Interior Updates - Hallway: Making An Entrance


I have lived on my own for a few years now, and it was always an ambition of mine to have my own space that I could decorate how I wanted, make modern and feel like this was my castle. I moved into this flat around 2 and a half years ago now, and from the start I knew it was going to be a project. It hadn't been touched since roughly the 70's, the walls were wood chip and had to be steamed and plastered and then painted, but I painted everything white (myself, bad decision) and had a blank canvas to work from. Over this time I have updated so many things and made it gradually feel more like home with my furniture and personal touches. 

It will be a long journey still to how I want it but I like documenting it here, seeing how far I've come and how much the flat has changed over time. This year I told myself that instead of going out or buying clothes etc, I would actually make my flat the way I want it. So I got busy on eBay selling and staying in on weekends and made a plan for what I wanted to improve. I decided the hallway was the first to be done and you're about to see why .....




When I first moved in, there was a horrid green carpet and magnolia walls with a dark wood handrail, I mean who in their right mind.....?! I left the carpet for a while but my cat still being young, decided he liked to pee by the door, potentially something to do with marking territory as there are a lot of cats in the area. Now being someone who is very house-proud, having a hallway that was green and yellow and smelt like piss wasn't exactly the dream. So I asked my grandad if he would tile the bottom of the stairs and he said yes. I painted all the walls white. I then got a pair of scissors, a hammer and some pliers and went all out on that ugly green carpet, ripping cutting and pulling off as much as I could. It felt great! The tiles were done and look amazing but the stairs looked like this for roughly a year after all of that. 

So to kick off my year of improvements I thought this would be a good place to start. Who wants to come home to this anyway ....... 

So I called on a friend who I knew was an amazing decorator and asked if he would be able to paint it all white for me and he said yes! We agreed on a price and I booked him as soon as physically possible. 




I planned a day when I could be in the house all day and the work started! I knew I wouldn't be able to walk on them so I sat at the top of the stairs watching sometimes, seeing all the horrid browns and paint marks disappear. I also decided that this year I would take the time to do the things I'm actually good at rather than wasting time doing things I'm not, like painting. So what took Freddie a couple of hours would have probably taken me a few days and that wouldn't have been a good use of my time!! Bit by bit the stairs and my hallway transformed into a wonderful whitewashed place with shiny stairs and no smell!! (Apart from paint of course!). 


I had also ordered some small chandeliers from Littlewoods.com to go at the top and bottom of the stairs just to add a touch of sparkle, and got to work putting these up, the next day of course to make sure they were dry to walk on! These were easy enough to put up and really really affordable! 

This is the finished product and I couldn't be happier to walk home to this everyday.....







It's all light and bright and looks wonderful and new!! I could not be happier with the result and it feels like you're coming into such a nicer apartment and not somewhere unfinished and uncared for. I'm so happy with it and it was so much of a better use of my money than a takeaway! 

Next up is my new flooring and doors so keep your eyes peeled.......

Chandeliers available here: Belford Easy Fit Pendant

Freddie (Ellidec Decorating Company): Ellidec 

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