Help! Dark and Dinghy Hallway Needs Brightening up

[MissWooWoo]

how can I do this?

My flat is on the second floor of a house. the hallway sits gets very little natural light and is narrow. I currently have one wall painted white and the other a very bright colour thinking this would brighten up the space. It doesn't, the bright colour reflects onto the white wall and makes it look a completely different colour. There are two lights, one as you come in our front door and one in the middle of the hall (both are normal bulb lights that hang from ceiling). There is no room for any furniture in this hall and one wall has a radiator.

Quite frankly it depresses me. What would you do? Moving isn't an option

hi!
i would paint it all white, and hang up a couple of big mirrors (or as many as you want really) - they should make the hallway look bigger and bounce around any light there is!

Dulux do a special light reflective paint that is meant to be very good.

Definately get mirrors. You could get a glazier to make you a huge piece of mirror. Place this opposite the door that goes into the room that gets the most light.

How about painting the floor too.

Put in a few halogen spotlights. Each time we've done this, we can't believe how bright the room looks. It almost tricks you into thinking it's a sunny day!

Light paint, mirror, good lighting (maybe one which points in 3 ways) - it'll look totally different in no time at all!

Can you glaze the upper half of the doors? This will let more natural light in. You could use opaque glass for the bathroom door for privacy.

Also what flooring do you have? Light stained, polished wooden floors will reflect plenty of natural light.

some great suggestions here - the light paint and the mirrors are definately do-able. Great idea about the doors, our "front door" already has glass above it but never occured to me to glaze the upper half of the kitchen door, I think opaque would be nicer than plain glass.

The hall is carpeted but is a very manky beige and needs ripping up. Was thinking of having runners going up the stairs and along the hallway and painting the remaining wood white .... runners soooo expensive though!

Lots to think about, thanks for your help