That’s a gorgeous characterful hallway and large too so I think it could take any colour from scarlet red (if you wanted to go bold) right through to white/neutrals with your pale blue/green if you want it lighter. I think there’s more light to be had from the windows too, behind those curtains. Lucky you, it’s going to look great.

My husband likes bold colours but I wanted something different. How can we both be happy? Should the top section be the colour paint or should the top be neutral? I have been looking at pictures but not sure what to do. Would a sage green colour work ?Or should I go for one colour all over?

One colour all over, inc woodwork, would look more modern

Inclined to agree about one colour all over. Depends if you prefer a more traditional look though. I think of sage green as a very calm colour so if that’s the vibe you’re looking for then give it a whirl. Have fun.

You have a beautiful hall and I think a more traditional scheme would look lovely, so pale colour above dado and something a bit bolder below. I think any of the Farrow & Ball colours would suit the hall, colours like Oval Room Blue (more a green-blue), Hague Blue, Inchyra Blue or Pigeon. I recently used Oval Room Blue in my kitchen and it is a lovely colour. I’ve also used Pigeon in my tiny stairs and it’s pretty dark as has little natural light, but I love the drama! In a bright room it will be a lot lighter. I also think yellow would look fab, something like India Yellow. Pictures below of Oval Room and Pigeon.

Fabulous hallway ! The traditional way is darker below the dado rail and lighter on top. However these days the rule books are torn up with some amazing looks and style. Will you keep the curtains, rugs or furniture ? That might make some bearing on the colours you pick to complement each other and the other items in the hall. Suggest trying an app, Dulux did one in which you can change the colours of the walls of your room on an ipad before you finally choose the colour scheme you both like. Please post a pic when you have done it.

Thanks to everyone. probably will keep the rugs for now but will change the curtains. I will keep you posted. Thanks again.

Wood panelling on bottom half same colour all over get rid of curtains

Beautiful hall, but perhaps somewhat dark. Try having some mirrors opposite windows or open doors, to bounce the light and bounce it around a bit.

It largely depends on what colour the carpet is. Can you post some photos that show the exact colour? It looks to be a beigey warm neutral, what ever you do needs to work with it. I would go darker on the lower half, simply because that then separates the lighter colour from the pale carpet, thus minimising a potential clash.

Wall panelling doesn't have to cost a fortune, I used picture framing glued to the plasterwork from B&Q to create this effect, looks miles better than before. Upper painted in Dulex Shic Shadow and lower in Dulux Pure Brilliant White satin.

stairs before

front door before

stairs after

front door after

Get rid of the orange above the dado rail, it clashes horribly with the red of the carpets and curtains and looks like a Neapolitan sandwich cake. Replace with a very pale cream colour and it could be a truly fabulous hall. All this could be achieved at very, very low cost.

Sage is very on-trend and would retain the more traditional feel , but the pale blue/ grey would totally transform it - its such a beautiful space , I can understand your dilema

I would look at Paint and Paper Library 'Stone' colours, such as Stone 2 for woodwork and Stone 5 for lower walls and Stone 3 for upper walls. Something neutral but classy.

I couldn't quite work out if the detail in the below dado rail section is from textured anaglypta wallpaper or flat - Your style of furnishings, rugs and lighting seem to match the very traditional look so perhaps you could think about something that celebrates the traditional but allows for a modern twist - teal is a popular modern colour that could work well and you could go for an overall colour but with painted textured wallpaper below dado rail. I was thinking of the muted teal in this article https://www.houzz.co.uk/magazine/how-to-decorate-with-teal-stsetivw-vs~89308070 it also gives ideas for what colours and textures it might go with.

I also like the example from Kevin above and an off white dado rail with say eggshell offwhite painted textured wallpaper below and teal above could work well -

It would be good to see more of the detail of the front door - is it original or a later replacement/natural wood or painted? - If it is painted then you could go for a rich charcoal grey ?similar to how it looks now, go lighter with an off white or possibly even bold with a good pop of red depending on how you choose the accent colours for the rest of the hallway. Hope thtah helps

What a terrifically interesting hall. I assume from the side table that you’re in Britain. I have a good sized L-shaped hall with a northern aspect on the larger side of the L. I’ve recently painted the whole, including above the picture rails and ceiling, with F&B Pavilion Blue, a pale cool colour that makes the whole lighter and delightfully open. It’s more a colour I’d describe as very very pale aqua, actually, and doesn’t strike me as a blue. My doors are painted F&B Green Blue, which is a lovely velvety looking middle tone colour, in gloss, and looks great with the wall colour. My floor is a medium tone Karndean LVT Honey Oak planking, and I have a very old, faded rusty tones floor runner. My ceilings are 11 feet high, but the pale colour works really well, especially as the picture rails and foot high skirtings almost exactly match the walls. They’re done in Dulux gloss from the archived Georgian Heritage range, in Georgian 19. I really like how open it all seems, and my narrow mahogany cabinet and side table look wonderful against it all.
Colour is such a personal thing, and it does take courage to make radical changes. I’d advise looking at colours you already favour when you see others’ homes, and then look at the aspect of those homes, and how much light they have, etc. As to the curtains, they do rather spoil the line of the walls, so perhaps blinds in a fabric picking up the colour of your walls/ceiling/paintwork in the pattern, would look good. And paler colours throughout would show up your beautiful hall furniture, too.
But good luck, as it’s actually quite a tedious business making decisions that have to last years for most of us. I’m already fed up with it all, having done two areas, and with several more to go, it being 20 years since we last did it all…so it’s pretty shabby!

There's a lot going on in this hallway. Are curtains, rugs table etc staying? I would strip it back first, floor and all and go at it from scratch mCan't see how colour alone can transform this amazing hallway. Lucky you, I'd love this job Best of luck

Whata great hallway! I see you have black or very dark coloured doors. I feel that a dark sage (suggested before) would look great below the dado line and a lighter off white/off gray above. It would tone in with the carpet too. The curtains would have to go and maybe see what you think after decorating before deciding on window treatment. Would love to see how you get on.