Then and Now: Hallways

I like the hallways in the house so much, probably because they're so wide.   They were one of the things that made me think the house would work for us. There is a large alcove next to the front door that leaves room for storage. (Something we did not have in our previous house.)

We had the joiners build in a coat closet (and they made concertina doors from the former closet in the Large Bedroom.)   It's built so cleverly, yet another reason shopfitters were a great choice for this renovation.  We also put in a new (well, second hand) front door and had the glass in the doorway replaced with some that won't shatter into tiny shards if it ever breaks.  The beading around the door (on the right side) just got replaced and we still need to paint it.

The stairs are wide.  And the little landing near the top leaves us a good option if we decide to extend and have a bedroom built on the side of the house.  (Effectively knocking through where the window is now.)

We haven't finished the stairs all the way, but this is how they look now.  Believe it or not, the hard work has been done.  (Paint removed, treads sanded back and varnished, and the risers and sides have been sanded and prepped to be painted.)

The view looking up to the top floor landing, on our first viewing.

And how it looks now.

Looking down the hall to the front two bedrooms.

Niall was right, we do like having the yellow hallway.

We had the joiners add wooden balls to the newel posts on the banister.  

And we're pleased with the result!  (Annette, if you read this post, there is one of the hallway runners.  They've worked really well so far.  Thanks!)

Next to the bathroom is a hall closet.  Maybe it was originally an airing cupboard?

We didn't ever get a very good photo, but the closet had been used by the former owners for photography.  (Maybe a bit of a dark room?)

We have converted it into a utility closet.  It's so nice to do the laundry upstairs.  I can do it while the kids bathe and then throw in a load of what they wore that day.  Making the change was a bit of a faff.  We had to pay and get permission from the Council to put it in (part of the Building Warrant.)  The joiners reinforced the floor and they purposely over-siliconed a false floor to absorb the vibration from the washing machine.  We have a vent through the roof and an electric fan and light wired, with the switch inside the door.  I had to special order a drip pan for the washing machine.

It brings me great delight to have a designated space for laundry, rather than having the washing machine plumbed into the kitchen.  We do have an iron, but still no ironing board.  (And I don't have any plans to get one in the near future.  Ugh.  I detest ironing.)     Above the dryer (and out of the picture shot) there are a couple of shelves where we can store laundry and bathroom supplies.

This week we finally got delivery of this mail/key holder.  I put it up within about 30 minutes of the postman bringing it.  I can't tell you how many times I've misplaced my keys since we've moved in.  Since installing a designated key holder I've haven't lost them yet!  (But I'm sure I will soon.)