I was just telling someone today that for some reason I don’t do projects in any order. I just wake up one day and decide “I can’t possibly stand this (insert problem) for one more minute!” Which is how this hallway came to be completed in a weekend, no small feat considering each door took 5 coats of paint. Here’s where we started:

This really shows how fleshy the color on the walls were. The carpet is just about the same color as the wall, only broken up by the so very dark oak trim. Add in the gold boob light mismatched gold door handles, flat hollow-core doors and almond color outlets, and we’ve got a bland seventies milkshake.   Lets add some flavor!

First thing up: paint the wall white and tape off the stripes. I marked random measurements form the top-  4, 15, 22, 28, 35, etc. With no plan of a pattern, I lined up the tape with the marks. With still no plan besides knowing I wanted white on the very top and the bottom, I began at the top and decided as I went. Black, so rich and striking, takes 3 coats over white.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned, all the trim needed 5 coats- 2 primer and 3 paint. Between the 4 coats on the walls and the 5 coats on the doors and trim, for the first time in my life, I was pretty damn sick of painting.  I also added trim to each of the doors (4 total) and replaced the first of several door knobs. We are updating from 80s gold or textured brass knobs everywhere in the house, but they’re a bit spendy, so we do 1 or 2 at a time (the middle door, it goes to our bedroom). Let’s take a look!

We also upgraded the light fixture to a faaaaabulous one with crystals:) I bought and returned this light three times in the old house, since it didn’t feel right there. Boy, does it fit now! We are (well, mostly I am) in love with it, and have to restrain myself from changing all the fixtures to sparkly ones…

And now for the afters!

Everyone loves a good side-by-side, right?

The stripes add so much interest to this space, and adding the molding on the doors has upgraded them to look like ‘real’ doors and not just builder basic ones. Gah! The lighting, the stripes, the brightness, it makes this part of our house have interest and makes my heart flutter. Now, if we could just tear up that carpet….