Renovation Diaries: Hallway Makeover & A New Ceiling Light

Amor Milagre Hallway Renovation. The last thing to change out was the old ceiling light. Here is a new flower-shaped glower.

After renovating every second and every inch of our Rose Cottage, we are now getting to the last of the last details to finish, such as the light in the bedroom hallway. It feels good to be unwinding from all the effort of postitive change.

Here is the hallway as it was when we moved in. We had to replace everything and refresh the house as it was very very dusty and pet danderish. Bland. Boring. Kinda spooky.

Changes Seen Below: We painted the walls a cheerful airy light cream to reflect light from bedroom windows, removed the doors and added a full wall across the back wall, refitted the linen closet, and replaced the yucky old green carpet with lovely new hardwood flooring, FSC with radiant heating underneath, so walking this way is warm and cosy. No runner rug is needed. It’s easy to clean now. We keep those allergens away. A rug here would trip us up, too. It’s a much-walked area. We moved the nursery bathroom door and gutted it, combining that space with two closets to make a beautiful full bathroom. In many rooms, we smoothed the ceiling, but left the original in here. We also added air conditioning, a must for sanity during these summers now. See how we placed the ceiling vent quietly away from direct flow. It flows in every direction for every bedroom to share in the coolness.

I won’t show our gallery art walls as we’re private about family and boundaries, but this space really is much prettier in person. Walking through the ages and transition from crayon to watercolour is magical and inspiring each day. I chose a mixture of wood and gold/silver frames of all sizes and shapes. First handprints and the origins of our family live here. It’s a hallway of sweetness for us with room for more art and profiles on the right side. Left is full!

One more thing to do: Wallpaper on the back wall in spring. (See below at end of post for updated photo!)

This house is cosy and sits by mountains and lakes. It’s surounded by trees, so I went soft and sleepy with the colour palette, lifting up rooms to bounce light and deepening others to lean into the shadows. The overall effect is a much wanted and cosy hug.

Going from overlooked to the feature of this long, house-wide seen hallway, lighting is key.

We’ll put a special wallpaper on this back wall at the end. (See below at end of post for wallpaper update!)

Little touches make sweetness and bounce the eye around the constantly angling composition. Think 3-D for interiors, light and shadows. Now, we can see much better in the hallway and it lends a cosy mood in the restful darkness of winter.

*And now, for a cup of vanilla licorice tea and a sweet reading hour on the sofa with the dolls, bears, and bunnies.