Well it has certainly been an interesting few weeks! I am starting to wrap up the whirlwind of projects that I started all over the house. My way of dealing with things being out of whack is to stay busy. Busy enough to get you so tired you just drop into bed. By doing this you do not have to think about what is going on. This has been my MO forever. Luckily, I have a very understanding husband who lets me run my course. He knows that eventually I will slow down and accept what is going on around us and deal with it. I am at that point! I am so grateful and humbled to live in a country where people risk their own health to care for others and keep our country going. Cheers to all of the doctors, nurses, aids, grocery store workers, postal service, delivery service, sanitation workers and the many others that keep us going through this crisis. Thank you!
As I promised I will keep writing my Blog, with the hopes that it brings you a little distraction in this strange time! Here we go! I am going to show you how the upstairs hallway has come out. This is the hallway that began with re-organizing the linen closet and then painting all the doors from black to white. It somehow morphed to include painting the ceiling, walls, touching up crown molding, baseboard, door jams and changing light fixtures. Yeah, I know!
Before I started to paint the doors, I made sure to sand any areas that may show. In this case the new door knob is smaller so I sanded down where the previous one was.
I also looked for drips that may have happened previously and sanded them out.
After sanding it was nice and even. Ready for painting!
I prepped the doors using Kilz All-Purpose primer. Painting two coats on both sides.
I then painted with Behr interior eggshell enamel ultra pure white paint. I also put two coats on each side.
I reused the hinges on the doors. I had to rough them up with steel wool to help the paint adhere. Then sprayed them with Rustoleum black satin enamel paint.
Reusing the hinges works because they really aren’t touched that often. Reusing and painting the door knobs is another story ( I speak from experience). I tried it once and it kept peeling and chipping from the use. Nothing ventured as they say!
Speaking of doorknobs, who knew that there are so many different types of doorknobs?
I chose privacy door knobs for the bedrooms and bath. They have push button locks and a pin key.
I put this painting at the top of the stairway. I am not showing you the actual stairs yet because they are not finished.
This is the view of the hallway from the stairs.
This was a picture wall, but I wanted to add some interest. These shutters were in my dining room and I decided to use them as a backdrop.
The colors in the shutter work perfectly with the new paint color.
I also added these to the hallway. Again I took them from another room.
There is a great story to these pictures. I purchased them from Target a long time ago. The actual picture was just mounted on a board and framed with no glass. I was moving it one day and it fell and broke and could not be repaired. I really loved them so I looked for a frame to fit it. The problem was it had to be a square frame and there were none off the shelf that I could find. I went to Michael’s and the price tag was to high to custom frame them. When I was leaving, I saw a cork board with a square frame. It would work perfectly as a frame. I went back to person I had been working with and showed her the frame. She said it would work. I ordered mats and asked if she would be able to put it together, and she said yes. I took the frames home and painted them both black. I went back to Michael’s and she put them together for me no charge. I love them even more than I did before!
The other thing I changed was the lighting. We have had this fixture from the day we moved in. I have always disliked it. I would like to say they have been in the garage and that is why they are dusty. Unfortunately, this is not the case. They are a nightmare to clean and I put it off until we have guests that will go upstairs.
I found this ceiling fixture at Home Depot a few weeks ago. It was only $9.00. I bought two and I thought they couldn’t be any worse than what I had.
I painted them black to go with the black door knobs. After installing the light I turned it on and was blown away. I could not believe how pretty they were!
I love the way the light plays on the walls.
I kept coming upstairs to look at the light!
Just like when I look in the organized closet and it gives me satisfaction, so does the hallway now. It gives me a calm feeling every time I come upstairs. Right now I need calm!
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