What colour should I paint my hallway?
The hallway can often be the most neglected area of the home, overlooked when it comes to design and decoration in favour of those rooms we use most often. A clever use of colour is one of the most impactful ways we can enliven a dull hallway, by creating something bright and invigorating, or warm and cocooning.
When choosing paint colours for a hall, the trick here is to use something that works with all the rooms that lead off it to create a sensible flow throughout your home. Bear in mind too that paler or neutral shades will brighten and increase the feeling of space if you're low on natural light.
For the bold decorator, you can get away with your most intense colours in a hallway as it's a transitional space that you only ever pass through. A rich shade such as an olive green or petrol blue has a wonderful enveloping effect, and equally makes adjacent rooms appear brighter and more spacious.
Here, we look at 21 inspiring colour combinations to enliven your hallway.
Hallway colour ideas: peaches and terracottas
Talk about a warm welcome. This hallway uses peachy pinks on the walls, oatmeals on the floor and rich browns and terracottas in the tiles, which sit together so wonderfully because of their similar pinkish undertones. The dark browns are an important element here because they prevent this colour scheme from becoming too pastel, and the bright cornflower blues are a perfect accent.
Pictured: Walls painted in Peach Flesh Pink and woodwork in Hoxton Grey, both at Mylands
Hallway colour ideas: pink and green
Pink and green fall on opposite sides of the colour wheel, which typically indicates that there is a high contrast between making them a bold but complementary pairing. We love the fizzy and saturated pink next to a really muted sage green too.
Pictured: Walls painted in Re:Mix Livid at Little Greene
Hallway colour ideas: crisp white and greens
Crisp white walls are a great choice if you have interesting floor tiles in your hallway – here it's the Otura tile at Bert & May which has a mixture of deep and sage green.
'Soft sage green is a great example of a colour that can work as an alternative for the beige, grey and even greige shades that have dominated the neutrals market for some time,' says Amy Wilson, interior designer for 247curtains. 'Sage green has all the same neutral appeal as these colours but is more on trend and arguably a warmer choice.'
Pictured: Green Otura Tile at Bert & May
Hallway colour ideas: lemon yellow
'Despite being bright and cheery, yellow can be used subtly,' says paint and interior expert, Sarah Lloyd at Valspar. 'It also looks great with the natural light shining onto it for further effect. A warmer yellow shade offers a sophisticated spin on the traditional colourway. Pair with crisp white or go bold with a deep teal.'
Read more: How to use warm neutrals in every room in your home
Hallway colour ideas: colour clash
The pale mint green on this front door sits slightly at odds with the flatter grey/blue walls, making quite a striking contrast. Greens and blues sit side by side on the colour wheel, creating an 'analogous' colour combination which tends to be harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
Pictured: Door painted in Copper Green No.36 at Mylands London
Hallway colour ideas: pink
There's something very playful about this bubblegum pink from Mylands, which could very easily become a bit too saccharine were it not for the grounding influence of the dark stair runner and charcoal grey bannisters.
Hallway colour ideas: deep green
As hallways are a transitional space, you can always get away with something bold or dark that you may shy away from in your living areas. Here, an intense Bancha green from Farrow & Ball is taken up onto the ceiling, creating a lovely cocooning effect.
Pictured: Walls painted in Bancha at Farrow & Ball
Hallway colour ideas: blue panelling
Hallways are very high traffic and have to withstand a lot of wear. Knocks and scrapes are inevitable, so consider panelling the walls to dado height. This is an opportunity infuse your hallway with colour – especially if you have neutral floors like these stone slabs – and a fresh cornflower blue is always a nice way to transition from outside in.
Pictured: Blanche Wallpaper at Cathy Nordstrom
Hallway colour ideas: neutrals
This is a true Scandi hallway with a calming colour palette, pale woods (like this fabulous untreated oak Maissi bench from Danish brand, Skagerak,) and plenty of greenery. The panelling is an interesting height – it's most often used to the half – in a fresh clotted cream colour that highlights the pink undertones above.
Pictured: Maissi Bench at Nest
Hallway colour ideas: focus on the floor
It is entirely feasible to concentrate all your colour on your floors in a hallway, and if you have neutral walls and a warm wooden door like this, you could use any colour you like. This cool diagonal pattern is a nice way to elongate short and narrow hallways.
Pictured: Bert & May Alalpardo Tiles at Hyperion Tiles
Hallway colour ideas: botanical greens
Botanical wallpaper or painted murals are a playful way to create a seamless transition from the outside in. In this Victorian townhouse, the transition continues into the adjacent living room where the green theme is embraced to its fullest.
'Sticking to the earthy neutral tones and then paring up sage green with deep browns, terracotta and other deeper shades of green is a really complementary scheme,' says Amy.
Pictured: Banoffee Sofa at Loaf and Aula Hummingbird Mural at Wallpaper Direct
Hallway colour ideas: blue and white
This wonderful glossy blue has a twofold purpose. Firstly, it will bounce light around the hallway much in the same way that the XL mirror will, and secondly, a gloss or eggshell finish will better withstand the natural wear and tear of a hallway.
'Different paint finishes work well on different surfaces and areas of your home. For example, an eggshell finish is a great option for high-traffic areas such as a hallway or kitchen due to its stain-resistant qualities,' says Michael Rolland, DIY expert at The Paint Shed.
Pictured: Walls painted in Maugham White, stairs in Boathouse and bannister in London Brown, all at Mylands
Hallway colour ideas: Mediterranean tones
The cheerful red, citrusy yellow and navy blue here could be straight out of a St Tropez villa. It's a really clever trick to keep the floors and walls neutral and uniform so as to almost blend together to better highlight the trio of primary colours.
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Hallway colour ideas: creams and browns
Wooden furniture or wooden accents are a great way to ground a space – they introduce some natural texture if your space is quite bold and colourful, as well as some warmth if your space is pale and neutral.
'Hallways are often the first part of your home that a guest will see, so make a style statement with a striking piece of artwork or furniture,' says Helena Davies, head of buying at Barker & Stonehouse. 'Temper this boldness with a neutral colour palette and grounding wooden furniture for a welcoming and inviting space.'
Hallway colour ideas: framing with black
A glossy black is a really nice framing device – in this bright hallway everything from the doorways to the art and rattan bench are framed in a slick black. This really invites any number of colour combinations – this hallway would have equal impact in a pink, lemon yellow or green.
Pictured: Walls painted in Shallows, floor painted in Air Force Blue, both at Little Greene
Hallway colour ideas: grey and pink
Grey and pink is a truly failsafe colour combination – especially if your greys have slight lilac undertones like this example here. It is generally a more common choice to have pink walls and a grey floor, so the flip is a nice one. Encaustic tiles like these have a semi-matt finish, so any colour you choose will have a softer, chalky appearance.
Pictured: Country Living Starry Skies Peony Blush Tile at Homebase
Hallway colour ideas: pale pink and black
A pale pink and black pairing has become really popular in the plethora of Victorian renovations you see on Instagram. It's a fairly contemporary combination and works particularly well on wall panelling. 'If your hallway is currently painted with one colour, a good tip is to break this up a little by painting halfway up the walls, either to the dado or to create the illusion of there being one,' says Amy.
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Hallway colour ideas: add accents
If you prefer a totally neutral finish to your walls and floors, painting doors and frames is a nice way to add colourful accents. This homeowner added glazed French doors between the hallway and living room to keep both spaces bright.
Read more: Tour the rest of this Victorian home transformed with colour
Hallway colour ideas: pistachio
Pastels do really well in homes with intricate architectural details, like wall panelling and cornicing. These details can be heavy and overly ornate, so a fresh pastel colour like this lovely pistachio will lift and lighten it all.
Pictured: Wooden Chedworth Welly Locker at Yesterhome
Hallway colour ideas: warm yellows
'Yellow and orange are associated with happiness – the bright sunshine tones provide a cheerful energy and optimism,' says Clara Ewart, head of design at London-based design studio, Kitesgrove. 'The joyous burst of colour will add to the ambience and enjoyment of the space. Walls of bright colour can also be broken up with artworks and mirrors to soften the impact of the hue.'
Pictured: Stairs painted in Wharf Sacking, back wall painted in Sella, both at Mylands
Hallway colour ideas: light-reflecting white
Light colours and glossy surfaces are your safest bet if you want your hallway to feel bright and expansive. Try pale wooden planks on your floor to create the illusion of more light and space, but go for a wood-effect laminate instead of the real thing – anything sealed will make a high-traffic area a little more resilient, and effectively reflect light into a darker space.
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