Decorating a hallway

[JohnArmer]

After some procrastination I've finally got around to preparing the hallway of my 1870s house before decorating.

All surfaces that weren't walls and ceiling were gloss painted. That included the coving, the corbels and the beam that the corbels support. Lovely. It's coming off though, I used a wallpaper steam stripper (without the plate) to remove the gloss from the coving which seems to have worked. It exposed an older paint finish which seems very sound so I won't go further but just clean that up and paint over that, probably with distemper.

I'll probably go with a darker colour on the walls below the chair rail and a lighter colour above.

My question, though, is what to do with the beam and post that is at the end of the hallway, before the stairs. What is the usual approach with this part of a hallway? It's basically a boxed in post and ceiling joist: the faces are plaster (though the underside is probably just wood). I'm going to eggshell the woodwork; should I do the same with this to pick it out from the wall, or some other treatment?

Excuse the ropey appearance - it's work in progress!

Detail of the post and beam:

 

[Westholme]

Beam, post and corbels to match door architraves, I suggest.

Is the post there only because of the stairs? I haven't see this arrangement before.

 

[Gothichome]

I see two colours in the coving, separated by a thin band of gold. The post looks to have a dark ochre at one time, repaint the same as well as the corbels. Pick out the details of the corbels with the colours chosen for the coves with some gold highlights. And the corner detail on the post use one of the colours from the coving as well. The colours will depend on your choice of ceiling and wall paint.
Bring back some of that Victorian charm.

 

[88v8]

Yes, a few gold highlights can lift an interior.
And we all loved Liberace, didn't we?

One assumes you will paint those corny stripped doors

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

I wonder if they are new doors, they look too pristine and the wrong colour for Victorian stripped pine. I am a fan of wood, although not stipped pine particularly. A dark stain might be nice on doors in such nice condition but it's all personal preference. I am also painting my hallway at the moment. It is early Edwardian and very spartan, no cornice or corbels and just a single ceiling rose. I have experimented with dark ochre for the painted dado which is a strong colour, I think I'll embrace it.

 

[88v8]

It depends how far one wants to go. There's some elaboration in that hallway with the cornice and corbels and dado, and it's good that those features haven't been erased.
Below the dado I'd use Lincrusta, and paper the walls above of course, not paint. Some pictures or prints if one is that way inclined.

A period light fitting. And switches. There is the ceiling height for a lovely stained glass copper lantern, for instance.

Pine was never unpainted. Perhaps pitch pine in an appropriate setting such as a church, that knotty stuff in the doors would have been painted.
And some finger plates, and quality door furniture. But the doors look late Viccy or Edwardian, so not 'wrong'.

Judging by the pic, the chief offender in the hallway is the front door .... it's not really the tine of year to be addressing front doors.

On the one hand the hallway is the first thing visitors see. On the other hand, it's a glorified passageway, it needs to be reasonably robust, and it's not somewhere that one will sit admiring the finer detail of the décor. So ideally it will set the tone for the rest of the house without being over elaborate.

Just my opinion.

Ivor