Dark and Moody Hallway Makeover

This dark and moody hallway makeover was just going to be a fill-in-some-time, in-between-other-projects project but it’s turned into one of my favorites!

Hallways don’t get a lot of love but when you think about it, you actually spend a lot of time in them if you add up all the pass-through minutes between bedrooms and bathrooms and living spaces.

Ours was a challenge to figure out design-wise because it had an awful popcorn ceiling, an ineffective attic access, a linen closet we’ve never had a door on because it would block the air return, the electrical panel right in the middle, and awkward spacing between the doors.

In the end, I decided on a dark and moody board and batten because if it was painted white originally and was already dark, then I might as well lean into the moody vibe and have some fun, right?

Let’s dive into what went into this makeover, but first, a couple of before and afters to get the dark and moody hallway makeover vibe:

On This Page

Molding

Board and batten math is hard at the best of times, but when there are this many obstacles along the span? Impossible.

So, instead of doing any math at all, I held up my trim pieces roughly where I wanted them in order to avoid getting in the way of the thermostat/door trim/who-knows-what-else, and determined which spacing fit what I needed.

I wanted the 1×4 pieces to be uniformly spaced, obviously, (I’m not an animal), and for me a space of 25.25” between each vertical piece was the best bet.

Note: If you were after a more professional answer or have a blank wall where obstacles aren’t ruining your spacing, you can find board and batten calculators like this one online.

So, I nailed up the vertical pieces using my long 24” level then set the horizontal pieces a third of the way up the wall. (Because I knew I wanted large photo frames going down the hallway to cover the electrical panel about two thirds up the wall, having the horizontal molding pieces about a third of the way up helped visually balance the end look.)

Along all the edges where the 1x4s met the wall, I added some small molding for an extra little detail that I think made all the difference.

I used my miter shears to cut all the molding pieces and nailed them in place which saves a ton of time not needing to run outside and cut with a miter saw over and over again for a million cuts.

Pro tip: buy more of the tiny molding than you think you’ll need because the angles are a pain and you will almost certainly mess up a few times. The trick I learned is to hold up the piece of molding and make a mark where you need to cut (including the direction of the 45-degree cut). Hold the molding piece flat on the miter shears with the piece of the molding that will sit against the wall on the flat part of the shears to make the cut and it’ll be cutting at the right angle!

Caulking, spackling and painting

I went through four tubes of caulk on allllll of these pieces of trim plus the ceiling, and I did it over two nights. It took forever but is definitely not a step you want to skip because it’ll make the end result look much more professional.

When you’re cutting a new tub of caulk open for this dark and moody hallway makeover, make sure to cut a very small opening to begin with because it’s really easy to overdo it on the caulk for the tiny molding pieces and make a giant mess.

For the paint, I used the color Steep Cliff Gray by Benjamin Moore but I had Home Depot color match it in Behr paint. I used the Marquee line which is Behr’s second-most premium and it was almost one-coat coverage with just a few spots I had to touch up the next day – that almost never happens!

The color is so pretty – a real ChAmEleOn color as the designers say, going from charcoal to lighter blue throughout the day – in our cave-like hallway that has zero natural light and one single overhead fixture.

Frames

The frames made such a big difference in the overall look in this dark and moody hallway. It A) let me hang some family photos which we don’t have enough of around, B) helped break up the dark paint, and C) hid the ugly electrical panel.

I used these frames from Target which to be honest are a little expensive when you buy seven of them, but the finished look makes me feel like I’m in a fancy library so I’d say it’s totally worth it. I love the lighter wood tone and the chunky frame mat so the photos aren’t quite so comically large.

What is especially cool is that I added two basic hinges to the back of the frame that goes over the electrical panel and secured the hinges to the wall, so the frame effectively covers the entire panel but still doesn’t block access or the way the panel functions at all.

In all, I’m so happy with the way this turned out. At first it took some getting used to and I really doubted myself on if going dark was the right choice, but I kind of love having a ‘statement hallway’ and it was the perfect project to knock out between big renovations. Plus, if we end up hating it, it’s just paint and we’ll go over it.