You may have noticed in a recent post about new floor stain, that our main hallway has had some other upgrades in order to mature the look and feel of the home. It really is amazing how a little change in paint color can affect the mood of
One of the more interesting aspects of the home when we purchased it, was this very bold red hallway (hence the name “Project: Red“). Although a very bold choice and probably something the previous homeowners found appealing to their eclectic style, this was almost a shock when I would walk through it in the morning.
So, we had to start new! Luckily, the bold red was only on the top half of the walls.
The red was so bold, that we had to give it two coats of primer. By the time we were done – whoa boy, was it bright in that hall!
So, we added a bit of color. Since we did this endevor over multiple weekends, I actually got so used to the white-on-white, I started to worry the tan would be too dark!
Although the tan on top and white on the bottom was fine for the hall at first, I realized that I was used to the heavy red and white scheme from before and this made the hall seem fine for me. But, I’m glad to say my designer self kicked in and remembered a good rule of thumb when it comes to color in a space:
Darker colors appear heavier than lighter colors, and should be placed lower on a plane to provide weight.
So, we did just that. We used a color two shades darker than the original top of the hall to allow for some depth and visual interest down the hall. Even by itself, the hall appears more airy and wider than with the deep red. It’s amazing what color can do!
It was really eye-opening to see the old paint scheme, next to the new one in a corner of the hall we didn’t get to just yet. As sad as it was, this look lasted for at least a month before we couldn’t take it anymore and finished the rest of the walls around the corner of the hall.
And, in case you are wondering, the white patches next to the door frame are from when we had to get the frame repaired after the fire.
Our next task is to find some nice artwork (or paint some ourselves) to give the space some depth and minimized acoustical discomfort. The nice thing about the color choices we selected, the colors are really neutral so we won’t have to worry about any artwork color clashing.
I want to hear from you – have you tried doing a two-tone paint scheme in your home?
