Hallway w/ New Hooks, shelves, benches, mirror, trim, cork board & chalkboard

I was over at Zdenka’s house last week to start talking about her Living Room. While I was there I checked in on the front hall, which I am happy to report is being very well used! The shelves and mirror are  up. She and Zafar painted the trim and installed the chalkboard paint and the cork board. Zdenka also finished sewing the cushions for the benches. They came out beautifully! The only change was that the mirror had to be moved over because when mounting it they hit a duct in its original location. It actually works well to the side and she added a couple of pieces of art next to it. Next on the list are a couple of small cubbies for mail at the back of the space (narrow enough to fit with the door to the utility room open) and framing up family photos in white frames to hang going up the staircase.

Hallway w/ new Shelving, Hooks & Baskets (Large Hooks are the Mudroom hooks, $8 from Anthropologie)

Bench Cushion w/ Brown Piping sitting on Tjusig Bench ($59.99) from Ikea. Fabric is Robert Allen Mandala Azure ($17.98 a yard from Fabric.com)

Kids Bench: This is the small Tjusig shoe rack from Ikea ($39.99) that we used as a short bench for the girls to sit on.

New Oval Mirror helps to soften the space (Aldo from Overstock, $95.99)

So as a reminder here is where we started:

Before

And here is Original Mood Board:

Mood Board

*To see all of the hallway posts click here.
**To see more of the selections that we considered click here to see the pinterest page.

Front Hall Progress

Zdenka and Zafar are already busy using their new front hall. Since I last posted about this project, we carefully measured the hook locations (making sure her coats and purses would fit correctly) and I routed out some wood backer pieces for the hooks then they painted them and screwed the backer pieces into the studs. Not only does this provide a much stronger base but it gives it a more polished appearance. There are still shelves to be installed above the hooks for extra storage. But today I was over installing some miscellaneous trim around the space to help spruce it up. Their new Dash and Albert rug has also arrived.

New Trim for existing shelving under the stairs.

The new trim (to be painted white) should tie in nicely with the white shelves, benches and back boards and should really help make the space feel fresh especially against the blue walls.

Front Hall Progress with items still to be installed

Next on the list is to paint all of the trim white and add the cork for the top area of the door (with fabric over it) and chalkboard paint to lower area of the door. Zdenka is also working on the seat cushions for the 2 benches.

Brushed Nickel Track Lights from Pottery Barn

Since I was there last the electrician also installed the new track lights for the space, which really helps brighten the space and make it a lot easier to find what you need.

Small Hooks for the Kids Stuff

Anthropologie Hooks

I am also still in love with the cast iron “mudroom” hook from Anthropologie and the small hooks we found for the kids.

I think this is the smallest room I have worked on, but it such an important space. It has been a challenge making the best use out of a few square feet. It is great to already see it in use and I can’t wait to see it when it is all complete!

New Bench, Wall Color and Fabric with rug samples (sorry the photo is a bit dark, I only had my small camera)

I checked in yesterday at Zdenka and Zafar’s house. Zdenka has been busy painting the walls and putting together the new Ikea Tjusig bench. She also picked up some Dash and Albert rug samples to look at and the fabric, hooks, mirror and the light fixture have all arrived. Very exciting! Unfortunately the Ekby shelf brackets at Ikea are out of stock with no estimated date for arrival. We are now looking for alternates so we can get her hooks and shelves up on the wall! Also as part of this project they are adding a ceiling fan to the upstairs hallway to help with airflow. This is also ordered and should be delivered shortly too. Then the electrician can come over and install both new fixtures.

The wall color looks great! It is a blue very similar to the blue of the flower on the bench cushion fabric (I have to get the final paint color from Zdenka). I think it will look especially nice after the track lighting goes up on the ceiling. Then we will be able to shine a light down to this portion of the hall and really brighten it up.

Final Rug Selection: Dash and Albert Cotton Rug in Fisher Ticking, 2 1/2'x8'Â $84

The Rug Selection

Picking a Dash and Albert rug is like picking candy from a candy store, they are all so pretty and tempting!  Zdenka brought home samples of the ones with color schemes that would work in the room. The final selection is perfect! It has all of the colors we are working with including several tones of blue, white, green and brown. The feel on the carpet is also very nice and soft. I find some woven cotton rugs feel thin, but this one feels quite thick and soft. The only downside is that it can’t go in the wash (handwash only). They also offer indoor/outdoor rugs that can be hosed off outside. I haven’t felt those in person to see if they feel as soft.

Mood Board for Front Hall

Zdenka and Zafar have a lovely house, but need some help maximizing storage. They unfortunately don’t have an attic or basement for storage, so they need to be able to store almost everything in the main spaces and closets. With 2 small kids, the front hall and entry is a zone that they want to reorganize to hold coats, shoes and bags. They would also like the space to feel airy and bright. The mood board above shows some of the products that we are looking at using.

Ikea Tjusig Bench, $79.99

Tjusig Shoe Rack, to be used as kids bench, $39.99

Bench Cushion Fabric: Robert Allen Mandala Azure, $17.98

Seating & Shoe Storage

The first item on the list was a bench for both the kids and adults to sit on (and to provide shoe storage). We went with the Ikea Tjusig Bench for the adults and the shorter Tjusig shoe rack for the kids.  I really like the idea of having a seat and storage that are the right size and height for a child. It means that it will be easier for them to get themselves ready! I also picked out this pretty fabric for making cushions for the benches. Zdenka is going to sew them herself!

Mudroom Hook, Anthropologie $8

Trolley Stop Hook, Anthropologie $12

Ikea Ekby Shelf, $26.99

Coat Hooks & Shelves

The next item on our list was coat hooks and shelving. They need lots of hooks for coats, hats and bags. We are going to have 2 tiers above the taller bench and 1 lower tier above the shorter bench. At the top of each set of these we are going to also install shelves (shallower ones lower and deeper ones above). To unify the hooks and shelves we will be installing a matching white board under the shelves that will hold the hooks. This will also allow us to mount the board directly to the studs to ensure that everything is nice and stable!

Pottery Barn Track Light, on sale for $139

Lighting

The space feels somewhat dark right now. I picked out a long track light to install near the front door. This will allow us to focus some of the light closer to the new benches and hooks without having to install a new electrical box in the ceiling.

Frameless Oval Mirror, Overstock $89

Mirror

We are replacing the existing dark framed mirror with a pretty frameless oval mirror (we will be hanging this with perpendicular to the picture). This should help to make the space brighter while giving them somewhere to check and make sure they look nice before heading out the door.

Paint Color Option 1

Paint Color Option 2

Wall Color

Zdenka is definitely drawn to an airy cooler color palette punctuated by white trim. In the future they will be adding more wainscotting and trim detail to the staircase (to look closer to the inspirational photos). But in the meantime, they are going to paint the walls a nice soft blue to brighten up the space. Then the white shelves and benches will complement this. As I usually recommend, I gave Zdenka a few paint chips to put up on the wall to see which one she liked. We are also going to try and coordinate with the blue on the fabric.

Dash and Albert Indoor/Outdoor Rug

Rugs

They already have a lovely oak floor. Currently they have a tan sisal rug in the space. I think this is a good spot to add a bit of pattern and color. I love Dash and Albert rugs! They make both 100% cotton and an indoor/outdoor version in a kinds of stripes and patterns.  I really like the concept of the indoor/outdoor rugs that can be brought outside and hosed off when they get dirty. I find that the cotton ones come is slightly better colors, but the variety is really impressive and I think that they are quite reasonably priced. Zdenka found a local store that carries these and has let her bring several home to see which one she likes.

Next Steps

I am going over tomorrow to take a look at the sample rugs and paint colors and finalize some last details. They have already started using the bench and are anxious to get the hooks up and functional (after all fall is definitely here and the coats are starting to pile up)!