Let me start by apologizing for the length of time it has taken to publish a new post. I was pleasantly surprised when a few of you reached out looking for a post after my Instagram sneak peak! The weather, mixed with spring break activities, has taken up more time then expected but I did finally finish up a project I started last week.
Sometimes when you move into a new (to you) but very old home, where everything needs renovation, you sometimes have to opt for a quick fix in some areas. Quick fixes are great as long as you don't invest too much time or money. They can really help you cope with an unsightly area of your home without too much effort.
That's exactly what I did in a small, back hallway in our home. The walls were in rough shape, the kind of rough shape you know you have to either cover or replace the plaster with sheet rock. At the time I wanted as little mess as possible because we had just undergone a stressful and costly bathroom renovation, right off that particular hallway. Time, mess and money are always a factor in decorating decisions so I decided to wallpaper. I picked a paper that coordinated well with the colors in the other hallways of the house and enlisted a friend to give me a hand. Although wallpaper can be quite costly, this paper wasn't. It was at least 5 years ago since we wallpapered but I remember making the purchase at Benjamin Moore and recall it costing no more than $100.00. We wallpapered for a day and then Paul and I put up some crown moulding, a new light fixture and painted the trim. The wallpaper has done its job for five whole years! I had hoped to do this much sooner but other things always took priority and I was repeatedly told that only someone as fussy as me could see the imperfections of the walls through the paper. Apparently I am the only one in our home who looks at walls!
That's exactly what I did in a small, back hallway in our home. The walls were in rough shape, the kind of rough shape you know you have to either cover or replace the plaster with sheet rock. At the time I wanted as little mess as possible because we had just undergone a stressful and costly bathroom renovation, right off that particular hallway. Time, mess and money are always a factor in decorating decisions so I decided to wallpaper. I picked a paper that coordinated well with the colors in the other hallways of the house and enlisted a friend to give me a hand. Although wallpaper can be quite costly, this paper wasn't. It was at least 5 years ago since we wallpapered but I remember making the purchase at Benjamin Moore and recall it costing no more than $100.00. We wallpapered for a day and then Paul and I put up some crown moulding, a new light fixture and painted the trim. The wallpaper has done its job for five whole years! I had hoped to do this much sooner but other things always took priority and I was repeatedly told that only someone as fussy as me could see the imperfections of the walls through the paper. Apparently I am the only one in our home who looks at walls!
 |
| Not the hallway but if I remember correctly, the same paint colors were used. |
I am sure all you parents can relate when I say that we finally had a weekend where my husband and I were at home together ... no hockey games or tournaments to travel too. Yay! For me that screams PROJECT TIME! I measured, re-measured and did the shopping for materials on Friday and brought them home to get this weekend off to a great DIY start. Mother Nature finally co-operated with lovely weather on Saturday to allow some cutting to be done outside.
Once everything was painted and ready to go, I cut some brown paper to the size of my frames and roughly laid out how I wanted my celery wall to look. Then I hung my pictures, mostly myself, which is a great accomplishment for me, in itself!
This was actually a pretty straightforward project that mostly required time. The most difficult part was trying to match up the heights of the door frames which were quite varied in this old house. Paul did that part on his own. The rest wasn't difficult at all. Cut tongue and groove to the correct length then tap into place and nail. We did the same on the ceiling which is actually my favorite part. All that was left was to put the crown back up, caulk, fill nail holes and paint and paint and paint some more.
The paint color is Woodlawn Blue Benjamin Moore. It is difficult to get a true picture of the color because this little hallway is quite dark. The tight quarters, and gloomy days made me put off taking pictures and posting this far too long. (That's a lady bug on the ceiling. Maybe spring is actually coming!)
Working together we were able to get this done in a couple of days with only a few interruptions (there is still lots of hockey on TV to be watched) and snack breaks distracting us.
Just to give you a little perspective about the house and the layout. Straight through the hall is a small TV room for the kids where video games and plenty of Netflix watching happens. To the right is my husbands office. Our house was once two separate residences, one side mirroring the other, which was built by two Sea Captains who were brothers, back in the early 1800's. The house has since been opened up into a one family dwelling with the back portion of the house having very simple trim work. I've been told that these back rooms are where people, who helped with the children and the house upkeep, would have lived. I am not sure about that but our family puts these rooms to good use!
Here are some resources for the hallway:
I had been secretly planning a barn door for this back hallway for quite some time. The old bathroom door opened into the room, often bumping the lovely cabinet used for much needed bathroom storage. A barn door would eliminate this issue. It would also be a cool architectural addition to this small space. I plan to do a separate post about the new trend of barn doors and the building of ours soon.
Just to give you a little perspective about the house and the layout. Straight through the hall is a small TV room for the kids where video games and plenty of Netflix watching happens. To the right is my husbands office. Our house was once two separate residences, one side mirroring the other, which was built by two Sea Captains who were brothers, back in the early 1800's. The house has since been opened up into a one family dwelling with the back portion of the house having very simple trim work. I've been told that these back rooms are where people, who helped with the children and the house upkeep, would have lived. I am not sure about that but our family puts these rooms to good use!
Here are some resources for the hallway:
- Paint on trim and ceiling - Benjamin Moore Delicate White
- Paint on walls - Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue
- Barn door hardware - Kent
- Barn door handle - Home Depot
- Ceramic switch plate - Kent or Amazon
- Light fixture - Kent (special order)
- Frames with oversize mats - Umbra from Kent old
- Large frames - HomeSense
- Smaller Frames - Michaels
- Floral art - Ikea
- Pictures of charming kids - Mine!
1 comment
This is lovely, that barn door is very cool!
Post a Comment