Yay!!! The hallway is now off my To-Do List!
I decided last Monday I was going to paint it and by bedtime on Tuesday, it was all finished. A huge shout-out to Catherine for her help, company and random cans of leftover paint that went into the special mix. I had a pail of random paint mixed up but the colour seemed too beige for my liking so we tweaked it with a little of this and an little of that. I’m quite happy with the end result, and that is a good thing since we barely seemed to put a dent in that fiver.
It was quite funny at one point, we were talking about the slope in the stairwell. I planned on painting it the wall colour and Catherine thought we should paint it ceiling flat….until we realized that all the white ceiling paint went into the ‘special mix’. That made it an easy decision to paint the slope the wall colour….which hides more dirty hands prints anyway.
Hannah was helping us, too. She chattered the whole time she was working away. This is a cat chasing a dinosaur, in case you wondered….
One of the main reasons I wanted to get this done was so that I could hang the last set of antlers for Michael. They are perfect for that awkward spot on the wall above the stairwell. In our case, they are very visible because we have an open railing that goes to our bedroom. I even managed to get those hung up for him. I, of course, had to string my felted wool balls on them so it was just right!
I mentioned that dilemma we had about some sort of table or shelf in the hall in this post. Well, the problem has been solved! I installed the brackets and a barnboard that I had from the old barn at the farm. It makes the prefect shelf at the right height without having to trim the board, either. I love the rustic feel of it and with its history, it’s even better!! I’m thinking about adding a few little shelves into the awkward area between the post and the wall. { The post is there because the former homeowners brought the stairs to code, they used to be steep, with short treads…much safer now, thank you!! } It would put an odd space to work. I have a narrow barnboard left that would be perfect! In the picture below, you can only see the edge of the post, not the little corner I want to tuck the shelves. I would do one in line with the shelf I just hung, so it looked like it extended through the post.
I also finally got to hang the painting I got from Sparrow Mercantile through an Instagram sale before Christmas. It’s been sitting on the floor, waiting and waiting to be hung! And I love it! It’s at the bottom of the stairs and it adds such a nice, bright hit of colour and sunshine!
The other thing that I did was hang my collection of wooden shoes. Thankfully, that wall was gyprock and not plaster, which made pounding those nails in less scary and much easier. I love finding stray wooden shoes, ones without a mate, ones that no one else would probably want. And then I hang them on my wall. The awesome red pair in the middle were a Secret Santa gift from the upholsterer I used to work with years ago….fanciest pair of wooden shoes I ever did see!! They have heels!! Plus, they are red so you know I’ll love them! The globe is another recent find. I may paint it chalkboard at some point but for now I like it there.
I have plans for a gallery wall, too, but so far all I put up is the Sunshine I bought from Melrose and Pistachio at the Olde Foundry Market back in November. I did frame another little painting and I have a painting that belonged to my grandmother that needs to find spot yet, too. And then there are some random numbers, a few signs and I’m sure I can find a few other things….I seem to have a knack for collecting the random.
I had to clean to get these pictures. When I start a painting project like this, everything else gets neglected. The floors, the kitchen, the children…. First I cleaned the hallway. Then to get the above shot, I had to clean up the kitchen, too…..man, the work!! 😉
Looking at the pictures, it makes me want to add some rugs. I’d love a runner for the main lower hall and then one at the top of the stairs, too, but that makes me a little nervous, in case someone tripped on it. But until the flooring in the upstairs hall gets replaced, a rug may have to do….or I could paint the floor….. 😉 But I expect I would still want a rug!
To be continued,
Lori
PS Now I have all this paint and pine walls in the studio I don’t enjoy…..you know where this is going, right??? 😉
