Color Blocked Hallway

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comWith any renovation, at least a few unexpected items or issues cause the timeline to shift. That’s just part of it. During this renovation, it happened in the hallway. We waited MONTHS for our closet doors to arrive and they showed up wrong. They were re-ordered not once, not twice, but three times. I suppose I can say the third time is a charm because the hallway is finally finished! I’ve been eager to share this room reveal with you because of the paint application. I took a risk and I’m very glad I did! Click through to see my color blocked hallway in all its glory. I’ve also compiled every single source… you won’t believe how affordable this transformation turned out to be. It’s all in the post! 

You probably remember the teaser post… I revealed our linen closet and shared my tips for making paint selections for color blocking while we were waiting on the doors to arrive. If you missed that one, definitely check it out!

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comHallways are tricky spaces. You spend a ton of time walking through them to get to & from whichever room you’re entering or exiting, but it’s not an area you’d ever hang out in. My mindset is that a hallway should look great since you’re traveling through it so frequently, but I wouldn’t necessarily devote a large portion of my budget to that particular space since I’m not spending quality time there. Despite the low budget for this hall, I took specific steps to make it feel high-end and custom. I’m pretty sure the average person would never notice!

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.com

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comFor starters, we refinished the hardwood floors, replaced every single door, then added gorgeous millwork from Metrie (crown moulding, baseboard, and casing). In addition to a fresh coat of neutral color blocked paint, I also added new hardware  to both the interior doors and linen closet (leftover from our kitchen renovation). I opted for the same classic, hammered knob from Nostalgic Warehouse (catch my interview with them here) that can be found throughout our entire home.

Check out the before image below…

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.com

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comIt looks like a totally difference space, right?! It’s amazing what updating the basics will do.

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.com

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comOn the ceiling, you’ll notice I installed wallpaper and added three flush mount fixtures that elongate the space. On the floor, aside from refinishing the hardwoods, I added a budget-friendly runner with a simple greek key border. It feels nice underfoot and gives the dogs some traction when they come sliding around the corner chasing each other. Ha!

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.com

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comIf you watched this project unfold on Instagram (if not, watch it here!), you might remember us customizing the utility doors? We added slats that allow our hot water heater and furnace ventilation. It was an easy, functional customization that kept every single door in our hallway consistent and matching. We were able to avoid ugly utility doors thanks to this retrofitting hack.

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comIn addition to the louvered door panels, I also made a custom air vent return. Thanks to the odd shaped hole in our old home, I had trouble finding a visually pleasing vent cover. After a quick trip to my local hardware store, I came home with a piece of wire mesh and spray paint, then we fashioned this easy custom vent cover that blends nicely with the millwork and patterned wallpaper.

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comIf you’re wondering about sources, I’ve linked everything below. You can either click directly on each item, or use the linked numbers below to be redirected…

01: flush mount light fixture // 02: crown moulding // 03: casing // 04: pull // 05: knob // 06: baseboard // 07: geometric wallpaper // 08: hallway runner // 09: hammered brass door knob // 10: interior door // 11: Sherwin-Williams Extra White SW 7006 // 12: Sherwin-Williams Amazing Gray SW 7044

Go grab the $36 runner (#8) and $56 light fixture (#1) while they’re both on sale! Those are both great bargain finds in the space.

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comIf you’re wondering about the built-in linen closet, don’t forget to check out that post here! We completely reworked that feature and I wallpapered the interior, as well as the drawers. It looks so much better.

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comSince my previous post, you’ll notice we added a door. It was always my intention to have closed hallway storage for linens, right off the bathroom. Much like the french doors, we didn’t have the linen closet door in time for the shoot. It’s still styled the same way inside though!

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comThe door shown above leads into our guest room. Our hallway is really long and is basically the center of our home.

Color Blocked Hallway - roomfortuesday.comAlright, I hope that wasn’t hallway overload. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below! I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the color blocking paint application or design in general. Sometimes you have to “funkify” a space in a classic way, and on a budget. I tried for both this time around! Do you think I succeeded?

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27 Comments

  1. Beautiful! Definitely a classic funkification. I adore the color blocking and the papered ceiling especially. I might just sprawl out on that rug to enjoy my handiwork if it were my hallway. And holy cat, Crosby is getting huge!!!

    1. Haha! Crosby is basically a teenager now. He’s really growing fast. I came home from a work trip in California and he doubled in size. Yikes!

  2. So nicely done! Love it and the colorblocking looks really fresh. I was wondering if you would consider to do a post on a creative use of the paint (dark colors vs lights etc) if someone wants to reshape the space. I was looking for advise like this on the blogs but haven’t found any.
    Most blogs highlight specific paint colors. You used dark paint in the ceiling in the bathroom to “lift” the ceiling and here the color blocking really makes that long space look wider— I am sure there are other trick lol. The hallway looks amazing !

  3. I desperately want to switch out the doors in our house! I saw on the home depot website the doors come primed (we’d need to paint a specific BM color to match our trim). Any tips for painting doors to have that professionally painted look? We painted our plain doors before (didn’t use a paint sprayer just a normal rolling brush) and it doesn’t really look professional.

    1. They do arrive primed! I prefer a high density foam roller and a high quality, self leveling paint… that way you don’t see any application marks! You could also buy a paint sprayer. We have this one: http://bit.ly/2KgoIrt … we’ve found that slightly watering the paint helps the paint sprayer application.

  4. Such an amazing look! Love your attention to detail.

    1. Thank you so much Trista! xox

  5. This hallway turned out beautiful!! You guys did a great job. We have a hallway in our house that’s very similar and it’s hard to take pictures of it because of no natural light. How on earth did you take such a beautiful after photo of the hall?

    1. Thank you so much, Michelle! For photos in tight, dark spaces, I always use my tripod and a very slow shutter speed… tricks of the trade ;) xox

  6. Absolutely beautiful! What a creative idea! I may just have to get that light for my hallway too :)

    1. Thank you so much! Those lights are great… I can’t believe they were budget finds. They look even better in person :)

  7. Looks amazing! I can’t get over the difference between the before and after shot. Incredible! May I ask how you managed to get such a crisp line with the paint? I typically don’t use painting tape when just cutting around ceiling and baseboard because I find it never works out how I’d like it to!

    1. Thanks Kelly! It has evolved over the course of two years, but the before image is hardly recognizable. I also despise painters tape and never use it. I used a laser level, pencil, and my trusty paintbrush. It took forever, but it was worth it for that crisp, clean line.

  8. Beautiful transformation! You are a wizard with hallways. Great job.

    1. Thank you so much Alison! xox

  9. This is so, so beautiful. Would you consider doing a post on colorblock paint application? I mean, it seems simple, but your lines are so perfect, even over the moulding and trim. How did you get it so perfect?

    1. Thank you Jacqui! It’s really an easy process. Instead of painters tape, I prefer a laser level, pencil, and a quality paint brush. I pretty much never use painters tape… I sort of hate it!

  10. Beautiful job…. I love the colors and the door knobs are fabulous! I considered purchasing them until I went to the site and saw the price…..lol sticker shock! A bit steep for me, considering that they’re for interior doors… but they are fabulous!

  11. Wow, you color-blocked without tape? I have only done it once, we had perfectly smooth walls and used the green stuff. Amazingly it worked! But when I saw yours I thought, “I need to see how she did that . . .” Well done.

    1. I did! I used it in one corner because my hand wouldn’t bend the right way (hahah!), but I actually prefer free hand painting… then again, I studied art in college and am really comfortable painting. Our walls are also perfectly smooth. That certainly helps! xo

  12. Zulma Troche says:

    I am gawking over this!! I have just about the exact same hallway setup and am going to make this my next project. I just have one question; how high up did you bring the darker paint in relation to the white paint?

    1. Thank you, Zulma! The height depends on your existing millwork, doors, ceiling height, etc.

  13. Hello! I LOVE the light fixtures and tried to use both links but they don’t go to the light. Is there anyway you can help me find them?

    Thank you!

    1. Thanks Hailey! It seems like the light fixtures have since been discontinued since this post is a couple years old. I’m sorry!

  14. Fantastic color blocking. Can I ask the height of your ceilings? We have the good ol 8 footers. Will you please suggest a good light to dark ratio?

    1. Thank you, Cinda! Our ceilings in this home were also standard 8 ft.