Hallway One.

How fabulous is this hallway?

(I am not sure where I got this picture but I am pretty sure that it is Abigail Ahern's hallway)

I love the juxtaposition of the dark grey, red, purple, pink and green.   In starck contract to the hallway above this is what our hallway looks like:

Our hallway on the second floor is in need of some serious work.  It is the only place in the house that we never got around to stripping the old wallpaper ( the first floor bathroom is also covered in layers of ugly wallpaper but we plan on gutting the bathroom completely so thankfully we don't have to worry about removing any wallpaper).  Our plans for this hallway include stripping the wallpaper, fixing the plaster walls and putting up new black and white damask wallpaper (click here to see what it may look like once it is up). 

We have fixed the plaster wall you see to the right of the picture below.  Now if we could just stop being lazy and remove the rest of the wallpaper this hallway could be checked off my to-do list.

View of the hallway as it leads to the third floor staircase.

So far we (really just Scott) has stripped one wall of the old wallpaper.  Since the hallway is quite dark Scott's dad installed a light on this wall.  It makes a world of difference.   I want to find a vintage sconce for this wall.  I may keep this porcelain wall sconce (found in my father-in-law's basement) and just add a silver tipped light bulb. 

Wall at the end of hallway opposite which is the staircase leading to the third floor. 

The ceiling in this area looks really bubbly and strange.  In an attempt to deal with the crumbling plaster the previous owners covered up the plaster on the ceiling with some white wall paper.  We are going to have to remove the plaster and install drywall in this area only because I am pretty sure the plaster is beyond repair.  This fixture came with the house and I loved it so much that I added a clause in our purchase agreement that the previous owners had to leave this fixture in the house.

We have to also fix these random holes in the plaster around the switch plate.

Wall next to Master Bedroom.

View from the hallway towards the Master Bedroom.

Since this is such a small space I am tempted to go all out and experiment with lots of color and pattern.  I am thinking of painting the space underneath the stairs to the third floor in a bright color, similar to the hallway in the first picture.  I am also tempted to paint the ceiling in the same color.  This hallway is pretty dark and only gets natural light when the bathroom door and Kiran's room door are open. I would also like to figure out a way to install another light source (not that easy since this hallway is the only place in the house which still has  knob and tube wiring). 

Not Thrifty...

...but  worth every penny.  We bought the Darjeeling dining table from CB2 after almost a year of considering whether it would work.   We sold our old dining table a few months ago but I still couldn't commit to buying the table.  If you've been following this blog for a while you already know that most of the furniture in the house is vintage and inexpensive.  I won't use the word "cheap" because vintage furniture is generally much sturdier and of better quality than new furniture.  Anyway, about a year ago I first saw the Darjeeling table on the CB2 website and I fell in love with it.  I also knew based on the reviews that it was a sturdy table and well made.  the only issue was that it was almost $900!   I hesitated to buy it also because  it was almost 15 inches longer than our old table .  Our old table was only 65 inches long but seemed to take up the entire dining room.  It was also very wide (45 inches) so it seemed massive.  After a year of living with duct tape on the floor outlining the dimensions of this table (80 inches x36 inches) we finally took the plunge and bought the table.  It is more amazing that I had imagined.

It is made of Sal wood reclaimed from old Indian railroad ties. What is great about old wood is that it is much sturdier than the wood used these days to make furniture. The older wood was harvested from older more mature treas which means that it is much  stronger than wood that doesn't get a chance to mature.

Since getting the dining table the whole room looks different. I painted our old dining room chairs which somehow makes the dining room look a little bit sophisticated.


The table arrived unfinished and I applied several coats of beeswax to protect the table. The table will probably need a new coat of beeswax every year.

I was worried about the length but it fits perfectly in the dining room. I have always said that larger pieces of furniture generally make a look larger than smaller pieces. The dining room doesn't look like a corridor any more and we use it a lot more to just hang out. Also the table seats 8 but we could squeeze 10 which is great for parties.

I've hung more "art" on the walls and the room looks a lot more cozier than it used to.  Kiran uses the table to do a lot of his art projects and I generally work at night from this table.  What makes a home comfortable is having furniture that works for you.  This table fits that bill. 

The fashion drawings to the left of the picture above were done by Scott's mother.  The picture of the girl on the grass is by Tierney Gearon (purchased from 20x200) and the pink swirly painting is also from 20x200 and is a print by Jennifer Sanchez.  The nude charcoal drawing is also by Scott's mother.  The black and white painting to the left of the picture above is a collage Kiran and I did with Indian Ink. 

I look these pictures in a hurry and I didn't get a chance to clean off the table.  That big piece of paper in all the pictures in this post is a painting by Kiran.  I love the muted greys, pink, blue and green.  I was in the process of framing it when I took the pictures of the table.  Another reason why I love this table it is a great place for me to do lots of projects in addition to eating. 

It's been a while...

I have been very motivated to do lots of things around the house.  I especially get more motivated when things get really busy at work because it is a way for me to relax.  So this is what I have been up to:

1.  I finished painting the two doors on the third floor black 
2. I bought a new dining table!
3. I painted three of our old dining chairs in Regal Matt Black by Benjamin Moore and upholstered the seats in a very dark gray fabric from Ikea
4. I painted the back wall of my room black and I used Benjamin Moore Chalkboard paint as I did on the doors
5. we bought Kiran a full size bed for his room from Ikea
6. I rearranged the furniture in Kiran's room and organized all his toys in separate baskets.  (This has worked out really well.  Kiran cleans up most of the time and I don't have to deal with stray toys all over the house).  

Here's what I would like to get done for April

1. Install two curtain rods and hang some sheer curtains (which I already have) in the back room
2. Install a shelf in the vestibule and put some small baskets to store scarves and gloves in one space
3. Pick a color and paint the guest room
4. Paint the office room in black or dark grey
5. sell more furniture and clear out the basement!
6. figure out how I can build a bookshelf for the office room like this:

Image via Vintage

Oh and if you are wondering why I haven't posted any pictures of what I've been up to well it is because my camera is not working.  Apparently the sandy conditions in Sri Lanka were too much for my camera.  I plan on buying a camera before April 18th (which is Kiran's birthday) but I just can't bring myself to spend the money again since we've only had our camera for about a year.