A Dramatic Color Drenched Hallway Makeover | Thrifty Decor Chick

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A color drenched hallway with painted doors and trim.

Smaller spaces like powder rooms, laundry rooms and hallways are so fun to decorate! You can be a little more bold with small spaces.

If you’re experimenting with darker colors or wallpaper, these spots are perfect place to try them out.

We have a small hallway in our basement that was calling out for a makeover, especially after finishing up our cool kitchenette and bar down there:

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I knew I wanted to do something dark and dramatic to fit in with the rest of the basement. Color drenching is a painting concept where the walls, trim and sometimes ceiling are all painted in the same color.

This technique has had a resurgence over the past few years, but has been around for more than 100 years!

I prefer to use different paint finishes on the different surfaces, but I’ll go into that more in a bit.

We had my husband’s basement office painted a couple years ago, and I knew I wanted to use the same color we used in that room.

When I was picking the paint color for his space, I was stuck on three colors from Sherwin-Willams:

In the end, Carnelian leaned a little too purple for me and Sommelier was a bit too pink. Rojo Marron was the perfect in between — a lovely, rich burgundy color.

Last year I got to work painting, starting with the all of the trim and doors. If you’re painting baseboards on the wall and have to work around carpet, this trick will help:

Run some painter’s tape along the baseboard, covering the bottom of it just a bit with the tape. Then use something with a thin, flat surface like this 6-in-1 painting tool to push the excess tape underneath the base.

I recommend using a drop cloth as well to protect your carpet.

I always use a semi gloss for my trim or moldings (crown, picture frame molding, door, window and baseboards) and doors. I prefer a satin or eggshell for the walls:

I’ve tried painting everything in a satin finish (it is definitely easier), but I find it looks so lifeless. I love the contrast of the shinier trim — I want it to stand out.

This paint is so rich and dark, I had to do FOUR coats on the walls and three on the doors and trim:

It took me almost a week to finish up the painting. I thought it would never end. 😉

Recently I’ve been trying to finish up little projects all over the house, and this little hallway just needed a few more touches.

We had a recessed light in here, and when I updated all of our can lights in the house a few years ago, I skipped this one knowing I would hang a light instead.

Our plan all along was to hang our New York City prints in this space. We had a few larger art pieces that I stacked on the main wall:

The glass and frame on the bottom print had shattered years ago, so this week I rigged up a quick DIY frame with some trim. It works, just don’t look too close at it. 😉

Our basement is moody and cozy, and this warm hallway fits in perfectly. Here’s a sneak peek into my husband’s office painted in the same Rojo Marron color:

I used these DIY picture ledges to hold a bunch of his plaques on the wall when you walk in. Grouping them together on the shelves makes them look more organized and less cluttered.

A year later, this space is finally done!

Here’s the before with the wall color we had painted throughout the house when we built (Agreeable Gray from Sherwin-Williams):