02 June A Communal Hallway Is Not a Living Room
Managing agents ask us this more than any other question: what colour should the communal areas be? The honest answer is that colour is the second decision. The first is the finish, because a hallway in a block of flats takes more wear in a year than most rooms take in a decade — bikes, buggies, deliveries, suitcases and furniture all pass through the same metre of wall.
Pick the finish first, then choose a colour that works with it.
Matt Emulsion Is Usually the Wrong Call
Matt looks excellent for about six months. Then the scuffs arrive, and matt cannot be cleaned without burnishing — rubbing at a mark leaves a shiny patch that is more obvious than the mark was. On communal walls we normally specify a durable scrubbable emulsion, or an acrylic eggshell on the lower half where contact is heaviest.
The extra cost per litre is small against the cost of redecorating two years early.
Light Colours, but Not White
Most communal areas have little natural light, so a mid or light tone keeps the space feeling open. Brilliant white is tempting and rarely right: it shows every mark, and under artificial light it reads cold and institutional.
- Warm off-whites and soft greys hide day-to-day marking far better
- Keep the ceiling lighter than the walls so low ceilings do not close in
- A darker skirting and dado band absorbs the worst of the scuffing
- Match the colour to the flooring you already have, not the one you wish you had
Think About the Next Redecoration
The single most useful thing you can do for a block is record the exact colour, finish and manufacturer somewhere the managing agent will still have it in five years. Touching in a scuff is a ten-minute job when the reference is known and a full-wall repaint when it is not.
We leave a written schedule of every colour and product used at the end of each communal project, for exactly that reason.
Get the Stairwell Access Priced Properly
Stairwells are where communal decorating quotes go wrong. A tall stairwell needs proper access equipment to be painted safely and neatly, and a quote that has not accounted for it is a quote that will change. Ask any decorator how they intend to reach the top of the stairwell before you compare prices.