I have a bright living room and a dark hallway that share a wall, flows seamlessly from living room to hallway. I want a white/gray color for the hallway but a little more substantial gray for the living room. Anyway to do that? Is there a way to gradually change a color or if I used like a 50% lightened version of the color I chose for the living room?? Wasn't sure if it could be like.... Feathered in or something. Thoughts??

OK...the solid hardwood is factory finished. That's fine. It means that you can choose a solid factory finish so that EVENTUALLY you can get all of this refinished at the same time AND STILL end up with the same floor throughout. What you do is find the SPECIES of the hardwood and the width (and the thickness)...and if you can find the same grade/cut. Sure you can run it perpendicular to the hallway...so long as you are NOT on wood joists. If you have wooden subfloors the direction of the joists will dictate the direction of install. Regardless. So long as you get the same species in solid, you can always sand/refinish everything at once = same floor throughout the home. You do not have to do it today...but it gives you the BEST option to do it later if you want...or just before you put the house up for sale.

The attached article is pretty comprehensive, covering the importance of paint’s LRV level, trim and wall color suggestions, and lighting. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-3-best-not-boring-paint-colours-to-brighten-up-a-dark-hallway/ Other ideas: a large mirror, leave doors to adjoining rooms open (if any), flooring has a big influence and if dark add a runner, paint doors white if they are dark. If structurally possible and budget permitting, add a skylight or solar tube.

Thanks, Patricia! Our home is currently under construction so I don’t have any pictures at this time. But thank you for that reminder. We were just thinking low level night lights. Thoughts?