Hallway Denial

The one big project that needs to be done around here is the painting of the hallway.  It’s the one spot that hasn’t seen a paint brush since we moved in in July of 2014.  Well, I guess that might not be entirely true, I did paint the ceiling when I was doing the other ceilings.

The main reason I’ve been putting off painting the hallway is because it’s big and there’s lots of trim.  There are 10 doorways off it and it includes the staircase.  With.All.Those.Steps.  Plus, the trim is taking 3 coats of white to cover white.  It isn’t even fair.  But I also know that I’ll be happy when it’s done and we can finish moving stuff into that space and get it working better for us.

The girls craft supplies are spread out between the studio, a bin in the upstairs hall and still, sadly, there a bit left at the old place, too.  It’ll certainly be nice to have that all sorted out and in one location again.  I think they miss doing crafts whenever they feel like it and they can’t find anything in the bin as it’s a big jumbled mix of everything.  Yes, super slack mother here.

The bookcase sits at the top of the stairs, too.  It’s the perfect fit for that spot.  But it always looks a mess!  The girls tend to pull stuff out and then jam things back in at random.  I think we need to sort through the books and take a bunch of them to the book exchange that is happening at our local community center on a monthly basis.  But the catch with that is I know we’d come home with more than we left here with!

I’m planning on putting my collection of wooden shoes above the book case – for two reasons.  First reason being I want them somewhere where they won’t feel like they stick out too much.  And secondly, this wall is gyprock – so much easier for banging numerous nails into instead of the plaster walls we have most everywhere else.   I can’t wait to have them hung up again!

One of the other things that will get hung is the last set of antlers from Michael’s collection.  They are going to go just on the awkward wall above your head when heading down the stairs.  The locations for the three sets have been in hot debate.  Hannah claiming one set for her room certainly helped me out.  The other set is in the living room, above the TV.  The handsome Mr. Byrne would be quite happy if all three sets lived in the living room, so all could see…..needless to say, I’m not so on board with that idea!

The other area that has been debated and pondered and questioned is the area by the phone jack in the lower hallway, right off the kitchen.  Since our house is older, the trim is thick and finished off with corner round.  This means anything that sits against a wall, doesn’t sit flat against the wall.  In most cases, it isn’t a huge issue.  But, because whatever sits under the phone jack and calendar needs to be narrow to allow for easy  traffic flow and be out from the wall – it’s nearly impossible to find the perfect thing.  Brainstorming made me realize a shelf would be a great solution!  Just narrow enough to hold the sewing drawer of pens and notepads, no legs to cause trouble and yet completely functional!  I have two brackets that I’ve had for….I’m not even sure how long!!  They were originally bought to put a shelf in the living room of our first house.  And I never found the right board for the shelf, so no shelf was ever hung.  They moved with us….still with no purpose laid out.  But now I do know what I’ll use them for!  I also have a piece of marble from a mantle that I may use for the shelf but installation may be too tricky so we’ll see how that plays out.

So, today, instead of picking up a paint brush, I wrote all about it instead…..

To be continued,

Lori