thank you all for your comments. @Julie I forgot to mention that the children's art wall will be a mirror soon now that there won't be little hand prints all over it. This may bounce some light around. I was thinking of a warm sagey green which would work well with the oak wood but I need some drama!! It's funny looking at the pictures totally gives you a different perspective of the room. I now think I need to paint the front door in a pale color... @Judy I like the shade secluded beach def dont want blue - the tester pots were nothing like the shade on the charts... @Christine def agree re pops of color - baby's feet are going into another room. @ pcmom yellow would definitely brighten it up

There are several ways to visually widen a narrow hall and shorten a long hall. Floor: To widen a narrow hall use a diagonal floor treatment, e.g. stencil large diamond pattern on floor. To shorten the hall, use two or three runners to break up the length of floor rather than one long runner. Walls: Long walls can appear shorter by breaking up the horizontal lines.. This can be done by arranging pictures in groups rather than distributing them along the length of the wall. Hang a large painting, print or tapestry on the end wall or paint your door an accent color to create a feature. Another way to shorten a wall is create vertical sections on the wall. Trim can be used to create panels, groupings of art can create sections or large objects such as a mirror can define the segments. Directed lighting illuminating these section will also de-emphasize the length of walls. Ceiling: Minimize the visual impact of a long hall by bringing attention to the ceiling. One approach is to align the panel wall sections with ceiling panels or coffers. Or hang interesting pendant lights or a bold chandelier to redirect visual interest away from the walls.

My entire house is Dulux eggshell brilliant white with dark grey oil based eggshell on walls Looks timeless.

If you painted the wood skirtings (removed in photos) and door frames, in the dusky blue from the tiles then did the walls in white to bounce light around the hallway as they can be a bit dark I don't think it would look clinical because the use of the blue would add a little drama and look very up to date. Alternatively you could use a deep grey. I haven't seen this done much but when I have it has looked well.