Our upstairs landing is looking a little different these days thanks to some paint and sweat equity. There is something special about projects that sneak up on you. Not planned, not on the calendar, but inspiration struck and an idea was planted. I had been needing to finish painting our staircase. Starting the project almost a year ago, I had kinda burned out with the awkwardness and demanding angles of the space and I put it on the back burner for later. Until a week ago, when we ran into friends and started chatting about life and projects. They had been over to our house one year before and reminded us that when they had stopped by we were halfway through painting the staircase.

sometimes inspiration strikes and an idea gets planted

Oh my. One whole year later, I was actually still at the same point of progress. Walls half-painted, concealed from the view of the first floor. Truthfully, up until COVID-19 and the Shelter in Place order, we really hadn’t been using our upstairs. We’ve only had two guests come and stay with us since moving into our new home a year and a half ago. It was an island of misfit toys- items that hadn’t truly been arranged or thoughtfully crafted. It was a hodge-podge of things that had yet to find permanent homes. Piles stacked in random corners surrounded by emptiness. It needed help.

Tiny Bits of Happiness | Hallway Progress Update

And truthfully, if I am being really honest, the upstairs had become this sharp reminder of what we did not have. We were so far from family and loved ones, traveling for visits is a challenge. We didn’t have little babes filling up these rooms, it felt like a reminder of our pain points in this current chapter.

But sometimes, we gotta love the corners of our homes that feel prickly. We have been so thankful for this space while we have been sheltering in space. We know this space is a blessing. We created a home office for S that has become this “guy zone.” And as I’ve traveled up these stairs more than I ever have in the past 3 months, I started to dream a little bit more.

Where I started:

Tiny Bits of Happiness | Upstairs Hallway Progress

First, let’s say that where our upstairs started is perfectly great. It was a neutral color with neutral trim and it was all fine. But to me, it felt exactly like that, just fine, not great. I realized I was seeking some major change up here. All the trim in our house has been due for painting, so freshening that up was a no brainer. The gray walls and gray ceiling kinda made the whole thing feel gray and not in a cozy or fresh way.

The ceilings upstairs are lower up and I knew I needed to help minimize all the transitions and stuff we had going on. In total there are 6 doors- 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and 2 access points to our attics. There are light switches in odd places and thermostats and it feels like every wall has at least one disruption. We have no direct natural sunlight to this place. It relies on light from the bedroom doors and it’s kind of tight space, but also kind of a long open space. I love the clean lines of our stair railing and the thickness of our baseboard trim.

I knew I wanted the space to feel interesting and most importantly, charming. I wanted it to feel cohesive, but also like entirely it’s own space. You walk up the stairs and you feel the energy of this own cozy space. I also knew I didn’t want to deal with priming all of the walls that would require the space to go all white (the rest of our spaces required 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of white paint). I loved the idea of switching things up from the rest of the house up here and giving it it’s own personality.

During this time I tried working with the paint and the furniture I already had. We have a gray piece of furniture (corner of it seen in the top picture) and I knew that might need to be able to stay in the space. I needed to have a contrasting color that could work with gray, while also not be overpowering. So I started to play with what I had on hand.

First up, was Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. A warm puddy-gray color (pictured above). I have always loved this color. It’s not too bright and not too dark. It’s warm with a touch of coolness. It’s easy and it flows with lots of colors and tones. I started to play with a tone-on-tone idea by having the trim and walls being the same color. In my head the walls would be a flat shade and the trim would be semi-gloss giving a little bit of contrast and interest, but letting everything go together. But after trying that, it felt really lacking. The color didn’t pop and it truly didn’t feel that different from our wall color, so it felt like I wasn’t changing anything.

I had also considered having the ceiling be the same color as the wall paint, but quickly realized it would overwhelm the space. With the ceilings being so low, it felt better to have the ceilings go white. It also helped the staircase and the rest of the house flow with the space. Painting the ceiling white would also help minimize the presence of canned lighting and large mechanical vent.

New wall sconces are on my list to add just a bit more charm and coziness. These sconces are great, they feel just a tad too polished and shiny for my personal style and taste. I’d love to see warm brass and an interesting shade to diffuse to the light.

So with the gray-beigey colors out, I started to think about what color would feel refreshing and new and worth the effort of painting. Painting is a tedious, but truly rewarding task. It stinks during the process, but after it always feels so incredibly worth it. With having to go through all the effort I knew I wanted this space to feel very different from where it was before.

My best gal pal had recently used the Benjamin Moore color “Soot” in her master bedroom space and it was moody and deep, but also beautiful. The color played and changed in different types of light, but it also had it’s own classic feel. It was a warm black that had undertones of gray and blue in it. Being a truly great gal pal, she let me borrow her left over paint to test it upstairs. And let me tell you, Soot brings some serious personality and presence.

Choosing a deep color like ‘Soot’ was also a huge plus because I could blend the attic doors that I didn’t want to stand out. Painting those doors all dark would allow them to blend with the walls and create a little more cohesion and lessen the transition of all the doors and trim happening in the space.

Progress So Far

I love how this dark, moody color lets this space have it’s own unique personality and presence in our home. It really grounds it as another room and allows the upstairs to have a space that brings everything together and feels welcoming all on its own. The dark color truly grounds the space, while feeling fresh and cozy all the same time. It is the perfect blank canvas to layer lots of charm on top of.

Inspiration for Space

I knew that adding gallery walls would be a must for this space, or else the dark color could read as cold and domineering. Displaying collected goods like antique books from my grand parents, gold and wood framed paintings and prints, and lots of lamps would help soften the edges of this deep color and make it feel charming and historical.

Up Next-

Tiny bits of Happiness | Hallway Progress

First up should be touching up paint and trim (and also adding one more coat of paint to most of the doors), but of course, I wanted to dive right in and start shopping our house. Before doing any project I gather up all the items I think could be a potential contender for this space even if it already has a home somewhere else in our house. This helps do a few things

See how I actually like a piece of that color/style/type in the space
Limit and narrow out items that won’t work
Figure out what I have and what I need

I gathered up all our vintage books, lighting, and art that I could find and starting grouping based on color tones and/or where I wanted them to potentially be in the space. This really helped me visualize how the items could marry together and potentially live in harmony. I quickly realized I liked prints and art with more of a warmer green undertone because it made the paint read less blue and made it feel a little more fresh and historical.

So what’s next?

Finishing up trim/paint
Gathering and collecting art to create gallery wall
Figuring out the function of the small amount of storage/usable space
Desired Next Steps include: updating the carpet and changing out the door hardware to add more historical charm and character

I hope you enjoyed this little work-in-progress tour. Stay tuned for more.