Here's the thing most people get wrong: they panic and reach for the brightest white they can find, hoping it'll bounce light around. In a hallway with little or no natural light, that white reads cold, flat and slightly dirty — because there's no daylight to activate it. White needs light to do its job. No light, no magic.
You've got two honest routes, and both work better than stark white.
Embrace the dark. A windowless or north-facing hall has no good light to lose, so lean into it. A deep, enveloping colour turns an awkward transitional space into something deliberate and dramatic. Farrow & Ball Hague Blue or Inchyra Blue are cracking here, especially full-height with the woodwork the same colour — it makes the space feel considered rather than gloomy. Little Greene Hicks' Blue or a moody green like F&B Studio Green do the same job. Hang a mirror or two and the candle-lit, jewel-box effect sells itself.
Or lift it warmly. If you genuinely want brighter, pick a soft white or pale neutral with warmth baked in. Farrow & Ball Pointing or Slipper Satin have just enough yellow to feel like a glow rather than a hospital corridor. Setting Plaster is brilliant if you want a gentle blush that flatters warm artificial light — and your hall is lit by bulbs, not sun, so that matters.
The "but what about" question: won't a dark colour make it feel smaller? No. Hallways aren't rooms you linger in — they're a journey. A dark hall makes the rooms leading off it feel lighter and larger by contrast. That's the trick.
Practical advice: test on the wall furthest from any light source, and crucially, look at it under your actual hallway lighting at night. Swap dingy cool LEDs for warm white (2700K) bulbs before you blame the paint — half of all "this colour went wrong" complaints are really a lighting problem.