Will it look really naff if I decorate the hall but not the stairs and landing?

[TheSmallestOneWasMadeline]

We have a long and narrow hallway that is pretty dingy. I initially painted the hall, stairs and landing white as I thought it would give it more a bright and airy feel but it hasn't really and it looks a bit dull!

So I was thinking of just running with the dark and moody vibe and painting it navy, or maybe even putting a dado rail in painting the bottom half navy and wallpapering the top half something art deco-y (so 2019 I know!)

Theres no way I will be able to do this up the stairs though, so I'd have to get someone in which will start to get a bit spendy! So I was thinking of leaving the stairs and landing white as there is much more natural light up there so it looks better. There is a sharp corner where the stairs start so there wont be a 'blend' and when you come in through the door you see straight down the hallway and not up the stairs.

Will this look super crap or do lots of people do this??

Hi @TheSmallestOneWasMadeline I am currently redecorating my hallway which has some very sunny south facing parts and some very dark north facing bits so am thinking about this a lot at the moment.

I have gone with the same paint colour throughout (it's a warm white rather than just white) because there is a lot of landing/hall in our house (weird 90s design trying to look like a 70s house) and wanted it to feel like it brings everything together. I'd not be brave enough to go with something totally different to be honest but I'm sure my "off white" choice would probably have given that away already!

If you didn't want to go all in with the wallpaper could you maybe paint the hallway section a dark colour then have prints/art going up the stairs that brings in that dark colour? Still change it but make it cohesive? Do you have darker colours anywhere else in the house or in the rooms that lead off the hallway you'd be decorating?

That is a really good suggestion thank you!!

Would have to see what you mean by the stairs being around a corner but my
first thought is that it would look bad

Could you not paint the entrance hall dark up to dado rail height and then leave the top bit white so that it blends in with the stairs? I think the current fashion is to do that without an actual dado rail as a divider, just 2 colours on the same wall, for a more modern look. You could then use prints/paintings and mirrors to bring some interest to your walls and to bounce some light around, and/or a colourful stair runner.

Basically you come in through the front door and you can just see straight down the narrow hallway with the kitchen door straight ahead and the sitting room door off to the left. The stairs are opposite the sitting room door but they go off to the right so there is no joint wall where the hall stops and the stairs start. Ive attached a really awful diagram.