Hallway

So I told you guys a while back that I had been working on some updates to the hallway I’d made over for the New Year New Room Refresh Challenge last year and everything kept getting put aside and half done. Now, today, the $100 Room Makeover Challenge starts and I’m pumped. This is the perfect kick in the butt to get the space finished.

Firstly, the white walls have to go. They are constantly getting scuffed and dinged and, let’s be real, colored on because my 4.5 year old is relentless. I love the look of crisp white walls but I hate dirty looking walls more. I’d like to find a muted, sophisticated pastel color. I’m leaning towards coral and aqua for the color scheme because the runner rug is copper and green. And the reason I mention two colors is because I want to paint the doors, too. And Maybeee I’ll do two tone. Or maybe I’ll do monotone. I’m not committed either way yet.

Then I’ve got to seriously address the unbalanced distribution of light. One end is fairly well lit and the other is dark. I won’t be running new electrical or anything like that but there is an outlet right where I need a second light so I think a plugin light will do perfectly.

I’ll be reusing artwork. There’s really no need to spend any money there.

The door knobs are up in the air. If there’s budget to replace them, I’ll do that. Last year I spray painted the original brass with oil rubbed bronze spray paint and it’s gone horribly wrong. The paint is dinged up and completely come off of large areas of frequently used doors.

Here are some spaces I’ve pinned to my entrances and hallways Pinterest board that are majorly inspiring me with this makeover.

First and foremost, these doors, the embellishment and the color have me like-yes yes yes! I do think the budget prohibits adding any medallions to the doors (especially since there’s a whopping 7 of them!) but I’m going to keep the idea tucked away and hope I can make it happen.

There’s hardly a space with a juju hat that I don’t adore, but beyond that I love the rug as a focus, the interesting light fixture and a console table to display decor and make the space feel less sterile and more part of the home.

And one more pin that’s triggering some ideas for me is this one. It’s definitely not the style I’m after but I’m wondering if I can find something similar in a moroccan style shape. That would be very cool for the beginning of the hallway to separate it from the living room.

To stretch the budget, I’m going to buy a second of the same inexpensive light that’s in the hallway. I’m comfortable enough in my rewiring skills and I have professionals to consult about turning it into a plugin.

I have a lot of craft and DIY supplies and I think I’m going to attempt a DIY that will have the same feel as the bone inlay table in my moodboard.

I already own the runner featured and will continue to use it because I love it! If you love it, too, it’s actually crazy inexpensive 🙂

The paint colors I will begin with checking out are Leisure Green and Peach Blossom by Benjamin Moore.

The framed art print is from Minted.

Best part of this makeover? There’s a whole bunch of people making over spaces with just $100. Browse the spaces below and make sure to come back and tell me which ones you’ll be following along with.

As part of a New Year kick to the butt, I took on refreshing our hallway to inspire me (and you?) to give our homes the attention it deserves. To recap, we basically started off with a stark and dark space. It was cold, it was ugly and there wasn’t adequate light. A summary of our goals for the space is that we want it to be light, bright, cozy and homey. My design plan includes my favorite theme for a space- Vintage Bohemian. So let’s dive into what changes we made towards this goal and maybe you’ll find a few things you can do to make your hallway more inviting.

The first thing we did was paint the walls plain white. I mentioned early on that we cheated and had already done this. There were a few touch ups that needed to be made so I did those. The doors and trim are all pretty old and aren’t in the best shape. Since we’re simply doing a refresh, I plan on going back in and giving these all a good scrub (or waiting until we can afford to redo the trim ;))

You’ll also notice that I changed the color of our doorknobs. I think this does a lot for the overall bungalow cottage vibe we want for the home and compliments a bohemian vibe well. It’s a classic so it doesn’t warrant a tutorial. I simply removed the handles, spray painted with Rustoleum’s oil rubbed bronze, let dry and reinstalled them. The paint was sensitive the first couple of days, so if you can hold off on putting them back on, that would be best in my experience.

Another small hardware change was the plate covers. Hallways can have a lot of these for outlets and light switches. Because we normally can’t squeeze in as much furniture, they’re harder to cover up. So I sourced out (and looked at dozens upon dozens of options) and settled on ones that gave me a mission style kind of vibe (these ones if you’re curious). For me, I’m aiming for a cottage bungalow feel so these suite the style pretty good and are easier on the budget than “authentics.”

The number one question I receive about this space is, “where is the rug from?!” And I’m going to tell you it’s from ecarpetgallery on eBay. I really ought to dedicate an entire post to this rug but in a nutshell, it’s a one of a kind. I got it for $95 because I bought multiple items that triggered an automatic 10% off. It’s beautiful, thick, and I do plan on going back to them for rugs in the future.

I know a rug can do a lot for any space. Warm colors, a fun pattern, and cushion underfoot really help solidify this as a “space” instead of the tunnel to other rooms. By making sure a rug is in place, it visually layers the space. And you must know I love layers for a lived in look.

If there’s room to squeeze in any furniture, a cabinet or even a small (but tall) plant stand, it makes the space feel more like a room simply because that’s what we see in a room. Utilize all the space. I like warm wood tones for adding warmth and that “cozy factor” to every space I work with.

I really went all out with the artwork. It did eat up a ton of our budget, but there are other ways of getting large scale art for much cheaper. Varying sizes of artwork, different textures for wall decor, and globally inspired frames help tell the same story the rest of my home tells. By being so cohesive with the other rooms around it, they all feel like expansions of one another versus closed off spaces.

So if you’re struggling with making your hallway an enjoyable space, try switching out or spray painting the hardware to fit your style, paint the walls a brighter color, choose a rug that is both comfortable and beautiful, squeeze in a piece or two of furniture and coordinate the artwork with adjoining rooms. You’ll be on your way to a beautiful space you enjoy strolling through instead of dashing through.