Best Hallway Paint Colors: 28 Shades to Spruce Up Your Corridors

The best hallway paint colors work as hard as your hallway to help make your home function as it should. Your home's design and layout can help determine the best paint colors for this underrated area. However, your color choice also plays a role in how you feel about the space and the adjacent bedrooms. 

Often, the hallway becomes the default color of the closest neighboring room. Although that approach works in many homes, with some planning, your hallway can be much more than a utility space. Use this guide to determine the colors that work best in your hallway to help you make the statement with the space.

1. Beige or Tan

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Neutral colors beyond, or slightly darker than, whites and off-whites, such as beiges, tans, or clay, are popular choices for hallway paint. Many homeowners blend their hallway with the surrounding room’s color or the type of flooring. Choosing a neutral color like beige or tan for the hallway walls can bring several adjacent rooms together by complimenting all of them at once.  

Considering the cost of painting a home's interior, consider a neutral hallway color to get the most bang for your buck. For example, you can likely hire a local interior painter to use the same paint on several rooms and the hallways during one visit, saving on labor costs.

For inspiration:

• Glidden® Pegasus

• Sherwin-Williams® Essential Gray

• Benjamin Moore® Pale Petal

• Dunn-Edwards® Birchwood

2. Off-White

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Your hallway may not be a focal point in your home, but that doesn't mean it must be a sterile-looking passageway either. Although white is the most neutral color imaginable, off-white shades can have a different and more elegant appearance than typical neutral colors. Consider minimal shade adjustments by adding a tiny amount of black, brown, or bright colors to a can of white paint to add a touch of class to an otherwise forgotten hallway.

If you choose to use off-white paint on your hallway walls, remember to consider the ceiling paint as well when determining how much paint you need. To break up a potentially monochromatic feel, adding a pop of color with bold ceiling paint can nicely contrast the mostly-white walls. 

For inspiration:

• Farrow & Ball® Wevet

• Dunn-Edwards® Sparkling Cider

• Sherwin-Williams® Westhighland White

• Benjamin Moore® Cream Froth

3. Cool Blues

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Shades of blue is one of the interior paint colors that emit calm and peaceful vibes. That's a good feeling when you’re heading down the hallway on your way to sleep. More exciting, though, is that blues from light powdery shades to cool blue tones add a tremendous amount of color that can make your hallway less practical-looking and more artistic.

Keep in mind that most hallways don’t get much natural sunlight, so consider opting for a lighter blue shade instead of midnight blues if that’s the case in your home. While you’re revamping your hallway, paint your trim white to create an aesthetically pleasing color combination.

For inspiration:

• Sherwin-Williams® Fountain

• Benjamin Moore® Baltic Sea

• Dunn-Edwards® Stormy Sea

• Glidden® American Anthem

4. Green

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From a light, seafoam green to forest green, this paint color is a popular choice for creating a statement in an area of your home. Choosing green hues for your hallway is excellent for creating a calming effect in the home, especially in houses where the hall is visible from the main living areas. 

Depending on the shade you choose, greens can add a touch of complementary elegance or whimsically contrast neighboring living spaces, like the kitchen or living room. Consider varying your green shades between trim work and walls for a richer feel, or use multiple paint shades to draw attention to special features, such as wall recesses or crown molding.

For inspiration:

• Dunn-Edwards® Palm Tree

• Farrow & Ball® Calke Green

• Glidden® Caribbean Green

• Sherwin-Williams® Kiwi

5. Pastels

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Pastel paints come in a wide range of colors, but the important feature of pastels is their soft-looking finish, regardless of your personal color choice. You can think of pastel colors as the light shades of yellow, pink, orange, blue, violet, or green that you might find in a basket of Easter eggs. 

Although these bold colors mix and match well with other pastel hues, they can be tricky to incorporate into a whole-house design plan, making them perfect for out-of-the-way hallways. If your home has a neutral or muted color scheme, you can easily get away with painting a hidden hallway a  lovely pastel. Consider pastel shades in flat paint varieties for a deeper matte appearance. 

For inspiration:

• Glidden® Sonia Rose

• Sherwin-Williams® Alyssum

• Benjamin Moore® Misty Teal

• Dunn-Edwards® Light Lavender

6. Gray

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Your hallway is likely a busy place. Additionally, hallways tend to be narrow, meaning the walls can experience plenty of wear and tear over time. No matter the color, it’s best to use a type of paint that’s durable and easy to clean, such as water-based or latex-based paint. 

Timelessly elegant, gray color tones can not only give your hallway a neutral appearance, but they can also hide some imperfections and fingerprints. Depending on its depth of shade, gray is as excellent a complementary color as it is a contrasting one. Light shades of gray in your hallway can make it appear bigger, while darker shades create a more cozy feel.

For inspiration:

• Sherwin-Williams® Magnetic Gray

• Benjamin Moore® Museum Piece

• Dunn-Edwards® Lunar Landing

• Farrow & Ball® Dimpse

7. Red

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If you're searching for a bold hallway color, look no further. Red, burgundy, crimson, and wine paint shades share the trait of making a profound statement. Whether that statement is a call for hallway attention or to establish an encompassing rich feel is up to you. 

Although deep shades of red are traditional in formal dining rooms and parlors, you can add a taste of that richness anywhere in your home, especially in areas with distinct divisions rather than a more open floor plan. Add a pop of color to wide or long hallways by painting it deep red, making the area a surefire conversation-starter.

For inspiration:

• Glidden® California Wine

• Dunn-Edwards® Deep Hibiscus

• Sherwin-Williams® Bold Brick

• Benjamin Moore® Million Dollar Red