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Sunday, July 26, 2015

The Back Hallway: Navy and white or white and navy?

The area I call the back hallway bugs me. The colour makes my skin crawl, actually. I had been going to work on it during the One Room Challenge last Spring, but changed my mind to work on my dining room. (I still have the table to finish before I'll say I'm done.)

It needs work.



The doors (and probably the trim) were likely painted with oil based paint. I think so because when Chris went to sand the doors to fit back into their openings without sticking, the paint loosened--and now, you can literally peel it off the doors. With your fingers.

The fact that the underlying paint is yellowish is another clue it is likely oil based paint under there.

So, the doors need to be taken down and sanded back to bare wood, primed and then re-painted. That's an outdoor job--and not one we could do in the Spring with the ground half frozen and wet with melting snow. 

And, I want to bring down the popcorn ceiling.

Of course, I do!

But this space has the potential to be amazing.

Option 1:

Creamy white walls, navy blue doors.



(It took some digging, but those doors are painted Farrow and Ball's Hague Blue, mixed into a Sherwin Williams' exterior paint.)

Option 2:

Navy blue walls and white doors?


I love all the cognac here. Unfortunately all the wood in my space is on the stairs, around the corner and not really a part of the space.


As you can see, I've started!

Whichever way I decide to go, there's no rush, no timetable.

Do you have a preference?



9 comments:

  1. I prefer white walls with blue doors because the blue walls and ceiling looks way too dark for your space and lack of natural light. You can open the blue door for variety but you cannot do the same with dark walls. Can you paint the doors a sililar colour ad your kitchen cabinets for cohesion?

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  2. I love the white walls with blue doors. I think the blue walls would make you feel really closed in.

    Happy remodeling this space ~ FlowerLady

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  3. Thanks so much for chiming in! That was my feeling, too. Now that my son keeps his door closed all the time, there really isn't much light back there at all. Plus, I have some of the paint I used for the living room and dining room already purchased. Bonus!

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  4. white walls, blue doors! Love that combo, had it in my last house.

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  5. I love the white walls and blue doors too. No dissenting amongst the troops!

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  6. I love the blue doors, but the practical me thinks that if I repaint at some point, I would rather have blue on the walls and white on the doors. I think both look nice, but I am also leaning to the blue walls and white doors (with a white ceiling or white ceiling with a hint of blue) because white walls would just show the dirt and I the blue doors might clash with the colors of the other rooms. See - I am really too practical when it comes to these decisions!

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  7. t--I appreciate your practicality!

    Thanks everyone for your votes for white walls and blue doors. I think it is important to get the right blue, though. Hague blue has a touch of green in it--which I haven't seen in other "navies." The city which has a shop for Farrow and Ball paint is four hours south of me. We could swing by on our trip. I am very tempted.

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  8. I second t's opinion. I also want to point out that you have many more doors in a smaller space than the inspiration photos and I think it might be a bit jarring to see the blue doors staggered amongst all the white, whereas with the blue walls your door and trim would both be white. There would be less of the floating blue rectangle effect, I think. And I also think that the number of doors PLUS a white ceiling will actually make white the dominant color in that area despite the blue walls--so not so much of a foreboding darkness as you might think. Good luck! You always do such a good job of translating your inspiration photos into something that works well for your space.

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  9. I'm with T & Laura, blue walls and white doors. The dark walls make a small space so cozy.

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Don't we all love comments? Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.