Paint colours for a dark hallway with dado and picture rails

[anniemouse]

Have posted this in the Home decoration thread as well.

We have a classical Edwardian/Victorian north facing hallway. I'm planning to keep the door frames, dado and picture rails white. I want to maintain the classic look but also have a modern feel to it. The hall doesn't get hardly any light to it but does have high ceilings.

I was planning on 3 colours (white for the ceiling and above picture rail, 1 for above the dado rail and another darker colour below the picture rail). However, DH thinks just keeping to 2 colours (1 for the ceiling and 1 colour for the walls, both above and below the rails) is better and will look more modern. However, if we do that, I am struggling to think of a paint colour that would be different to white but not too dark.

Our hallway looks similar to some pictures [[https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/5558838/what-colour-above-below-dado-rails here]

We want to avoid blue (as we already have that colour scheme in some of the rooms), and we don't want to remove the picture and rails.

What about F&B Pale Powder? A friend has it in her hallway of the same period and it's lovely.

Washable white under the dado and a yellow above. We have something like this in our dark, east facing hall and it’s fantastic. We’ve white panelling to dado hight that was there when we moved in.

(The photos aren’t of my house, obviously)

How high is your ceiling?

A tall hallway will look better if the ceiling white comes down the drop to the picture rails.

Do you have cornice or coving? Is it fancy? You might want to emphasise it. The Victorian front hall was designed to impress.

You can put a big mirror near the front door if you want. As well as checking your turnout, it will improve light.

If you want to cut heat loss, consider a door curtain on a portière rod. This will be in keeping with the house. They are usually in plain dark colours but there's no reason not to use a pale one (it will need cleaning or washing though)

@PigletJohn

How high is your ceiling?

A tall hallway will look better if the ceiling white comes down the drop to the picture rails.

Do you have cornice or coving? Is it fancy? You might want to emphasise it. The Victorian front hall was designed to impress.

You can put a big mirror near the front door if you want. As well as checking your turnout, it will improve light.

If you want to cut heat loss, consider a door curtain on a portière rod. This will be in keeping with the house. They are usually in plain dark colours but there's no reason not to use a pale one (it will need cleaning or washing though)

Yy, spot on as always.

The second photo shows white to the picture rail down from the ceiling if you need an illustration of PJ’s point. We have a lovely heavy (and lined) velvet curtain at the door, ours is an olive green. Looks fab and makes such a difference in the winter.

p.s.

I think you houzz link would look better with a picture rail and white drop above light-coloured walls.

When I had such a house I used white drop and Natural Calico beneath the picture rails.