please help me choose a paint colour!

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

we are getting our front hallway decorated.
(pics in profile)
it's all the original wood and we'd like to keep that as real feature of the room. we're doing it white as a basecoat and thought maybe we;d just stick with that but it feels a bit cool.
it's a very narrow hall but with has high ceilings and with the stairs it is VERY high.
any suggestions gratefully accepted!

[CouldYouWouldYouWithaGoat]

white with a greeny touch? will give it a pleasantly cool feel. our hall is f&b james white but i thinkyou could go a wee bit greener than that. also the green would tone in with the wood.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

i should have added that the stained glass window is red and blue. and there is blue carpet on the stairs (which we want to change but not sure when)

it doesn't get that much sun and tends to be a bit dark and cold at times.

[farrowandball]

off white from f&b is lovely, as is potters clay (no2) from dulux. if you want to keep white-ish, but warm, then porcelain (also dulux) is gorgoeus - very soft, er, porcelain-y coloured white (use it for the ceilings and cornicing and any skirt you dont want to keep wood to increase the sense of space. if you get a dulux, get the flat matt option. if f&b, estate emulsion. the porcelain, by the way, sits well with both of the other colours, and makes a lovely ceiling/cornicing/woodwork option. if painting wood, i use a waterbased eggshell for a low sheen.

hope that helps!

[CouldYouWouldYouWithaGoat]

you could get a nice bright runner for the stairs that could warm it up. (eventually obviously), i think you should ignore the blue carpet factor for now.

[Jampot]

we went with a creamy white (Timeless by Dulux) in our hall..(and everywhere else downstairs) but we had oak floor so it never felt too cold. You could add colour/warmth in the shape of pictures or fabulous curtains on the window on your stairs.

you are very good at making baby shoes by the way.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

ooh i like Timeless. can you buy it off the shelf or do you have to get it mixed? (we need A LOT so we'd rather get something off the shelf)

thanks BTW re: baby shoes!

[Jampot]

its off the shelf. and because its not brilliant white it doesnt feel stark. We started off with it in our lounge then in our dining room and hall stairs and landing and finally kitchen - I really liked it

[SpangleMaker]

I agree with the recommendation of F&B colours. They're a bit pricey but worth it, I think, because the colours have so much life to them.

Could also be worth considering a darker colour (even if it's just a shade darker) for the ceilings - this gives a feeling of warmth.

[rolymoma]

cant you have any colour mixed now rather than buy from the F&B range? eg you take the F&B colour chart to B&S or wherever and they mix it for you - they have all the constituent elements on computer or something. i may be wrong there but im pretty sure my decorator told me that (wonders if it is just for trade customers ). im off to check that out now!

[rolymoma]

www.leyland-paints.co.uk/index.php/colour/tinting
says you can take in swatches of material, tiles etc and they can match the paint for you. might be cheaper than F&B? think you might have to buy a big tin though!

[farrowandball]

it can be done, but (should just say i'm not actaully anything to do with f&b) i find the quality and density of the pigmentaion if it, and paint and paper library and so on, is better and means the paint goes much further and doesnt work out s more expensive. i would certainly never use a crappy own brand paint because you need so much more.

[SpangleMaker]

Agree with farrowandball, IMO F&B paints have better quality pigments that seem to interact with the ambient light in a different way to some cheaper paints, which can look very flat in comparison. There really is a difference in quality.

Fired Earth colours are also good.