Hi Russell

I agree with Occpinti. If you paint the skirting boards and woodwork a darker colour then the walls then the room will appear smaller and darker. Light walls and light woodwork are a must. You'll be amazed once the architraves and skirting boards are painted a light colour the room will be transformed and that beautiful floor will look amazing. Good luck!

I would paint the front door a different colour and leave the internal doors the same light colour. The doors and woodwork will need to be painted with a gloss or satinwood which has less of a sheen. I personally prefer satinwood. You could also go with a period colour that will be more in-keeping with the period of the house. Both Dulux and Crown do period colour charts or Farrow and Ball do some amazing colours.

Hello,

I like the idea of creativeorg ! Painting the walls in light blue it sounds good, so as having the woodwork painted in slightly darker blue. I would keep the ceiling and the wall above the picture rail in white.

I would also suggest you to get some large mirrors, it really helps to make the space look brighter and larger. Where your two pictures are hanging you could place there mirrors.

You could also paint the door in warm grey or a mix of grey with blue.

StJames Design Interiors

Hi Russell. I think the issue with dark halls is that when painted light they are cold. Painting a dark space a deeper colour will make it feel warmer which I think is always preferable. I would suggest trying something like Joa's White (have used in dark hall and it worked) or Savage Ground (F&B). If you can install downlighter in the ceiling that would make an enormous difference. Good luck.

Hi Russel,

I painted my studio skirting and walls the same colour. I just got the same colour mixed up in a wall paint and a separate one for the wood. You can choose gloss or eggshell for your skirting. Just depends on the look you want. I went for an eggshell so that it blends in better. It also makes painting it sooooo much easier as you don't have to worry about getting your lines exactly straight. I didn't even have to mask it off! Made the job 10 times faster.

Loving the mirror idea by @StJamesDesignInterior too.

Good Luck

Consider adding life by spicing up your floor. It accounts for a large part of the visible surface area and is the place where we naturally focus our eyes when passing through the space. Why not replace that worn old rug and brighten up your space with some stylish laminate. Here are some ideas from Balterio:

http://www.ukflooringonline.co.uk/brands/balterio/?filter_colour-style=69

sorry, it's a carpet, on the floor with the diamond pattern

Hi

You could potentially insert some low level marker lighting to make the hallway appear lighter and more airy.

https://www.directtradesupplies.co.uk/search.php?xSearch=WL050

Hi. I like colourhappys suggestion or embrace the dark. Have a look at farrow and ball railings or Hague blue, both work well in small rooms. I'd paint everything in the same colour up to the cornicing. Go for an off white ceiling, if you want to highlight the cornicing more, go a shade darker than the ceiling. Do you have lighting at the moment? A couple of pendant lights would be great, plus a couple of mirrors, maybe even opposite each other by that end door. Warm Metallics work well against these blue/greys so maybe mirror frames in bronze etc. You could also look into cleaning the floor, the colours look fantastic once cleaned (I'm clearly not suggesting your floor is dirty btw!)

Pics. I don't mean the style btw. I think the 2nd colour is actually F&B downpipe mow I look at it! Will find one for railings!

This is railings but looks very different with a white ceiling!

I would go dark too. Sometimes no amount of white will lighten a space especially as light in this country is so often grey tinged that it makes white look grubby anyway. A good rich dark shade of any colour you like will look striking. It can then be lifted by light photos or paintings on the wall.