Dark wood hallway ideas?

8 years ago

Hi there,

I'm looking for some advice on what to so with this passage way, stairs and landing.

As you can see from the photos there is wood panelling throughout which is everywhere. The staircase goes up and then splits off into two directions.

I'm thinking about lightening it all up and I was wanting a striped carpet up the stairs. However due to the stairs going off in two directions and then into a landing I'm not sure this is going to work.

Any ideas in how to transform this area? I also think the second door should go and I'm not a fan of the tiles on the floor.

I want to try make this look homely but yet contemporary is i can.

Thanks

Featured Answer

greenwoods19

8 years ago

Dear Scott,

What a lovely project...I'd replace the terracotta tiles with a cut-to-size door mat, which fills that whole space, and then lose the inner door. Those panels would look fantastic painted...F&B's Cornforth White, or Slipper Satin? I'd paint the spindles & newel posts in the same colour, and stain the handrail & caps in a dark oak - then varnish (preferable to waxing, I think). A rad cover would give you a surface in the hallway (same colour as the panelling, natch). The deep red carpet really soaks up all the light...I agree with Creativeorg re a runner - something simple & classy...how about this sort of thing?

Wishing you all the best :-)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

Scott Oliver
Original Author
8 years ago
Here's some more photos.
PRO
creativeorg
8 years ago
Hi Scott, what a great entrance! It really depends on how contemporary you'd like to go. Panelling is very fashionable at the moment. I think the first thing you need to do is replace the carpet. I'd go as light as is practical and perhaps use a runner rather than a full carpet.
If it were my house I'd paint all the panels. It would make it so much brighter and create the contemporary look you want.
I agree re the 2nd doors and the tiles. It seems unnecessary to have two doors and it would brighten it up more if you only had one door with some frosted glass to allow the light in.
Look at Little Green Paints, they have an amazing range of greys that would look lovely and bright but not as clinical as white.
Hope this helps! Good luck
Related Discussions
Dark/small hallway and stairs, looking for colour ideas?
Q
Comments (9)
Hi Lucy - here are some Photoshop tryouts of some of the more daring hues in Farrow and Ball and Little Green (F&B 'Arsenic', Little & Green 'Leather' pink...) I can't vouch for the accuracy of online colour charts as you'll see them on your PC, but these should give you a broad idea of what you could do if you're keeping the beige carpet and dark grey paint (which I've extended to the skirting to make it easier to put stronger colours near the beige). A lot depends on the other colours you have in your house, and whether you want a 'warm' feel or a 'cool' one. For the 'off white' (which should show dirt less than pure white) I'd suggest using either a pale version of the carpet colour or a pale version of the band colour. If you want to go all out for really bright colours - or anything in the yellow or orange range - the beige carpet would have to go. Obviously, the band colour could be picked up in picture frames or other decorations. Hope this helps.
...See More
I need to light a large but dark hallway with a low ceiling. any ideas
Q
Comments (7)
Hi, Are you still in a dilemma about lighting? If so, by the looks and sounds of things a flush, or even a semi flush light would be the best option for lighting up this room. Here are some options we offer to help you. [5 Light Glass Bowl Ceiling Flush[(https://www.houzz.co.uk/products/5-light-glass-bowl-ceiling-flush-with-aluminium-rods-prvw-vr~109718281) [Ovii 3 Light semi Flush Ceiling Light[(https://www.houzz.co.uk/products/ovii-3-light-bathroom-semi-flush-ceiling-light-chrome-and-glass-prvw-vr~102091515) [Emily Glass Prism Bar Ceiling Flush Light [(https://www.houzz.co.uk/products/emily-glass-prism-bar-ceiling-flush-light-prvw-vr~109718279) [Contemporary Milano Semi Flush Ceiling Light [(https://www.houzz.co.uk/products/contemporary-milano-semi-flush-ceiling-light-small-prvw-vr~112396532) Hope this helps Kind Regards, Lewis at Litecraft
...See More
dark hallway & lighting ideas
Q
Comments (29)
Font of our house is north east facing and only gets the morning sun. Neighbours windows across the road does bounce back a bit of light but not a huge amount. It’s the dark front door and hideous artex (which may well contain asbestos) that contribute to the doom and gloom here. Project for another day;). I think lighting will be a key thing for you, something with a lot of faceted glass or crystals might help to distribute the light around more. I really like these holophane or prismatic glass pendants atm. Some are a bit pricey tho. Some inspo:
...See More
Dark hall, stairs and landing paint ideas
Q
Comments (3)
When you enter the house are the stairs immediately in front of you? Where do the doors either side lead to? I have stairs directly in front of the front door (no hall) and a living room on the right. My staircase gets most of the light from the glazed front door and the glazed living room door. Changing to glazed doors can really help with lighting. Sorry, I haven’t made any suggestions for colour! I’d personally just paint it in a brilliant white first and then decide on a colour later on.
...See More
hypehomes
8 years ago
I'm thinking white paintwork and striped carpet up the stairs.
Laura Watson
8 years ago
If you want to keep some of the wood look. Go with a lighter paint colour in the centre of each square.
Sven
8 years ago
I would also paint all the woodwork high gloss white. It will really brighten the hall and dark wood is very old fashioned now.
bbstyles2013
8 years ago
How very lucky! I have been thinking of ADDING paneling to my entry and up the stairs! I agree with others that painting the wood and a striped runner up the stairs. However, you could also consider a grey or slate blue colour like the paneling in the below pic.
Trisha Goodwin
8 years ago
What age is this house? Was the paneling added to it at some later date? Some relatives of my husbands live in a big old drafty shooting lodge in Scotland and it has oak paneling downstairs, but this is Victorian. If its not part of an old house i.e. original, I would just paint it over with a chalky white, satin paint (not white gloss that's a horror on paneling, far to bright and fake looking. Toning it down with satin and softer white will give it a contemporary, slightly Scandi feel or you could go shabby chic with it, or very contemporary if you contrast bolder lines with it then. I would be careful to see if its been sealed with polyurethane or treated with wax or oil finishing. If it has the last two, it will leak through to the paint on top and need sealing first. You can get specialist products in DIY stores for this, good luck, I think this has the potential to look wonderful!
hypehomes
8 years ago
Thanks for all the comments everyone.

My idea is to lighten it up with white matte paint and have a striped carpet running up the stairs.

I like the idea of having the handrail a different colour.

The lighting needs to change as well, it's a horrible spot light at the moment. As you can see its extremely dark!

The door to the right is actually a cupboard. Some people usually put a toilet in there. But I'm tempted to remove it completely making a much bigger hallway / place for a nice coat stand / shoe rack.

It would be great to see if anyone can post some photos of wood panelling that's been painted on this post. I've looked and found a few but not many.

The wood itself is just cheap, it's quite thin and I think it's been there a long time. I don't think it's got any treatment on it, but it would need some sealant as I would imagine the paint would just soak into the wood.

But I'm no expert so I may be wrong
Jackie Hales
8 years ago
I agree with all the other consistent suggestions people before me have made, although my personal preference would be to paint the panels in a softer shade than white. On a practical note,you might want to consider using chalk paint, especially if the wood has been varnished/ waxed as it literally sticks to any surface with little or no preparation. Authentico paints have tons of colours to choose from and also manufacture finishes that are suitable for kitchens, floors and exteriors, something you may wish to consider for a room that everyone has to pass through and in my experience needs decorating more frequently because of this.
PRO
Arttus Interiors
8 years ago
Hi we specialise in period detailing and panelling and staircases particularly in oak. I will attempt to give you some suggestions from our point of view.

//Panelling//

My first thought is to keep all of the panelling but to add a bit more style to it which could easily be achieved by adding a simple mouding around the panel as shown below, you can easily source mouldings from a local hardware shop. You could also add a Dado moulding and run it along the top rail of the panelling that goes up the staircase this would make the panelling look really nice. I would then prime and paint all of the panelling in a light colour to give the entrance a lighter feel. create a coat rack area in the porch with a small bench for taking of shoes and it would look like a really inviting entrance hall!

//Staircase//

Again I think the staircase would look really good painted or stripped and whitewashed like a scandinavian style pine floor, this would lighten the whole area. I really like it when staircases are painted except the handrail however It would need to be stained and polished to look like a contrasting dark hardwood. If you were thinking of installing a new traditional style staircase there would be a cheaper option which would be to clad the strings and posts and replace the hand rail and turnings for oak versions. However I personally would be painting it or whitewashing it and adding mouldings here and there if you need to.

good luck!!

Applied panel mouldings

White washed staircase

A recent project of ours with painted panelling with a dado top moulding
External Solid Oak Front Door · More Info
PRO
Couture Cases Ltd
8 years ago
Hello there Scott,

one thing you might also want to consider is placing some LED lights into a radiator cover or console table, and it appears slightly out of character with the rest of the interior at the moment.

We have a lot of customers who have purchased our unique crystal radiator covers, and when they are illuminated they transform the interior totally. We also supply led lighting options in lots of our other ranges too. Perhaps an idea for the future?

Glitzy glamour in a fabulous hallway makeover · More Info

Makeovers with Purple Crystal Radiator Covers · More Info

see the ranges at couture cases and modern radiator covers