A Radical Renovation = A Heavenly Hallway

Amy Taylor (otherwise known as @fiftyshadesofgreige) has recently given her hallway a jaw-dropping make-over and we just had to share it with you. She has taken a dated, dull and rather depressing-looking space, and transformed it into a light, bright and stylish entryway, that wouldn’t look out of place in a high-end interior magazine.

With a small budget and a bit of vision, she has created a beautiful and welcoming entrance to her home; we are green with envy.

When I bought my home, I inherited a dark and grubby hallway. The old fashioned wallpaper and dark carpet, with what can only be described as some sort of railway track ceiling light, was not what I wanted to see when I came home!

It was really important to me to have a welcoming, bright space that still felt cosy and warm. I don’t think I’m alone in being inspired by our Scandinavian friends; their bright, clean lines and natural products were being ‘pinned’ and saved more and more on my Pinterest and Instagram accounts.

I also love The Alps, having spent winters there for as long as I can remember on family skiing holidays. So wood is something that I wanted to feature, as it reminds me of being cosy inside alpine lodges.

The first job was to remove the wallpaper, using a steamer.

Next to go was the carpet, which revealed tiles underneath (unfortunately not of the period variety!).

I was surprised to then find the original floor boards underneath the tiles and although they were in pretty good condition, there were big gaps between them (common in old floors, which is apparently due to soft wood being used).

So I had a new wooden floor laid. I went for solid oak, which you can get from B&Q for around £30 per square metre. You can, of course, use a laminate for a similar look if your budget doesn’t stretch that far.

The next big job was replastering the walls, which had ended up with a few holes in them when the dado rails were taken down. If you have any old walls, it’s worth having a bit of a contingency budget for events like this! You never know what sort of condition the walls will be in behind the wallpaper!

An electrician did some rewiring to get rid of the aforementioned monstrosity lighting and a plumber removed an old radiator and my new hallway was well underway!

The new lights are glass ones from B&Q.

New skirting boards were added and I painted them in Farrow and Ball’s ‘All White’ and the walls are ‘Cotton Wool’ from Valspar.

The best bit, of course, is the dressing of the space. I bought a lovely wooden bench from a local interiors shop (you can find a similar one in Ikea, called ‘Skogsta’) and a belly basket and throw from @mazzouk.

A weave basket fits neatly under the bench to house my shoes and a shaker-style peg rail stylishly looks after my coats. I bought mine from ebay, where they are much cheaper than interior shops.

I love playing around with the space and switching accessories around.

Top Tip: You can really save on doing some of the jobs yourself. Steaming wallpaper from the walls, pulling up carpets and painting although rather laborious, does not need to be done by a professional.

Hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about my hallway renovation. Now for the kitchen!