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Design Dilemma
cazie6

hallway help please!

cazie6
9 years ago
We're first time buyers and just moved into this house. It's outdated and we're on a tight budget. I'd like something fresh looking in the hallway but with a funky design for the feel good factor when I first walk in but I've no idea where to start! All the walls have dado rails and I've been told to remove them I would have to re plaster all the walls and that really isn't an option right now.
The whole house is magnolia and dark wood and I want something to lighten the house up as it doesn't get a lot of sunlight really. I think starting in the hall is the way forward and I'm hoping I can carry it through to the very small porch too. does anyone have any ideas please as I'm totally rubbish at things like this!
Featured Answer
  • mrsmcee74
    8 years ago
    Leave the dado, there's loads of options. You can just paint the dado walls, woodwork all the same colour for a contemporary look - something pale with a hint of grey like Farrow & Ball Strong White. Or if you know anyone handy with carpentry, you could add strips of timber to make it look like paneling. Or paint dado and wall below one colour and wall above dado another. Or paint dado the same as the woodwork and walls above and below dado in the same colour as each other. Painting the dark doors pale will make a huge difference to the light and tricks with mirrors and extra lighting too.

    Comments (24)

    • janeatquoins54
      9 years ago
      Ah, just found this link to your question, and it has photo's with it! My answer is on the link with no pictures, but won't go through it again - hope my previous comments help! As to your hall, do not despair! It really isn't that dark compared to mine. I would get rid of the dark tones and just blitz it with white, picking out the dado rail and hand rail on the stairs with a colour of your choosing. Something bold and striking, perhaps? If you found a door mat that was bright and you loved it, a colour from that mirrored in the dado/hand rail would be striking.
    • cazie6
      Original Author
      9 years ago
      Thanks very much. I never thought of doing that with the rug abd the dado rails. I thought to paint them the same colour as the walls to hide them, but I really like your idea and will go with that. I'll do the walls white and then find a rug in a bright colour and find a paint to match.

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    • minnie101
      9 years ago
      The door etc look great in dark wood but they are darkening the space, as is I suspect the carpet. Dulux do a new light and space paint, our decorators did not get along with it to be honest. Do try it but if not something ŵith a sheen. Mirrors and anything reflective will help. It also looks as if the lighting needs to be improved? Re a funky design, can you take more pics of the actual hall as its difficult to see what could be done
    • ginag0
      9 years ago
      Remove the dado rail, paint the walls white, paint the doors white and change the radiator to a modern chrome one and hang a feature mirror on the wall. change lighting to recessed spot lighting and choose a pattened rug.
    • Jonathan
      9 years ago
      Remove the dado.
      Striped stair carpet.
      Walls nearly white.
      Doors - white
      Banister- wood
      Spindles white
      Sorted
    • Tim Price
      9 years ago
      Your comment on what happens when you remove the rail is correct - needing plastering, however the alternative would be to simply patch it up, sand it off and wallpaper to hide the work.
      personally I would keep the rail for now at least. Either painting the hallway white and the rail a bright colour, or (even cheaper) keeping the walls as the are and painting the woodwork and rails gloss white would brighten the place up and be nice until such time as you have either enough budget for a total rework or until you are sure what you really want to do with the space.
      I would keep carpet on the stairs - keeps them quiet and safer.
      On closer examination the doors look like they may be a lighter coloured wood that has been stained. Stripping the stain (if it can be stripped) could help if you prefer wood to paint.
      If natural light is really a big thing then consider changing that wooden door for one with glass in it. Of course I have no idea what is beyond that door, so it might not be appropriate.
      It does look a difficult space to change significantly but light is the key.
    • cazie6
      Original Author
      9 years ago
      hi, thanks for all your comments, I'll take more photos later on. I like all the ideas and you have all been very helpful and given me a lot to go off.
    • minnie101
      9 years ago
      I'd also add a radiator cover. There are some funky ones around online but you said you were on a budget and they can be quite dear but you can always try and customise an off the shelf one by painting yourself or stencilling etc. Add accessories or mirror over the too, maybe something in a slightly more unusual design.
    • jackydahlhaus
      9 years ago
      Hi there, we have the same problem in our house and decided today to paint the skirting boards and door trims white. If i were you I would also paint the dado rails white. This way the doors keep their beautiful old look, but the white trims contrast nicely with the coloured walls and wooden doors and railing. It will give your hallway a fresher, more modern look, but with minimal cost.
    • PRO
      Tiago Faria and Jane Considine Architects
      8 years ago

      Don't remove the dado!

      East London House · More Info

      Choose a striped stair carpet. Yes!
      House in Dublin 4 · More Info

      Croxted Road - Dulwich · More Info

      Don't paint everything white please. It can look so gloomy. You did say you want "something fresh looking in the hallway but with a funky design."


      Jane

    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago

      Thank you for your comments, we went with pale green in the end at the bottom and white at the top. We've left the carpet alone for now as we have other jobs that need the money. Also we've been told due to the shape of our stairs we can't get a striped carpet fitted unless we buy double the amount and there will be a lot of waste. I've attached pictures of what it looks like now, I know there is still a lot to do (paint the door for one thing) but what do you think so far?

    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago
      last modified: 8 years ago

      I'm trying to add photos but it doesn't seem to be working?

    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago

      Ooh hang on, I think I have it now!!

    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago
      Trying again to attach the pictures, I'm rubbish at things like this!!
    • k11agl
      8 years ago
      I'm in a similar situation, my hallways have no light :( I've painted the walkways in F&B's skimming stone and elephants breath (they are almost identical most of the time!!) and it makes the place feel a lot warmer, cosier and posher. I think it will work better with dark woodwork as my oak doors look out of place with the colours so I have been thinking of paining the doors! Totally agree a mirror above the radiator is a good step forward. Try the IKEA HEMNES one, I think you can fit the big one above the radiator. It's £75 and has a dark brown option. Share photos with updates. Good luck! :)
    • dianas1505
      8 years ago

      I think that looks great - really fresh. I like dado rails - you have the opportunity for using 2 colours if you like, or just sticking to one. The green and white you have used work very well, and really brighten up the space.


    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago
      Thank you. We stripped the paper, filled in the plaster where it needed it and then bought some cheap lime green paint and mixed white in with it to make it paler when we realised it would be a bit too bright. pleased you like it. It's a long way off finished but we are getting there!
    • Pat Auld
      8 years ago
      I like dado rails too. We painted ours white and now in process of painting glazed doors white. Nightmare job!
      Silvery wallpaper below, white Matt emulsion above and grey stair carpet. Original parquet in hallway. We haven't painted staircase but may do later on
    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago
      What are you using on your doors please as we need to do the one in our hallway? Also, I have mahogany colour dado rails in my lounge and I would like them an oak colour but don't want to sand them as we did the walls first and sanding them will take the paint off the walls where the rails are. I know, we have a lot to learn... is there anything I can use that will work on them without the need to sand first?
    • Tim Price
      8 years ago

      I have just revisited this item and a thought has struck me. If you are intending to do the whole house room by room then it occurs to me that the hall should be the last area to do - simply to save tears. While you alter all the other rooms you will be carrying all materials and tools through the hallway - and of course that will increase the wear and tear factor, along with dings and scrapes from long and large bits of materials and furniture.

      I don't know the layout of the house, nor how badly other rooms need sorting out but I would start with rooms you actually use rather than simply pass through. Kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. In fact I would suggest sorting the living room first before you get so moved into it that vacating it to work on it would be problematic. The kitchen and bathroom don't tend to attract the amount of clutter and furniture that living rooms collect, so are easier to clear to basics to start work on. During this process your hallway may well end up being a makeshift store for materials while work is going on.

    • Tim Price
      8 years ago

      Cazie6, with care you can still sand the rails. You can use masking tape (check it is not too sticky as some tapes will pull paints on removal) and even hold/prop a shield in place to protect the wall while you sand the rail. The shield can be a thin bit of plastic such as one of those thin plastic kitchen chopping sheets. Anything smooth enough not to mark your wall paint and thin enough not to cause part of the rail to be left unsanded. Of course you need to move carefully and hand sanding will be better than machine sanding on a rail.

      If you consider that painting or varnishing will always amplify any imperfections, then clearly opting not to sand first will cause a poor finish. You don't necessarily need to sand to bare wood (depending on what you will be using) but sanding smooths the surface over all and roughens it on a micro level so that your new coating can key well to the surface.

    • cazie6
      Original Author
      8 years ago
      Hi Tim, thanks so much for your tips. The thin plastic board is a great idea and will come in useful for painting the rails also. When I did a feature wall in the living room I used the delicate frog tape and it pulled off the paint we had done on the other wall. I didn't know I could just roughly sand ilthe rails, I thought all the existing varnish had to be off so that has saved me a lot of time.

      I get what you mean about the hallway and really it should have been the last we did, but with the way our porch is shaped then any furniture and things need to come through the back as we can't manoeuvre it through the door. I also have an inpatient husband who doesn't seem to like finishing one room before starting the next!
    • Pat Auld
      8 years ago
      We didn't sand, just washed with sugar soap and then used Dulux undercoat and brilliant white satin finish.

      We painted kitchen cupboards this way 2/3 years ago and they have been fine
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