7 places in your home you’re probably forgetting to paint – but design experts say you really shouldn’t

When it comes to painting our homes, most of us usually stop at the walls – simply covering them all in the same shade or adding a pop of colour with one feature wall. If you’re not guilty of this, then kudos to you! By focusing solely on the walls, there are so many missed opportunities and places you are forgetting to paint.

These forgotten spots can elevate your home when highlighted with a bit of paint and a pop of colour. To make sure you're not missing out by neglecting these forgotten spots, I’ve asked a few paint and interior experts to give us their top tips and paint ideas. These features can make a stylish statement when done right.

‘One of the biggest missed opportunities with paint is architectural detailing,’ says Jordan Larmour, interior designer of Larmour Studio. ‘Walls are just the beginning.’

Caroline Woolmer, head of product design at Lucie Annabel, continues, ‘Every property is unique and depending on whether it’s a new build or a period property can impact what kind of features people have available to them. For example, opportunities for highlighting areas in a more modern home can include skirting boards, cupboards and cabinets, as well as hallways. A home from a later period, for example, the Victorian era will likely have other unique areas like fireplaces, ceiling roses and floorboards that all offer an opportunity to use paint in a creative way.’

While the ideal feature to bring out with paint will depend on the particular look and style of your home, these are the 7 top ones that the experts have agreed on – and, of course, you can pick and choose from this list which ones you’d like to incorporate into your space.

1. Make a statement with your radiators

Radiators tend to be seen as a purely functional feature of a home – and often even an ugly one as many people invest in radiator covers to spare themselves the sight of a radiator. But you can paint your radiator instead and make it into something worth looking at.

‘Radiators are another feature that can often be overlooked when decorating a space,’ says Lucy Steele, paint and interiors expert at Valspar Paint. ‘Painting a radiator is a relatively easy job, and can in fact help to dramatically smarten up your living space. Whether you want to paint your radiators in a stand-out colour to create a feature in your room or blend them into the background with a neutral shade, it’s a simple way to add personality to your decor. Radiators are perfect for those looking to colour drench a room.’

And while the space behind the radiator isn’t necessarily one to highlight with paint, it definitely falls into the category of spots people neglect to paint, even though they shouldn’t.

‘Let's be honest, it's easy to just skip painting behind radiators,’ says Rob Abrahams, COAT co-founder. ‘But you know, after all that effort painting the rest of the room, those little spots can make the whole thing look a bit...off.’

2. Don’t forget about the ceiling and cornicing

Painting the ceiling either in a contrasting shade or as part of a colour drenching scheme is one of the biggest paint trends of 2025. But Jordan Larmour says you also shouldn’t neglect your cornicing.

‘Ceilings and cornicing can completely shift the mood of a space. Instead of automatically reaching for white, try painting cornicing in a slightly deeper or lighter tone than the walls – it’s a subtle way to highlight period features while keeping things elegant,’ he says.

3. Highlight your door frames

Sometimes, the places we forget about are the ones we look at the most – doors and more importantly door frames are the perfect example of this. But painting your door frame either the same colour as the walls - as long as it’s not white - or a contrasting shade shows consideration and attention to detail in the best way possible.

‘It’s easy to forget about doors,’ says Marianne Shillingford, creative director and colour expert at Dulux. ‘Painting the everyday architectural details the same colour as the wall or in a contrasting colour or tone totally changes the way the room looks and feels. A coloured door can make it mysterious and inviting, even painting the door edge in a bold colour that connects with something in the room like a piece of art or accessory will add an element of surprise and delight when people open it.’

4. Paint around the window

Similarly to the door frame, a window recess - the area around your window frame - is another place that rarely ever gets painted at all. And yet, it can create a beautiful feature of framing the view if brought out with contrasting paint. Equally, you can also give the window frame itself an injection of colour or you can paint a frame on the wall surrounding the window.

‘If you’ve got a nice view from your window, making it a feature by painting the frame in a colour is a simple way to make a big impact and transform the view into an ever changing work of art. You can also emphasise the view by painting a frame of colour on the wall around the window frame. Choose a colour that is a tone or two lighter or darker than the wall colour for subtlety or go all out and paint something that puts a smile on your face like Dulux’s colour of the year 2025, True Joy,’ Marianne at Dulux says.

5. Make a feature out of the staircase

If you’re after some staircase ideas in order to give your hallway a much needed update, painting your stairs is the perfect way to go – all you need to know is how to go about painting the staircase which is not at all difficult.

‘Staircases are often forgotten when decorating a home, however, they are such fascinating interior features and, if decorated effectively, have the ability to bring out the personality in the space and the rest of the home. Whether your home is modern, minimalist, bohemian or eclectic, there are many paint colours that will bring your staircase to life, and upgrade the space,’ Lucy at Valspar says.

6. Put a pop of colour inside shelves and kitchen cabinets

One of the more unexpected places to paint is inside of shelves or even kitchen cabinets. But that’s exactly why it has such a striking effect when you do – because it’s so surprising and joyful that you can’t help but smile.

‘A fun way to experiment is by painting inside closets, shelving units, or even the interior of kitchen cabinets. A pop of unexpected colour in these hidden spaces adds personality and makes interiors feel more curated and intentional. Even deep, moody tones inside wardrobes create a cocooning effect, adding richness to everyday moments,’ Jordan Larmour says.

7. Focus on alcoves

If you’re at a loss as to what to do with your alcoves to make them look good, giving them a lick of paint is the perfect alcove idea – whether that’s painting them in a contrasting shade or matching them to the walls.

‘Due to the feature of chimney breasts, living rooms often have leftover pockets of space, such as alcoves, especially in older buildings,’ says Jimmy Englezos, senior brand manager from Ronseal. ‘Painting an alcove in a lighter shade helps to reduce its depth making it appear smaller and helping it to blend better into the room. Whereas if an alcove is painted in a darker shade, it appears to recede backward helping it to appear larger and more dynamic.’

He continues, ‘Different paint shades can also make alcoves stand out in a room environment. Painting them a different colour to the walls can help create separate zones in the same room and even help to create a cosy nook. However, painting them in a single matching colour can help to create a colour-drenching effect creating a sleek contemporary feel.’

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list as other features of your home can be made stylish and beautiful with the help of paint. So which feature are you forgetting to paint but really shouldn’t?