Hall Decor with existing carpet

Catherine McNally

4 months ago

How can I decorate this hall keeping the existing carpet without it looking dated.

Featured Answer

Jonathan

4 months ago

Yay…. Sonia has finally come to the dark side with me. Welcome Sonia- I will forward an invitation to the next meeting!!

I love strong colours and find very pale schemes sterile and uncomfortable to live with. And so I second the vote for an opulent blue.

I agree that you can’t make this traditional pattern look modern….. but you can make this expensive carpet look like it belongs. I think the current problem is that the walls seem especially stark against the jewel like tone of this carpet and you need to reduce the contrast. So I echo the call for a strong blue such as blue black or Hague Blue from Farrow and ball. It might feel more palatable to add a dado rail and paint above in a different colour. If you do this be careful not to go too pale- instead try to find an alternative colour in this carpet- I bet there is already a stone or beige colour in the pattern.

Finally if you are trying to match wall colours to the carpet make sure you are comparing paint samples with the actual carpet colour. In other words clean at least a section of it now before you decide on paint just to make sure you are choosing the right colour.

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Comments (15)

chloeloves
4 months ago
I think the best option would be to embrace the rich dark colours and go dark on the walls - dark blue maybe. Paint skirting in glossy version of wall colour too.
Isla Cherry
4 months ago
I honestly don't think this is possible. If there is a wooden floor underneath refinishing that and having rugs in a neutral shades and maybe a new stair runner would update it. The walls are already neutral and still the carpet screams. Adding a bright wallpaper might distract from the carpet but it won't modernise it. You could try dark grey up to the dado rail. It might make the whole area dark and gloomy though.
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Sonia
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How about a rich maximalist look? Do you like darker shades? My first thought was to pick the blue in the carpet and paint the walls in a similar hue. If that fill you with horror, then perhaps a sagey green on the walls. Oval Room Blue may go too. It’s a lovely greeny blue. It tends to sit well with red. I have that on my walls with a rich Persian red patterned rug.
Catherine McNally
Original Author
4 months ago
Those images are great, thanks for the inspiration
siobhanmcgee90
4 months ago
The darker blue would be a very brave choice and not sure I could live with that. I would go for a lighter blue I think I can see in the carpet.
Catherine McNally
Original Author
4 months ago
Thank you so much for the great advice.
Sonia
4 months ago
Jonathan I do like dark walls but just not in my house 😂 But I can envisage how it could look and it will, I feel, dilute the red patterned carpet. I will attend the next meeting though 😂
minnie101
4 months ago
Try House of Hackney for inspiration if that’s your style
Lisa D
4 months ago
Can you remove the carpet in the downstairs hall and maybe put down laminate - I think this may then make the stair carpet look more modern/intentional. Obviously with bold decor as above.
Juliet Docherty
4 months ago
I think some people 'read' dark spaces, walls etc as 'drama' and others may read them as oppressive. It may depend on how you're calibrated. I also think they suit period houses really well, modern houses perhaps less so.

As the red in the carpet is quite bright, I would balance it by using a warm stone colour on the walls, something that may appear slightly green but is actually muted but earthy and warm. Pale walls with alot of red can look a bit too jumpy.
Bonita Bryan
4 months ago
I went quite safe with the wall colour in my 1920’s home, but I replaced the beige carpet with this red traditional one. I do think I could go blue/teal/green with this though.
Little Jem
4 months ago
I see a fight going on between the colours of the carpet (blues, and reds with a lot of blue in them) and the walls and other items, which have lots of yellow undertones. I actually think that the bannister is part of the problem: it's a rich brown wood, which is fine with the walls, but not the carpet. (It's also present in the mirror frame and furniture.)

So, my suggestion for tackling this is to consider the carpet, and branch out from there. (Too much of the blue is going to be intense and overpowering in the space.) I'd suggest a fairly pale pink on the walls (several shades lighter than the raspberry shade in the carpet); either a white bannister and woodwork, for freshness, or black/navy - whichever is the real colour in the carpet - for 'drama'.

You could then pick up the blue tones in a frame for picture or mirror on the walls, or perhaps and vase and flowers on a revamped, or newly-purchased and toning hall table. Not clever enough to do the wonderful graphics that some people can p[roduce, and not enough time at the moment to go hunting for pictures, but I hope this is of some help.
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Little Bold Design
4 months ago
That carpet is fabulous! Very House of Hackney as mentioned for inspo above. Agree with previous comment on picking out the blue to paint the walls- this one from F&B looks like a good match but obviously tricky to tell exactly just from pics. Doing this would make a beautifully grand hallway & stairwell. Brass or gold accessories would work well rather than wood & painting the banisters the same colours as the walls would give a more modern less dated feel. X
westwest114
4 months ago
The carpet looks classy, please don’t remove and replace with laminate 😢.
The carpet provides all the bright colour your hall needs, perhaps go with navy or dark grey for walls, otherwise your hall will be overwhelmed with colour.
Also if you go with darker walls the newel post and bannister could be stained to tone in as the current reddish brown doesn’t sit quite right with the carpet.