Weekend Project | In The Frame

Try these three easy ways to help your hall doors blend in

If there’s one thing most hallways have in common, it’s an abundance of doorways – and it can be tricky to know how to decorate them. These three ideas offer different but equally stylish ways to work them into your scheme.

Blend them beautifully

On-trend unicoloured schemes, with woodwork painted the same shade as the wall, are perfect for hallways, as the swathe of colour unifies the many elements. For a smart look, choose paints with a similar sheen, such as super-tough matt Easycare for the walls and Quick Dry Eggshell for the woodwork. You can take the look a step further by painting furniture to blend in, too, whether cupboards like these or just a simple set of shelves.

This is a bold look, so make sure your flooring doesn’t fight with your chosen colour. These pale floorboards lift the rich hue and allow it to be the star.

Add depth to all-over colour by mixing in some contrasting touches, like the brass cupboard legs and picture frame against this fashionable Minted Glory 2. The bunch of white flowers creates a focal point, but you could equally hang or prop up an artwork or group matt white ceramics on a cupboard, console table or shelf.

Fashion a feature

Get creative and use the lines of your door frames to inspire a bold scheme. This geometric design draws the eye down the narrow hallway, visually shortening it, while painting outwards onto the walls prevents the door itself becoming the focus.

Follow our tips to create a graphic design . To mark out the lines, rub a length of string with coloured chalk, tape one end to the wall where you want the line to begin, and hold the string taut at the other end. Ping the string and the chalk should leave a straight line on the wall or door. When marking out lines that cross the door frame, make sure you get the exact same angle on either side of the frame for a crisp look. Then simply use low-tack tape to mask off the sections, and paint your design.

Play around with different colours to get the perfect combination. Choosing one dark colour and keeping the rest pale will stop it looking too busy, but try to echo the bold colour elsewhere – as in the bench here painted in Highland Falls 2 – to tie the look together.

Trick the eye

Minimise the impact of your doors by making a feature of another element. These doorways in Nutmeg White Quick Dry Satinwood almost disappear into the Nutmeg White Easycare walls, allowing the delicate Peppermint Candy handrails and newel posts to take centre stage. A couple of coordinated touches, like the artwork and painted runner, will prevent the colour from clustering in one area of the scheme.

Keeping the floors a similar colour to the light walls and doors creates a soft and airy scheme. Choosing such a delicate colour for the bannisters acts as a stylish focal point, without overwhelming the neutral colour palette.

Looking to refresh your entrance? Make a start with our how to guide on how to paint an interior door. Keep things easy with our five simple steps to applying dulux quick dry and if you're having trouble deciding what finish to opt for discover our comprehensive guide on paint finishes.

Search ‘hallway’ at dulux.co.uk for lots more decorating ideas and tips.