If you’ve been following along with our home renovation, you’ll probably have noticed that we’ve had a bit of a break from the DIYing over the winter. But now we’re back on the job and raring to go – and the hallway makeover is next…
It’s one of the most disgusting areas of our home, but it’s a space that we use every day, so it really can’t be avoided. Unlike the spare room or my office, we can’t just close it away and forget about it. The hallway can be seen from every room and is an absolute mess. So you can understand why I’m so keen to decorate it.
The trouble is that it’s SUCH a big job that it’s hard to know where to start – or to have the energy to get started. Again, we need to keep using the space every day, so we can’t leave it in a half-done state for weeks on end. It’s got to be tackled and completed in a matter of days. So we want to have everything in place, ready for when we start. I’ve made a list:
- A sander and sandpaper to sort out the staircase
- Floor paint or some kind of flooring for the hallway
- A small radiator to replace the old one downstairs
- Feature wall paint
- Primer and wood paint
- A big ladder (or staircase ladder) to paint the tall walls and ceiling
- Lighting for the upstairs hallway
- New switches and plug sockets
- A coat rack or cupboard by the door
- Shelving and brackets
- Frames for gallery wall
The hardest thing so far has been deciding on the paint colour for a feature wall. We haven’t used much colour in our home so far, opting instead for the ‘blank canvas’ look. But the staircase is enclosed and is already a pretty dark space so we figured that the’s no harm in trying out a strong colour in this area. I previously blogged some inspiration for a scandi-style hallway, incorporating a rich colour.
Luckily, my friend is an interior designer and when she came to stay last year I sought her advice. She recommended a deep green colour for the feature gallery wall and white for the rest of the walls and woodwork. We’ve since been testing out countless shades of dark green paint and our hallway walls look like a patchwork! I certainly agree with her that a forest green is the way to go in this space.
Having the expertise of a professional has made me much more confident about the decision. I’ve got no worries about using such a strong colour in the hallway after getting inspiration from her. If you’re tackling a similar project where you just don’t know what decor to choose, I’d recommend you hire an interior designer just to give you advice and help you feel confident.
I’m equally happy to be using fresh white paint on all the other walls and woodwork in the hallway. This will reflect more light into the dark space and will keep the deep green looking vibrant rather than just dark and dingy. But also, the green tones will coordinate perfectly with all the plants we’ve got in our home (and I’m hoping to create a plant wall in the hallway!) so I’m really excited to get started on the painting and inject some colour into our home.
That said, it’s important not to dive straight in with the paint roller – and I should probably order all the ‘boring’ bits and pieces I need, such as the electrical fixings, sandpaper and primer. Without these, we can’t really even get started so I’m heading off to the DIY store to make some decisions this weekend. I’ll let you know how I get on 🙂
Images from hiboudesignco.com/portfolio
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