I like to say that when the builders built our upstairs, they made a plan to just give all it’s square footage to the bedrooms and leave the least amount of space possible to move in between them in the hallway. We have an extremely tiny hallway that leads to four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a linen closet. Six doors within 10′ of one another is cramped to say the least.
So for the longest time, I just painted it the same color as our entire main level (SW Repose Gray) and let it remain the way it was. Small, cold, and bland.
It wasn’t until I was snapping pictures of Colton’s room makeover that I realized just how banged up and dingy our doors were. Then I take a step back and realized they were painted multiple shades of white. Take a step back further and I realize I have mismatched door knobs. Jump back again and realize just how much I hate my hallway. Ha! Sound familiar?
It was time to give this small hallway an upgrade. A dose of character and make this small space pack a little more punch.
The plan: Repaint the doors my favorite soft white and install brand new brass door knobs on each of the doors. Then add trim detailing to the bottom half of the hallway and wallpaper with beautiful, bright wallpaper on the top half.
Painting the Doors
I took off each of the doors and worked to sand down all the layers of paint and buff out the scratches from the previous owner’s pets. For the inset on each of the doors, I used a sanding sponge to get into the grooves without damaging the integrity of the doors. We’re very fortunate to have solid wood doors and there wasn’t a chance I was going to risk messing one of those up!
When it was finally time to paint, I set up quite the scene on my patio. What do my neighbors really think of me?
This allowed me to pull out my paint sprayer and create those flawless paint finishes instead of using a brush and roller. I sprayed one side, let it sit for about 2 hours and then did a second coat. I let it cure for a full 24 hours before turning them over. The way that I had them standing upright allowed me to turn them and spray the other side so quickly. If you are laying your doors down flat on saw horses or boards, you will have to read the can instructions to ensure your paint has FULLY cured before flipping them over. It’s the worst when you flip too early and it damages the paint you’ve already done.
Since these are bedroom doors and they don’t receive as much wear and tear as say my main level doors, I chose to use Sherwin Williams Alabaster using HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams Semi-gloss Door and Trim Paint. It’s an acrylic urethane enamel that creates a hard coating on your door and trim work. For doors that deal with much more use and potential dings (main bathroom, pantry doors, main level trimwork), I would recommend using Sherwin Williams Emerald Acrylic Urethane Enamel. It’s a much sturdier paint, but please know it also costs a whole lot more.
Door Knobs
To finish off the doors and give them a bright facelift, I purchased new door knobs for each. Now I have three little kids and if you watched my Instagram stories days after I put these knobs on, you saw that my kids love playing with a lock…and locking a door shut days after installing them. HA! Knowing there was a chance of that in advance, I decided to skip the locks on my kids bedroom doors and went with just the passage knobs on their doors and the closet instead.
For the primary bedroom, I chose a matching privacy brass knob with a lock on it. And for the bathroom, I wanted something a little fancier. A little more splash. It’s the one door you see from the bottom of the stairs. It’s the first thing you seeing walking up to the rooms. Why not make it beautiful?!
I found the matching glass crystal knob and I’m absolutely smitten. They look stunning against the soft white of the SW Alabaster, and I love how they contrast against the wallpaper. Easy to turn, easy to install, and they work flawlessly!
Trim Detail
Again, this is a tiny space and to give it that bit of character and depth, I wanted to add a trim detail to it. I researched so many options but what I kept seeing myself Pinning on repeat on my Pinterest boards was picture frame moulding. It’s the one type of trimwork that uses small moulding pieces, allowing you to install it in….SMALL SPACES! Plus, it’s so elegant and classic and that’s exactly what I was going for. A trim detail that is classic to match the white and golds and floral wallpaper that this was going to be.
I purchased a 11/16″ trim moulding and a 1.25″ chair rail moulding from Lowe’s and began working through the math of creating these boxes. If you have a long hallway or you’re doing this around a room, it’s important to decide how large the boxes will be and keep that the SAME throughout the entire space. I, on the other hand, am dealing with a very broken up hallway. No two spaces are the same in between doors so I knew I had much more flexibility.
In the larger spaces, I created the boxes to be 5″ away from the sides, top, and bottom. For the smaller portions of the wall, I made them 2.5″ away from the sides and the same 5″ from the top and bottom to give it that uniform look all around.
Once I had the measurements correct, I used the new GAME-CHANGING molding miter snips I grabbed on Black Friday to snip the trim pieces at 45 degree angles. The time I saved by not having to go outside and up and down stairs to cut that trim was worth the $20 for those shears! And since my trim was so delicate, my miter saw more than likely would have damaged some of it because it’s not a fine-tooth saw blade on there.
Wallpaper
The star of the show is this beautiful light blue Floral Roll wallpaper by Lark Manor. I was so impressed with the quality of this wallpaper and the ease of use. It’s a nice thick paper that was easy to manipulate as I worked and I had zero issues with any tearing. Plus, the color of this wallpaper is beautiful. I love the variation in the blues and the soft whites and brown tones throughout. It’s a bold pattern with the softest colors, making it add that classic character without overpowering your eyes.
I always like to do pre-pasted wallpaper because you have more opportunity to correct your lines while you’re working by sliding it around. With the sticky adhesive with removable wallpaper, you are constantly pulling it off and readjusting it while you work, which is so much more daunting. It also tends to be thinner paper and pulling it off and restarting over and over again can lead to tears…and your frustration!
My two big pieces of advice for wallpaper: Use pre-pasted wallpaper with a good water sprayer AND get a whole new set of utility blades for your knife. I bought a pack of 10 new blades for this project (under $3!) and I went through 7 of them in just this hallway alone. When you are slicing the wallpaper, the blades dull quickly and a dull blade will catch easily on the wallpaper and glue and give you a jagged finish.
I also like to use a flat edge as I run the blade along the edges to ensure I’m keeping that straight line as I work. I’ve got a steady hand and I’ll still get a little too quick and slice at an angle sometimes. It’s best to take your time and use a flat edge like a putty knife.
All in, I used 2 rolls of this wallpaper for this space, and with it priced at only $0.67/square foot, it was an absolute steal!!
I absolutely love how this hallway came together and makes such a beautiful statement as you walk up my stairs. It’s a bright feeling as you walk into each of the bedrooms and the perfect punch of color to liven up a space that was once so dull. It’s these little changes in your home that add up to make a remarkable difference. It doesn’t always need to be an entire room or an expensive undertaking to make a space be more welcoming.
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