourself. I've done all my decorating myself, painting and wallpapering. Once you get into doing it you'll be fine.

I think colour choice is the hardest part.

Definitely the 2nd from left. Nice and bright. It's really easy to paint, just take your time. I prefer silk or satin for woodwork. It doesn't yellow like gloss, and doesn't smell as strong if at all. Plus you can wash brushes in water. There are probably YouTube videos on painting walls for beginners, so watch a few of those to get some tips.
Look forward to the finished photos

what's the green one? Might like that for my living room! Agree that the silvery one looks good for your hall though

Delicate Fern from wilkos

Have you considered just going with the dark eg a dark blue? Light colours can often also need actual light to bounce around them to avoid looking a bit dingy. Whereas dark can look dramatic and bold and then all the rooms off it will be bright shots of light. The dulux visualiser app might be useful to give you an idea what it might look like.

Try Wilko’s ‘on deck’ colour in their scrubbable paint. It’s such a lovely colour that I’ve gradually repainted everywhere in it and it’s so classy. It’s a beigey grey, fairly light but really pretty in all lights. Their durable paint range is brilliant for just wiping down marls.