Brighten up your dark hallway and stairs with Dr Dulux’s advice & tips. The entrance is the first impression people have of your home… here’s how to make it a grand one!

When you welcome people into your home, it’s likely the first thing they see is the hallway. A dark hallway can make the entrance feel cramped and uninviting. So, here are a few ways you can brighten the space up.

Perhaps the most obvious solution for how to brighten a dark hallway is to invest in good lighting – the more natural the lighting the better. One way you can amp up the natural light is by investing in a large mirror. The reflective surface helps to ‘bounce’ light onto the surrounding walls, creating the illusion of a brighter hallway.

Another way you can brighten a dark hallway is to get creative with paint. Just bear in mind that your hallway is a high-traffic area. All those comings and goings mean your walls are at the mercy of grubby fingerprints, coffee spills and splashes of mud. So, a good rule of thumb when painting your dark hallway is to go for a really durable paint. Dulux Easycare is a great choice. It’s twenty times tougher than standard Dulux emulsion. So, you can wipe away spills and stains without the colour ever fading. You can find it in a huge array of colours too.

3 hallway paint colour ideas for you to try

Dark-coloured paint makes for a dark hallway. So, choose a shade that will help the space feel light and airy. A light grey like 00NN 83/000 will lend your hallway a contemporary feel, like you might find in the reception of a boutique hotel. In fact, any kind of pale neutral would work well. A colour like 30YY 56/060 is good because it doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, yet it offers a nice contrast if you have statement pieces of furniture in the hallway. Or, you could try a peachy pastel – Soft Peach, for example – as a playful alternative.

Bright hallway ideas: elongate the hallway with fresh colour

There’s no rule that says you have to keep colour to the walls. Try painting the inside of your front door in a fresh, vibrant shade like 70BG 68/056. Then continue the colour across the ceiling. This has the effect of elongating your dark hallway, making it feel lighter and airier in an instant.

Bright hallway ideas: make a pattern of your palette

A dark hallway can make it feel like the walls are closing in on you. A clever way to overcome this is to paint a geometric pattern that runs across several walls. Here we’ve painted sharp lines that cut across the front door and onto the adjoining wall, to open up the space. A coordinating palette of cool 30GY 76/017 with 70GY 16/063 and 50GY 45/037 which gives the room a smart, almost Cubist aesthetic.

Bright hallway ideas: go for ombré stairs instead

White walls instantly make a room feel airier. But it can also feel quite stark if it’s not balanced with colour. One way to make the entrance to your home feel really fun is to follow the ombré stairs trend. Painting your stair risers in gradual tones, or with a flourish of colour like 43YY 69/543, will instantly lift the mood of the room.

Learn how to transform your dull hallway with bright stairs here: