The Hallway So Far

I thought it was about time I shared with you how the renovations in the hallway are going. Due to working full time, and the fact that it's barely light when I leave for work and dark when I'm home, I'm afraid these photos aren't great, but hopefully they give you an idea of where we are. I will take lots of beautiful photos on a sunny weekend when it's all finished. 

It's been a long, drawn out affair because we are doing all the work ourselves and, as John works alternate weekends, we have limited time to get jobs done. I am still, always, astounded at how long jobs take. Hang a curtain pole and curtains, twenty minutes surely? No, more like two hours of faffing around with drill bits and spirit levels and hooks. Fitting the skirting took John longer than laying the floor as it was so fiddly. It's frustrating because we are almost there but still have quite a few days of work ahead of us. Happily though, we are finally at the stage where the worst, the messiest, jobs are over. Floors have been pulled up and re-laid, plastering done, skirting boards fitted, sanding and decorating done. 

We decided to strip the wallpaper as it was torn when we removed the old skirting boards, and for now I like the plain, light wall at the end of the hall. I may hang something there or not, I don't know yet.

The stairs have gone from this:

to sanded treads...

to freshly painted metal work and clean white walls.

We have given the stairs one coat of oil deliberately chosen because it doesn't darken the wood and has a non-slip texture. They needs a second coat, and the sanded pine banister needs a couple of coats of Danish natural wood oil.

This is the space by the front door, where the porch used to be. 

We've hung the curtain but as you can see we need to change the light fitting and I need to make a tie back for the curtains to pull them as far away from the window as possible. They were chosen partly for warmth as, despite having a upvc door, we lose heat through the glass, partly for privacy as our bathroom is at the end of the hallway, and partly to add texture as the space still feels big and echoey.

John is going to build me a bench to put along that wall to the left of the window. We have wood and legs, we are just waiting for a certain tool to arrive. I don't know, don't ask me.

Under the stairs, we need to fix the shoe rack to the wall, and the cupboard needs new doors. This is probably the last big job to be done. 

Again, I'm really sorry about the photos. I promise I will do better next time!

The console table is where it was before, but we've changed the mirror and put the previous wooden one upstairs. I have tried, as much as is possible, to "shop from my own home", finding lamp bases that were in other rooms and lamp shades in the loft and swapping things around from other parts of the house.

At the moment it still feels really bare and boring. It needs more wood, plants, texture, fabric, photos, pictures - all the things which make a room come alive - and I am dying to play around with all these things when it's finished. I cannot wait to show you!