Want to pick the brains of anyone interior design minded or anyone with a similar house. My living room is a through lounge so I have the sofas at the front and dining table at the back. The 'hall' and stairs are also in the same room . There is a dado rail all round which continues up the stairs and round the landing. WTF do I do decor wise with it. A few points.

Light Laminate flooring downstairs beige carpet on stairs.
I have kids so something fairly tough and sensible
Whatever goes downstairs will end up carrying up the stairs and into the landing as its all one continuation.
No natural light in the stairway or landing so nothing dark or too dramatic
Dark brown leather sofa
Oak dining table
It's also a private rental so ripping dado off is not an option.
Do I paint top and bottom all one colour, do.half and half. Does the darker colour go at the top half which is bigger or the bottom.

Have attached a pic if you're not bored to tears already... someone please assist...

Xx

When I was a young girl my Mother said to me.. You listen here kid you're CPFC

Just my opinion but I would tongue and groove below the dado rail in whatever colour suits you. Doesn't have to be a natural wood colour, I have seen some nice pastel blues and greys give a nice colonial New England look.

but then again, what do I know

I am laughing. Yellow for the dado??

When I was a young girl my Mother said to me.. You listen here kid you're CPFC

If you do different colours top and bottom of the dado, use a the darker colour on the bottom as this will 'hold up' the lighter top half. a dark colour on top will nearly always look unbalanced.

Although it is basically all one room, have a look at some of the colour chart room photos, which give great ideas for colour combinations.

You could (as far as I can tell from the photo) do the room in 2 or 3 toning colours, and use something entirely different (but still on the same tone/contrast palette on that long wall from the door? up the stairs and round wherever it goes.

Also, you could paint below the dado and use a feature paper above.

Edited by becky (24 May 2016 5.47pm)

A stairway to Heaven and a Highway to Hell give some indication of expected traffic numbers

I would say wallpaper it...either way darker at the bottom lighter at the top. We have laminate flooring on hallway into backroom, but carper on stairs and living room

I would think about maybe a blue (not to dark, but not quite sky blue) at the bottom and a sandy colour above the dado rail. And the dado rail itself, a darker shade of the colour you choose above (not too yellow) and use the same on the woodwork (spindles, handrail).