Fori:

Can't really help you because we have the same exact problem - except we don't have a nice bright view at the end like you do.

Our hallway is painted BM Ivoire which reads like a light yellowy tan (sorry) for us. It's o.k. but doesn't really make the space seem brighter. We've been here a few years and think we will probably have to use solatubes to get more light.

Maybe you could work with the paneling and put a chair rail down the hallway. We may do that with a grayish grasscloth type of wallpaper on the top. I'm sure others will chime in with better ideas. Good luck!

Many, many sconces?

We have a long narrow hallway that I painted BM Mayonnaise. It is white with a tinge of yellow. I love it, really brightens up the space.

If you go with an off-white, I wouldn't get one that has any black in it or you will get gray tones which won't help to brighten anything. You have a nice window at the end of the hallway which is ideal.

A chair rail would be nice and the addition of mirrors to bounce the light around.

Thanks for the ideas! I'll check out BM Mayo. Sounds about right.

We do have several light fixtures in the ceiling--maybe they should be upgraded to something that isn't hazy. On the bright side, they aren't painted over COMPLETELY like the one in the living room (that I thought was a ceiling speaker).

Reminds me of my hallway. I have Laura Ashley Taupe 4 on the walls with off white carpet which helps make the space feel a little brighter. We plan to change the carpet soon for wood look tiles and I will have to repaint for sure. I will probably stick with a tan color but haven't started looking yet.

I didn't go through many pictures on houzz.com but there were some nice ideas there. Besides the usual pictures on the walls some hallways came alive with bright colored carpeting or fun light fixtures on the ceiling.
modern hall by John Maniscalco Architecture

I have had this problem in several houses including my current one. My solution has been to exchange the light fixtures out for bendable track lighting (ikea has great examples) and turn it into an art gallery. The halogen spots provide great pools of light and are really bright. Then you can paint any color you want. The hall becomes an actual room (because of the art) instead of a walkway.

I was trying to show the picture of the hallway with the 4 globe lights, but it didn't come up.

How about a nice crisp white bead-board paintable wallpaper with a nice chair rail above it. I think Oceanna has used it in her stairway and foyer. Looks like the real thing. Do I see some blue in the rug? Perhaps one of the popular lighter blues above. I have seen some gorgeous light gray-blues, blue-grays, green-blues on here in the last few months and many of them seem to lighten things up. Something like waltbsc's LR - he started out with a lot of dark and really lightened things up.

Tuesday

Have you considered putting in a solar tube? The light they put out is amazing!

This is more a philosophical point, but its the type of thing that I think about.

Is there any reason that this hallway needs to be bright?

If you are not changing the woodwork and the hall is artificially lit much of the time I am afraid that whites or yellows are just going to look dingy. Whites look great in white-on-off-white schemes, and yellow and white schemes work too...but often I think artificial light wreaks havoc with yellows or whites + natural wood.

I am a firm believer that Not All Spaces Need to be Light, Bright, Open or Airy. Its a narrow hallway, and its a transition space from one room to the next. There is no reason the dimness can't just be emphasized...this can allow a contrast to the relative lightness and openness of the actual rooms.

Some architects intentionally exploit this by making some spaces a little small or a little dim. Frank Lloyd Wright often made entryways a bit dark with low ceilings so the expanse of his open-planned living rooms would be a "relief"
by contrast.

Of course I have a black stairwell, complete with unsettling Keane prints to create a transition between relatively light filled rooms so I am biased.

I think palimpsest has a good point about not all spaces needing to feel bright, particularly transistions. It reminds me of something I read on Thrifty Decor Chic's blog:

"I just love little corners, niches, interesting spots in homes, and I adore how some people use awkward spots to their full potential. Like hallways - I just love a long hallway with hardwood floors, a beautiful runner and woodwork as far as the eye can see. Add a gallery of family photos and I'm swooning."

Seems like you have half of that going already - love the runner. I also like vsalz's idea of making it a gallery.

These are great ideas! I asked the spouse about navy blue (plus upgraded light fixtures). The spouse thought it'd be nice. Unfortunately the spouse thought I'd said baby blue.

The photo is taken from the corner of the L. If it's night or the doors are closed, it's really dark. Dangerous toys may lurk and while I don't need it to be a place you can read, you should be able to dodge the Legos or see what color towel you're pulling out of the cupboard.

I do like the beadboard concept (due to a crazy little boy, I'd have to go with the actual wood for durability) but it would be out of place here unless it was knotty pine--it's a traditional (not modern) 1956 ranch.

I suppose I could restore (replace) the paneling. It was the flat sheet stuff, Eichler-style. (The similarity ends there.) But then I'd be back here saying "Help! My long low hall looks like a wooden colonoscopy!"

A gallery could be fun. I have some vintage mountain cabinish art thanks to my grandmother. Owls and squirrels anyone? :P

The thing about a hallway is making the experience of walking through them enjoyable. Any application whether it's fancy lighting or a gallery where someone walks through and stops here an there is what you are aiming for.
They also can be like Palimpsest suggest where you walk through and the experience is closed in so that when you walk out, there is not only the visual but a physical sensation of openness. I prefer for those types to be short because i think they can be physically uncomfortable so I don't suggest that for your hallway. Good luck with whatever you do!

I would do a soft cream color for the hallway, or perhaps a soft green.

Replace your fixtures with a couple of track lighting fixtures. It would allow you to adjust the lights to wash down the walls here and there, brightening the whole area. Add some framed art or photos in metallic frames for some additional light reflection.

I just say that nice piece of work great job.

Here is a link that might be useful: EPDM Coatings

How about grasscloth wallpaper? It should (?) hide the imperfections of the walls and allow you to light the area adequately with brighter fixtures and the solar tubes. And it is appropriate - I think - for a 1950-ish house.

You would need to be careful not to get something with loose strands. I've seen some with a tight weave, almost like thin rope that seem indestructible.

I love the runner you have there. If you don't plan to keep it, something similarly strong-patterned would be my choice.

Here is a link that might be useful: google images for grasscloth

Ok, I agree...even a dim nook should be bright enough to not trip over toys!

I had an idea last night, as I was falling asleep, so it might not be as good it seemed, but along the lines of creating an experience, what about tree wallpaper? It'd be like a forest...maybe an enchanted forest if you're feeling whimsical. ;)

I love this wallpaper from MODE (it was on HGTV Pure Design):

Here is a link that might be useful: More tree wallpaper on Cote de Texas

One trick I have noticed over the years is making the light wash over the walls (not the floor and every other direction). It seems to do more for brightening a room than anything else, even if the color is a very dark/deep one. So you can consider this another vote for some sort of track lighting with multiple lights that can me manipulated. Hey, you can justify the cost by getting some new-fangled LED power saving lights....?????? ;-) Maybe get the lights first, then picking the paint color will be easier.

I, too, was going to suggest a grasscloth type wallpaper. There was a discussion on GW several years ago regarding vinyl grasscloth. I have it in a shorter but narrow hallway. It's been up almost 10 years, with little grands going past it frequently and it looks brand new. It has some textural interest, hides some dirt which does wash off easily, (my dogs often shake themselves in that hallway after coming in in stormy weather leaving muddy spots on the walls) and has a very low sheen.

Helene

Agree with others about a rich, dark color and the track lighting + gallery artwork. I was thinking navy blue when I first read your post, but I hesitated. Silly me!

If you keep the doors closed a lot, it would be dark even if you painted it floor to ceiling white, so I think what you really need to do is address the inadequate lighting under those conditions--then you can do whatever you want with it--you will have that flexibility. I really like the idea of vinyl grasscloth, too.

Trees! That would be fun. I had been thinking of a spot to stick up that Cole & Son "Woods" paper, but a smaller pattern might work better with so many doors.

And grasscloth. I had looked into it for my entry hall and living room and elsewhere (perfect cover for 50s paneling, right?) and was under the impression that it just wasn't durable enough. I'd love to be wrong. Or find a good faux grasscloth.

WHERE does one go to look at wallpaper in person these days? Seriously, are there any more wallpaper stores?

You all have not made this easier at all by giving me so many options I hadn't considered! So thanks! :)

Do we all agree that the can lights must go, or is replacing them with ones that actually illuminate good enough? With the furnace intake and an attic access panel and four of the recessed lights, I think that the ceiling is sort of busy and making the light fixtures more substantial might help distract from that.

Really, this hall isn't awful. I'm putting off the rest of the house because this is actually manageable. Actually I was planning on doing the entry hall which is well-lit and also brown and thought I needed to carry the treatment into this hall which branches off from it but there is a door. I don't have to match!

Gee. I need to focus. :)

Ben Moore paint stores usually have wallpaper books.

Sherwin Williams does, too, as well as a locally-owned flooring store near me.

Vinyl Grasscloth

Here is a link that might be useful: Phillip Jeffries

Our hallway was dark also. In the daytime I hated it. We painted it a very pale yellow/cream, and added white beadboard halfway up.

Now it's a lot lighter and I love it! I can actually see when I walk down the hallway! lol

Fori,

Here's a link to the earlier discussion -I have several pix posted including a closeup of the grasscloth lookalike. It's definitely not fragile. If I should ever want to change the "paper" because they're cloth-backed, and the walls have been properly prepared, they just pull off the wall, no scraping necessary, just a wall washing, just like prep for painting.

I actually have the grasscloth in my office and back hallway; 2 of my bathrooms have another textured vinyl paper. I would have had to repaint at least 3 or 4 times over the last 10 years in these hard-working areas. Wallpaper can hide a multitude of sins ;-).

Helene

Here is a link that might be useful: Earlier discussion with pix

My first thought was a pale yellow that has a perky but light tone to it, before I read you were considering that. We used that in our last house and it was very cheerful. It looks awesome with bright white trim.
In our current house, I just painted BM's Wales Green in our hallway and it is so fresh and perky. It looks like a frozen margarita and also looks great with white trim.
The yellow was more mellow and happy, and worked as a neutral color. The green is bold and quirky and a little unexpected.
The yellow covered beige walls and the green was used where it used to be white. Both livened up the spaces and made it feel lighter despite not being lighter than what was before (and the green is noticeably darker than white, lol). In any case, it was the shade of the color that perked up where they were used. It seems like drab colors are very "in" right now, but I choose more lively, crisp ones. I am tired of tans, golds, taupes, etc....

Thanks for the "grass"cloth info. That might work. The spouse seems to be more comfortable with a light yellow, of course. The spouse likes to be safe. :)

Dianalo, you know how I feel about blah tan. No offense intended calling it "Realtor tan". Hehe! The entire house is done in shades of drab blah. It's disturbing how well most of my stuff matches.

Colors are just a little tricky if I'm keeping the wood trim, which I intend to do. It's sort of drab and yucky too.