Project hallway

The hallway. In my opinion, one of the most important rooms in a home.

The hallway is the first thing that guests see. As well as being on show every time you open the front door. 

When I moved in, my hallway wasn't particularly offensive. It had a nice cherry wood laminate floor that was in a good condition having been laid quite recently by the previous owners. 

The front door was wooden, but unfortunately not in fantastic condition. I originally wanted to keep it and give it a bit of hard work so I could paint it a gorgeous colour. However, after an unfortunate incident of 'wood swell' in the deepest depths of a Winter which resulted in me being locked out with the shopping for several hours whilst several people threw themselves at the door, I decided enough was enough and it was time to get a new one. 

For ease, I opted for a modern UPVC door, in white to match my windows. The company I used (Polar Bear Windows) were fab and let me choose exactly how I wanted it, even giving me a bit of coloured glass to pick out my favourite purple. 

What really offended me about the hallway was the carpet, it was a deep red and possibly the worst carpet I've ever come across. It just didn't clean well at all, and with two dogs (one with white fur) it just had to go. I wanted to get the rest of the house done first, as I knew the new carpet would be ruined otherwise, so the hallway was one of my last projects. 

I went for a Wilko paint on the walls. I LOVE Wilko paints, I swear they're a dulux or F&B in an own brand tin! It goes on a dream and is so reasonably priced too. 

I had the ceiling re plastered to cover the hideous old artex, that was the most frustrating bit as several plasterers let me down so it ended up taking weeks. Once it was done, I left it for two weekends to dry, before painting. I watered down the first coat, then did two full coats using the pink to white paint to ensure I had covered every area. 

I had been searching for the right wallpaper since moving in, and when I found the 'one' in Next I was so happy I practically skipped home! It's very similar to a Laura Ashley design, but has a little more boldness to it, which worked perfectly on my double height wall.

During the renovations I took the opportunity to have a cupboard installed. The airing cupboard in this house is within bedroom Two, which my lovely housemate Katy occupies. I don't think this is a great design, because it takes important storage out of the bedroom and also if you have a child / housemate in there it can make it difficult to get towels and bed linen. I had the perfect space at the top of the stairs, so that became my new airing cupboard.

The space before. These three bars became the floor for the cupboard.

I came home and there it was, Grandad outdoes himself again!

View from my bedroom, it's like the cupboard has always been there.

Once everything was done, the carpet was fitted to finish the look. The carpet was from CarpetRight. I wouldn't recommend them though, had a bit of a nightmare with the ordering, price and fitting. I'll be going elsewhere when I replace the lounge carpet. 

The hallway was the biggest job yet, taking several evenings and weekends to complete, but I really love this space and it's lovely and bright now it's all done.

My gallery wall, all photos from my travels. Frames are from Wilko. 

 

Em xx