When Chloe moved into her new house in Loughton, the hallway was one of the last jobs to be considered.
Although the existing floral wallpaper was not to Chloe’s taste, redecorating wasn’t a priority compared to the bathroom and kitchen. Eventually, however, the hallway started looking worse for wear, with tears on the stair carpet, which was also badly stained.
‘We had spoken so many times about updating the hallway because we’re not fans of floral prints but there was always a more pressing job to do instead,’ she says. ‘But the time finally came when the carpet started to come away and look badly worn.’
The project
The couple looked to the rest of the house for inspiration for their scheme. ‘We wanted the hallway to be in keeping with the style of the other rooms in our house, which feature lots of wood and green colours,’ explains Chloe.
The work they had already done to the other rooms downstairs gave them a starting point. ‘After opening up the kitchen doorway, we realised we wanted to follow the green kitchen wall colour through into the hallway to make the rooms connect more,’ Chloe says.
What we did
The couple wasted no time in getting rid of the old décor. ‘We ripped up the old carpets and started looking at stair runners, but couldn’t find one that we loved,’ explains Chloe.
‘I wanted something with a bold graphic pattern, but nobody seemed to have what I was looking for.’ But, after her online searches for stair runners proved fruitless, Chloe came across some suitable floor runners and wondered if she could ask a fitter to attach some of them to the stairs to create one long runner.
Step inside...
Who lives here? I’m Chloe Simmons, 52, and I run a legal consultancy business. I live in a four-bedroom house in Loughton, Essex, with my husband, Iain, 50, a lawyer; our son, Arthur, 13; and black golden doodle, Roku.
What was updated? We repainted all the walls and the steps in a warm green shade, and ripped up the old carpet and replaced it with a runner.
‘For some reason, I found that floor runners have more interesting patterns than stair runners, so I opted for a few of these instead,’ she says.
Chloe found some pattered floor runners at MADE.com and bought four to fit to the staircase. ‘The stair fitter said the runners could be fitted without any problems, as long as they didn’t have to be cut, just in case they frayed.’
Before the runners were fitted, Chloe and Iain got busy preparing the stairs, sanding them down and giving them a few coats of green paint. ‘We chose green paint for the walls to connect with the other rooms around the house and knew it would contrast well with the black and white runners,’ says Chloe.
A bit more about our project...
Why the change? The hallway stairs were so grubby and desperately needed recarpeting, so we took the opportunity to revamp the whole area.
How long did it take? It took us about four weeks in total because we did all of the painting ourselves in the evenings. But we got there in the end.
The wooden flooring had to be replaced as well because some of the boards were badly damaged. The couple had recently had some new oak herringbone flooring laid in the kitchen, so wanted to continue the same floor into the hallway as well.
‘The herringbone flooring took a while, but we love the woody tones in the hallway now and it adds to the welcoming feel,’ Chloe enthuses.
Highs and lows
The only issue with the decorating process was the long wait for many of the products they wanted. ‘There were quite a few delays on everything, which was quite frustrating,’ says Chloe. She’s proud of the end result, however, especially the stair carpet.
‘We’re so pleased we found a solution by creating a stair carpet using floor runners. It’s a great solution and practical, too. They’re soft underfoot and have really helped to revamp the hallway. I’m so delighted the old carpet has gone. As soon we walk through the door it really feels like home now,’ she says.
Chloe also found time to upcycle an old console table that she didn’t like. In fact, she was just about to sell it online but, at the very last minute, painted it with some leftover paint. It’s now a handy addition to the hallway, offering extra storage for keys and post – and looks great, too.
The final details
In addition to the bold greens on the walls, Chloe added more colour with some budget-friendly accessories for contrast. ‘We wanted lots of art on the walls to brighten up the area, so I ordered some colourful prints from Desenio, an online print company that has a great selection to choose from,’ she says.
Chloe also added some shelving to inject even more green with leafy pot plants, along with scented candles to fill the space with her favourite fragrances.
‘I just love our hallway now. The colours and wooden elements make it feel really warm and welcoming.’
Feature & styling Emma Fishman. Photos Lizzie Orme.
