5 Grey Hallway Ideas: A Guide to Decorating with Grey

Unsure about working with grey colour schemes for hallways? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve got some fantastic grey hallway ideas to help you make the most of this surprisingly versatile colour all-rounder. From dark greys to metallic pops and making appropriate use of natural lighting and the position of your home, our guide covers lots of grey hallway decorating ideas and techniques.

So let’s get stuck in …

1. Be Daring with Dark Grey

Dark grey in a hallway? Think we’ve gone mad? Trust us; it works. It takes a touch of daring and adherence to a few small rules but nothing you can’t handle. If you’re going to try a very dark grey, you’ll want to first make sure you have plenty of natural light in your hallway and that your hallway windows or glass doors are south facing. A north facing hallway decorated in dark grey will simply look … well, dark. Most uninviting for the entrance to your home.

The upside to a well-executed dark grey hallway, besides the wonderfully rich and warm aesthetic, is the fact that it makes the rooms branching off it feel lighter, brighter and bigger. Aim for deep greys with blue tones to keep the space feeling contemporary, warm and inviting all year-round.

2. Add Warm Copper Accents

Copper and grey are simply made for one another. The warm, metallic glow of copper can strip away the sometimes intimidating tones of some grey shades, leaving a contemporary and timeless look. Hallways are a great space for adding copper accessories, and these can be anything from lamps and lighting to ornaments, console tables, coat racks and key hooks.

Copper works beautifully with any grey colour schemes for hallways. The darker the grey, the moodier and richer the result. The lighter the grey, the more contemporary and industrial the look. If you’re not too confident with interior colour schemes, lighter grey is always the safer bet for a hallway.  

3. Pair up Grey and White

There’s nothing to say your grey hallway has to be exclusively grey. Adding pops of bright white can help lift and sharpen the space, and can even make it look bigger. This is especially effective for those looking to decorate a hallway in the darker grey shades, as it helps break up the darker colour and keep naturally dark hallways feeling much brighter.

You can add white to any grey hallway colour schemes using a variety of methods. If you have a dado rail, paint this bright white to add a continuous line break around your hallway. You can also choose to install a white wood or white tile floor, or simply add white accents such as lamps, wall art or white hallway runners.

4. Add Pops of Bright Colour

Grey makes the perfect base colour backdrop for practically any bright shade, making it easy for you to add pops of your favourite bright colours in your hallway. Deep, dark greys work beautifully when paired with blue-green hues like teal, as well as bold pinks, oranges and yellows. Lighter greys work well with bright blues, bright greens, yellows and paler pinks. You can introduce these colours with the help of curtains, benches, tables, ornaments and wall art, or you could even try adding bright colours with the help of coloured floor tiling or the addition of colourful rugs and runners.

And remember, hallways are the perfect place for running interior decor experiments, so don’t be afraid to introduce bolder colour elements such as clashing patterns and prints. Textiles such as cushions, rugs and curtains are perfect for this.  

5. Introduce a Grey Carpet Runner

The Morocco Safi Hall Runner and matching Morocco Safi Stair Runner

Whether you’ve got an existing grey colour scheme or you only want to add hints of grey to your hallway, carpet runners and stair runners are the ideal ways to do this. As a neutral shade, grey will pair perfectly well with just about any other colour, so you could introduce a grey runner with no problem at all.

Already have grey walls in your hall? Grey-on-grey hallway colour schemes work really well, so you can try introducing a grey hallway runner in a different shade to the walls to add extra depth. And why not carry your grey colour scheme from the hallway all the way up the stairs too? A grey stair runner can add excellent continuity and flow to your home, and grey striped runner designs work especially well for adding an extra contemporary and timeless edge to the space.

Got any more grey hallway ideas you’ve successfully implemented in your home? We want to see them. Share your grey hallway decorating ideas with us on our social media channels below and take a moment to show off your DIY skills.