DIY: Hallway Transformation

This DIY hallway transformation consisted of paint, molding, rug, lighting, and art. This week my husband Will and I were talking about our house and how much it has changed over the last year. He mentioned that his favorite part of the house right now is our hallway and it kind of stopped me in my tracks.  A) I totally wasn’t expecting him to say that and  B) I didn’t think he liked it THAT much!  Of course, I like the hallway, but there is so much more that I see and feel when I see the hallway.

For years I messed with the hallway, playing with so many ideas but ultimately, it still kept feeling dark and sad. Since it is the first thing you see when you walk in from the garage, I knew I wanted something that would lift our mood and make us feel welcomed and happy to be home.

To fill you in, when I did this hallway, Mia was 6 months old and I was in the midst of feeling… I guess you could say lost. I had just gotten over the worst of my postpartum depression, but still didn’t feel 100% like me. I have a terrible memory but I vividly remember it was Sunday night in May, Will was working nights, Mia was asleep, and I decided to just go for it. After all, he wasn’t home so he couldn’t stop me right?!   It started with a quick sketch at midnight and then continued until 3 am where I actually taped it out on the wall.

When I started measuring and really dived into it, I realized that the spaces on either side of the doorways were not equal. Area 1 (reference picture)) was 5 inches larger than area 2. I wanted to give it the illusion that they were equal. I spaced it out in a way so that the picture boxes were still almost the exact same size. I knew that as a whole, your eye would not be able to see that something was a couple inches different in size.  

When Will got home the next day, I asked him if I could have my birthday present 6 months early and buy a saw… With a prayer and a lot of luck, he let me! The rest is history.

I won’t bore you with the details of installing this, but there is proof that Will does sometimes help with my crazy ideas!

When I look at this hallway, I see more than just a beautiful hallway. This hallway has meaning to me. Just like certain smells, songs, and foods can bring you back to a moment in your life you’ll never forget, this hallway does just that for me. Every time I look at this hallway, I see a part of me that changed here. It signifies a point in my life that gave me courage to try something I had been too scared to do for years. It gave me confidence. It gave me creative freedom. It gave me part of Sara back.  I have lived so much of my life in fear of failure, fear of what other people think, fear of just about everything and so I am here to tell you to stop listening to those fears inside your head and just go for it! Oh, and  A L W A Y S  ask for your birthday present six months early!

 

For other DIY projects, you can check them out here. If you’d like to inquire about a future project or idea, please contact me here.