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How To Decorate a Hallway | Little Greene

Decorating a Hallway

When decorating an entrance hall or hallway, it is important to create a scheme that flows from room to room.

These areas can often be narrow and lacking in natural light. With the use of colour, you can produce a scheme that brings warmth and light to a small space to ensure a welcoming entrance.

Define hallway proportions with different shades

Use a lighter shade at the end of a narrow corridor alongside darker walls to draw the eye and create depth in a room.

For advice on how to make a dark hallway appear lighter with paint, see our article on Creating Space: “How to Make your Rooms Look Larger”.

Here, ‘Grey Moss’ is used with ‘Cool Arbour’ for this neutral, spacious finish that is perfectly complemented with natural wood furnishings for a look that is both simple and beautiful.

Wall (facing): Wood Ash

Walls (corridor): Grey Moss and Cool Arbour

Door frame and skirting: Wood Ash

Hallway Inspiration

Bold and bright paint

Use strong yellow shades such as ‘Light Gold’ in an all-over scheme to draw light into the space, give a sense of warmth and create a joyful, inherent brightness.

Paint your hallway furniture - chairs, tables or coat stands - to complement the warm colour scheme.

Wall: Light Gold

Radiator: Urbane Grey

Architrave: Scree

Chair: Heat

Window Frame: White Lead

Colour contrast corridor

Pair two bold colours that strongly contrast for a contemporary finish in your hallway and landing.

‘Atomic Red’ and ‘Brighton’ are used for this spacious hallway to provide a real colour highlight that may be overwhelming if used in a more restful space.

Back Wall: Atomic Red

Front Wall: Brighton

A natural combination

Green and pink are a naturally beautiful colour pairing. The sweetness of ‘Confetti’ on the walls is grounded by the use of this earthy green ‘Livid’ on woodwork.

Wall: Confetti

Doorframe and Door: Livid

Inside Door Panelling: Gauze – Dark

Above Picture Rail: Lamp Black

Bold pattern scheme

Create a scheme that flows from room to room by pairing a wallpaper design with a complementary paint colour.

‘Versailles – Monument’ pairs with ‘Tracery II’ for this calm, tranquil space to highlight the room’s architectural features.

Contemporary colour blocking

Create a contemporary, creative look by combining large blocks of colour in your hallway. Use vibrant shades to give a point of focus and add interest.

Here, ‘Knightsbridge’ and ‘Boxington’ are combined with ‘Dorchester Pink’ to mute the sweetness of the delicate pink and bring balance to the room.

Neutral traditional hallway

For a more traditional finish, highlight architectural features and woodwork in a darker shade, keeping walls bright and neutral.

Pair two of the green shades from our ‘Green’ colourcard, such as ‘Putti’ and ‘Ulla’ grey-greens that provide a cool backdrop.

How to paint a hallway

For areas like a hallway or corridor, that experience high-traffic and every day family life, we recommend using our Intelligent Matt finish.

Intelligent Matt is a totally matt, yet completely washable alternative to traditional emulsion paints with a beautifully flat low sheen.

It is certified as child-safe and is fully washable, should any accidents occur. Marks can simply be wiped away with warm water to maintain a spotless first impression in your hallway.

Intelligent Matt is easy to apply and dry in 2-4 hours so you can complete your hallway decorating project efficiently and easily with minimum disruption.

Painting bare plaster walls

Allow at least 4 weeks for new plaster to dry. Lightly wash the walls to remove any dust prior to application. All plaster walls require a mist primer coat by thinning Intelligent Matt Emulsion paint with a 5 to 25% addition of clean water.

Stir the paint thoroughly before use. Two full coats of Intelligent Matt Emulsion are recommended to achieve full depth of colour.

Recoat after 4 hours by applying a second coat of Intelligent Matt Emulsion. The substrate will be surface dry within 1 hour.

Painting previously painted walls

Ensure the surface is clean, dry and grease-free. Use sugar soap to remove all loose and flaking paintwork and rinse with clean water.

For a significant colour change, apply Little Greene Intelligent ASP (All Surface Primer) to the matching colour to ensure the depth of colour is retained.

Stir the paint thoroughly before use. Two full coats of Intelligent Matt Emulsion are recommended to achieve full depth of colour. Apply the first coat of paint evenly.

Recoat after 4 hours by applying a second coat of Intelligent Matt Emulsion. The substrate will be surface dry within 1 hour.

Our paint can be applied using traditional brushes or rollers.

For hallways with high ceilings above the staircase, we recommend using a telescopic paint roller to reach the full length of the wall.

How much paint will I need to paint a hallway and landing?

To create a natural flow between spaces, use the same colour scheme when painting a hallway, stairs and landing.

Paint coverage varies according to the chosen finish, so make sure you calculate how much paint you will need after you have selected your finish.

We recommend Intelligent Matt Emulsion as the ideal hallway paint. Based on a single coat, you can expect an average coverage of 14 square metres per litre of paint, We recommend a minimum of two coats when applying any of our paint finishes.

For more inspiration, browse our hallway image gallery. If you’re struggling with selecting shades or concerned about colour combinations, Little Greene Colour Consultancy will help you decorate your home with confidence. Our professionally trained consultants will guide you through choosing the best colours, finishes and wallpapers to bring beauty and personality to your home décor.