Hallway Makeover

I was feeling particularly industrious this last weekend so I decided to start working on my hallway makeover.   I love the way it turned out.  After five years of living in this house, it finally looks finished. 

The space wasn't horrible before

but it wasn't anything to make you wanna do the the splits with jazz hands over either.  And that's what I really wanted...a hallway that was worthy of splits and jazz hands.

So, I started by hanging some canvas photos {go here for my DIY canvas tutorial} of all the fam on the wall to personalize the space and warm it up.

I ended up using all of my fabulous, found frames which I decided not to paint.  I just love the mixture of wood and gold hues together.

I used them to frame the canvas photos which gave them a little more oomph and presence. 

At this point the hallway was looking considerably improved...worthy of jazz hands and possibly a box step, but I was going for full on splits mode.  

So, I decided the next thing that needed happen was to break up the mass of white by painting all of the doors {all six of them} along the hallway.

I used this beautiful, dark grey.

It has a lot of gold in it, so it is delicious and warm...and just YUM!

I have no idea what the name is, just this label on top of the can...just in case you were curious.

I started questioning my decision when I painted the first door.  I was worried that my hallway was going to look like the hallway at some cheap motel.  But, by the time I finished painting the sixth door I felt confidant I had made the right call.  And what solidified that decision was the fact that this grey is the perfect shade for concealing "kid filth".  Now that I just typed that, the thought of knowing my doors might be dirty but not being able to see it makes me a little uneasy.  Oh well, nothing a good dousing of Lysol won't fix.

Finally, I threw a couple of runners down to brighten up the space.  

They will hopefully protect the wood and prevent the kiddos from using the hallway as scootering/roller skating/skateboarding thoroughfare, like they've done in the past.  My kids can be hooligans sometimes.  

And here's the completed space.  I apologize for the not-so-great pictures.  There isn't any direct sunlight in the hallway, so it was hard to get a well lit shot...but you get the idea, right?

I think it's totally worthy of splits and jazz hands- theoretically of course.  As much as I would have loved to break out a jump split, I was pretty certain a torn "hammy" or strained groin muscle would have resulted.  So I just imagined myself as a teenager again, splittin' and jazzin' it up all the way down the hallway.

Here's the breakdown:

frames:  Thrift store and Hobby Lobby

runners:  Target

paint:  Home Depot

splits and jazz hands:  priceless...

unless you end up at the E.R. due to injury, in which case you might be out more than it cost to redo the hallway in the first place.

More A "door" able Ideas.

After painting the laundry room door yellow, I loved it so much I decided to paint the interior side of the front door too.

I had been kicking around ideas for awhile, about what I could do to add some much needed color and interest to the space, but could never settle on anything til now. The space was very plain, very neutral and very boring. 

The door itself...is not my favorite.  It has some weird viney embossing in the horizontal panel{which you can't really see in the picture}...just a wee bit too eighties for me.  I was hoping a new paint job would help conceal this not-so-attractive detail, while at the same time giving the door a fresh, modern and updated look.

I think both of those things were achieved.  Here's the door now...new{ly painted} and improved.

The space still needs some accessorizing, but the door totally jazzes up the space dontcha think?  At least it's not oozing eighties anymore.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the door color is a dark, peacock blue...almost navy {but with more green}.  I decided to tape out this graduated, chevron stripe pattern because I wanted the door to be the focal point of the space.  It's certainly hard to miss now.

Amazing what a $13 quart of paint {a few hours of monotonous taping and 400 coats of paint} can do to a space eh?  I meant it when I said in my last post, "if you have a space that needs some color consider painting a door".  I guess now we can also add to that, "if you have a hideously outdated, eighties door that you despise, consider painting it...you might actually end up loving it".  I did.

 

 

Shut...err, Paint the Front Door

I've been a little agitated lately...presumably because my bathroom looks worse now than it ever did before and I haven't been able to enjoy my ritual of soaking in a hot, soapy bath whilst catching up on celebrity gossip for over two weeks.  I know it may not seem like a big deal to some, but I have come to rely on this little routine for maintaining my sanity. 

Yesterday, whilst changing out the laundry, I realized that my laundry room...though newly revamped and still totally awesome, was is need of a little color punch.  In an effort to relieve some built up stress I decided to paint the door.  And while it was no soak in the tub, it did offer my mind a few moments to forget about the "pit of despair" {aka. my bathroom} for a good forty-five minutes and concentrate on less "moldy and messy" issues such as...which cupcake flavor is my favorite- strawberry shortcake

or salted caramel...an internal debate I constantly battle.  Forty-five minutes was nowhere long enough to come to a decision, but was more than enough time to work up a nearly uncontrolable cupcake craving.

Here's what the laundry room looked like before...that mass of white on the left is just begging for some color dontcha think?

 

And here it is now with a buttery, yellow door... does it remind you of delicious, lemony frosting or is it just me?

It's funny how something as simple as painting a door can change the whole mood of a space.  The yellow door in the laundry room makes it feel much brighter and cheerful...which could come in handy, especially on the days I find myself trudging through mounds of stinky, dirty laundry.

If you have a space in your house that could use a little something extra in the area if color, why not consider painting a door in a fun, bright hue.