Staircase Refresh Ideas

Hello Friends! We are just about wrapping up week 3 of the kids being home from school, and social distancing, and I’m happy to report that the project bug is just now starting to kick in. When everything happened, I wondered how long it would take before these four walls around us would start staring back at me, waiting for me to tackle a project. When we first started distance learning, I was so focused on getting our kiddos established in their new routines, I didn’t have time to focus on much else. But now that we are finally starting to get into the swing of things, I find myself looking around our house with “projects to tackle” in mind. I’ve been thinking about doing this particular project for awhile, and now seems like the right time to tackle it, so today I’m sharing my ideas on refreshing our staircase.

Come and see ~

This is the view that gets shown the most, but earlier this year when I shared our “Flow of Home Tour”, it reminded me that I rarely show the tiny hallway that leads to a coat closet at the bottom of our staircase.

We gave this tiny hallway a makeover back in 2015, but since then haven’t touched it. However, I’ve always wondered if we should continue the faux board and batten treatment we added to wrap around on all 4 sides, instead of just the one wall and around the front door.

Allow me to show you what I’m talking about ~

Here is what that tiny hallway looked like before:

Next, we added 2 sconce lights to add some light, and used pine boards for a faux board and batten look.

Then I painted our hallway Hazy Skies by Benjamin Moore to lighten things up even more.

Before :

We continued the faux board and batten treatment around our front door as well, and after painting a lighter color on the walls, I painted the interior side of our front door a deep navy blue for a little contrast. *Unfortunately I don’t remember what color I painted it.*

After :

Now what I’m debating, is if I want to continue the board and batten treatment on to the staircase wall as well.

Of course it would mean reworking the gallery wall, but I would still include it to overlap on the board and batten. It’s mostly a cosmetic refresh for the space, but one that would also lighten things up a bit more. The only natural light we get in this hallway is when the front door is open, which isn’t too often, and I also love the idea of adding some more architectural detail whenever I can. The board and batten look always makes a room feel more cozy, so I’m just trying to weigh out the pros and cons of the refresh idea.

What you do you think?!