Banishing the Boring Narrow Hallway
I did a post earlier this year on stenciling my boring white hall. It is very narrow with multiple doors. I did not want to do the typical thing of hanging family pictures and the hall is too narrow for furniture or even shelves. To add interest, I decided to stencil the upper half and my sweet Hubs did 'faux' panels on the bottom. Finally, I found three metal pieces to decorate the walls. Please let me know what you think. We finally replaced the builder grade ceiling light, so be sure to go to the last picture to see the updated light fixture that we created from a 1920's lamp shade.
Time: 2 Weeks Cost: $250 Difficulty: Medium
My hall is narrow, so it is difficult to get a good shot, but you can see the three pieces that now decorate the hall. I wanted open and airy metal pieces so that I did not block the stencil--(because I worked so dang hard on it!) Please notice the builder grade light that was in the original post and see the new fixture (at the end of this updated post) that we made from a flea market find.
Now for the fun part. I found my first metal piece at an outdoor junk stand while we were traveling. It is gorgeous and is one of my favorite pieces in our entire house. I live in a split level and this is the first thing you see as you get to the top of the stairs. (You can see my kitchen to the left.)
This is the view from the other direction.
Next, I found this fireplace screen-again while traveling. We removed the screening from the back using a Dremel saw to cut all the soldered tack points. Then we removed the feet and painted it.
Here is the painted screen now -- it reminds me of grasses that might grow beside a pond.
Finally found the third piece--another fireplace screen. Again, Hubs removed the screening and we painted it.
I use this screen to disply Christmas Cards, birthday cards, and seasonal pictures of my grown children and grandchildren. For example, I will clip pictures of my (now grown) children in their Halloween costumes from 30 years ago along with their children (now) in their costumes; or Easter outfits, or snow pictures. Even when it is left plain, it is still interesting since it has a bowed shape and doesn't just lie flat on the wall.
Many, many wonderful Hometalkers suggested we get rid of the builder grade light fixture. We found this (very heavy) metal lampshade at a flea market. I loved the patina and Hubs said he could convert it into a ceiling fixture. Score!!
We took a black plastic ceiling medallion and sprayed multiple coats of paint until it matched the metal shade. Hubs figured out a way to attach the shade through the medallion and we added an Edison bulb.
The Edison Bulb gives a beautiful sparkle. (Yes we have popcorn ceilings, but such is life. They have been painted over and contain asbestos, so there will be no scraping them off.)
Well, friends, what do you think?? I now love my "new" (40 year old) hall and the one-of-a-kind light fixture that my brilliant Hubs helped me create. Improvement over the before fixture, yes?
Materials used for this project:
- Various Metal Pieces that we repurposed (Flea Markets and Thrift Stores)
- Wood Strips, Paint, & Stencil
No comments