Need to paint a 10 ft x 3 ft dank & dark hallway. Color suggestions?
by
CC
+23
Overall the house is small (1300 ft) and compact with a beach/nautical theme. The dining area is a soft light yellow. The hallway actually has very little wall space to paint, 3-4 inches between three door frames with a foot of wall above doors to the ceiling all the way around the hall. Very enclosed much like a narrow cave. Most of the ceiling is taken up by a pull down ladder to the attic. I need light colors and creative idea for doors and walls...or?
Entrance of hallway looking straight back to the bedroom on the other end of the hall and view of the right wall (water heater behind the louvered closet doors next to the hallway bathroom.
This is the right wall. This wall, with the exception of about a 1 1/2 ft, is entirely taken up by the water heater enclosure and the bathroom door.
Entrance of hallway Right wall view.
Angling to the left wall from hallway entrance, is a louvered closet for linens. Directly across from the bathroom door.
The left wall is a linen closet & two bedroom doors. There is approx 3 inches of wall between each door.
Still to the left at a sharper angle just past the linen closet is a small 3 inch space between the two bedroom doors. The bedroom door at the end of the hallway has no spacing between next bedroom door just framing.
From the back bedroom door looking out into living area (water closet and bathroom door). Note area above the door frames...
This is the other side of the hallway looking out into the living area. Note the wall area above the doors and spacing between two bedrooms.
Looking up is where one sees a little more wall space to paint....door at end of hall
14 answers
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I would paint the walls trim and doors a light grey (almost white) and put grey/white (like beach wood look) planking on the ceiling running the short directions to make the space feel wider. I would put a poster/picture of the sky or like your looking up at trees on the ladder hatch and trim it to look like a faux skylight and put something on the the pull ring to make it look like a hanging fixture. Maybe use the same wood from the ceiling to make "picture frame backs (larger than the pics) and place some on doors to make it feel like there is more wall. Maybe the pics could indicate the room in lieu of signs it looks like you have. Be cautious on painting the louvered doors (spray is best) as the slats are hard to paint cleanly. Unless you are in dire need of the closet space; you may want to consider taking off the doors to create an alcove of sorts to make the space bigger for maybe a book nook or something. You can also get door murals that make a door look like additional space that can fool the eye. I have one in my kitchen and I love it. Just my thoughts. Enjoy what ever you do!
Moxie
on Mar 13, 2015
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Hi CC! Your overall beachy look is quite pretty! I think there are a couple of issues in the hallway that make it feel more closed in. First, to brighten the hallway, I would paint the wall areas that same yellow paint from the dining room. The first thing you see when you look into the light-colored hall is the large dark doors, so painting those would help. You don't have to paint them white, you could do them in a beachy, driftwood technique to stay within your theme. I wouldn't paint all the doors a different color- that would do the same thing by breaking up the space-just keep them white. Then I would remove that string and silver o-ring that is hanging in the middle of the hall from the attic door pull- I know it doesn't seem like much but visually it creates a "barrier" in the middle of the hall. Also, I would remove those industrial spot lights hanging on the wall and hang a softer and prettier ceiling fixture ( if the ceiling is high enough you could do a small chandelier, otherwise a flush mount ceiling fixture with lots of light facets) so that it can shine light across and not just point down towards the floor. Happy decorating!
Country Design Home
on Mar 14, 2015
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I would paint the hall a nice shade of yellow, this will open the hall up to be nice and cheery. It looks like your living room is already a soft yellow so pulling that through will make a nice flow. I also would pain the wood on your closet doors white so they don't look so heavy.
Judy Rashotte
on Mar 14, 2015
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The first thing that came to my mind was that you could use a nice runner rug down the hallway to add a pop of color. I'm not thinking you will find much difference in painting the hallway. I also thought about the possibility of doing some stencil work on the doors, especially the one at the end of the hallway. It looks like a blank canvas to me and it's the one that's going to show up the most as you look down the hall.
Cathy C
on Mar 14, 2015
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I painted my wood-paneled hallway off-white with alternating 12 inch flat and semi-gloss stripes. First I painted it all flat, then taped off the 12 inches, and painted those semi-gloss. I just love the way it looks.
Bette
on Mar 14, 2015
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Paint the hallway a shade of white by Sherwin Williams in a gloss or high gloss finish. Paint the ceiling, all trim, walls, doors, everything the same color. Doing this avoids chopping up the hallway thus making it look larger. The gloss or high gloss finish reflects light wonderfully thus also making the hallway look larger.
Creative Interiors By Connie
on Mar 14, 2015
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I would paint the walls a pale blue or blue/green to cool off the space. All the woodwork and trim would be bright white, including the closet doors. I would put bead board on the ceiling, as Moxie mentioned. That would definitely boost the beachy feel! Plus, the blues and greens go with the yellow from the other room.. best of luck!
Brenda
on Mar 14, 2015
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Yes to gloss paint, all one color, and add mirrors to reflect light. A collection of different sizes and shapes would be cool. You can get cheap frames at thrift shops, paint them or not, and have a glass place cut cheap mirror to fit. (It'd take quite a while to collect a variety of mirrors you like) You aren't using them to apply your make-up or make a statement in your living room, so you don't need the best quality.
Janinne P
on Mar 15, 2015
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Like Sue@Country/Judy suggestions in particular. However, I would paint the wood doors the same as the trim in your living room. Since the hallway is darker, I would use a paler tone of the yellow from the living room. Agree with replacing the light fixture. Perhaps the O-ring could be fastened to the pull-down door (less convenient but also less distracting). Since you have little wall space, perhaps you could mount a mirror with trim on the end door and keep it closed most times. Your wall hanging seems a bit bulky. I might replace it with a pic with your beach theme/colours. Not sure if a runner would cause a prob over your wall-to-wall. If not, I'd go with a stripe to widen the space visually - again in your beach theme/colours.
Marion Nesbitt
on Mar 15, 2015
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I have to agree that regardless of the color choice the key to the dark tall hallway is increasing the illumination. I love the use of mirrors, and also using a gloss or semigloss paint. For some reason yellow jumped into my head lol, but perhaps something more subtle like a pale butter. It would be warm and brighten up the spot as well!
Lee Cunningham Green
on Mar 15, 2015
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Here's my 2 cents...I would paint the ceiling, door to the attic, all of the trim, and doors including the linen closet in Benjamin Moore's White Dove (OC-17) in matte. Then I would use one of the following grey colors also by Benjamin Moore. Horizon OC-53, Moonshine 2140-60, Gray Owl OC-52, or even Stonington Grey HC-170 in a matte. All the colors have a blue undertone so it won't clash w/ the yellow in other parts of the house. I like the idea of using mirrors, however I would tweak it a bit & get 3-4 antique ones to put in a row down one of the smaller walls. For the other walls you put groups of 3 prints of artwork. The light grey walls will make the colors in the artwork pop. Hope this helps.
Kayo Frazier
on Mar 15, 2015
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Hi! With so little wall space I would not be afraid to add some color to your walls. Choose a color that looks great from your living room (or any room that the hallway is visible from). There is a painting on the wall in the dining area of your first photo that has a lovely shade of aqua in it. That would be a great color for your walls. All of the doors and trim should be a shade of white. And, frankly, they should all be the same style of door - either all flat panel or all louvered. Louvered bedroom doors would look quite beachy. And the privacy value doesn't change all that much from a hollow core door. I think it would make a great change. Also switch out the light fixture that is on the wall above the bedroom door. Replace it with a nautical style ceiling light fixture. This should be pretty easy from the attic space above. I also love the idea of bead board on the ceiling. That is an excellent suggestion.
Palma Minnich
on Mar 17, 2015
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Hello: You want this space to open up and be bright. I would use a very high gloss acrylic paint. The high gloss will bounce light around instead of absorbing it. Also do everything the same colour. This will make it look more spacious also and not break up the wall. Add colour, put up some primary coloured prints. Yes you can find narrow ones. If you wanted to you could paint something on each of the doors. Because they are indented, it won't break the flow, but will add colour. An example.. On the laundry room door paint, a clothesline with clothes on it., on a daughters door, a huge flower (her favourite.) If you can't do decorative painting, there are always decos that peel of and stick with static. I hope I have been of help. I have decorated many homes. Have a Joyful Day :~D Charlie Also I would do the ceiling in a white high gloss paint, smooth surface.
Charlie
on Mar 19, 2015
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sunshine yellow with stark white trim or natural wood trim
Catherine Blankley
on Oct 07, 2015
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