Our One Hundred Year-Old Hallway Makeover

By Christina in Home Decor, Loves on July 16, 2021

We live in a historical home that was built in 1917. The house holds a lot of history, which I will get into in another blog post, but because of that historical significance I have been really unsure of painting our hallway for the past 8 years we have lived in our house. But then I got a revelation – this was our house now, not the house of generations gone, and we get to live here everyday. It’s not a museum where every piece of the history needs to remain intact, but I want to appreciate the charm in a modern way. So I plucked up the courage to finally instruct our favorite contractor to take on the arduous task of painting this 100 year old hallway. Here are some photos of the hallway before the renovation.

The original wood is a lovely deep walnut, but due to the placement of the hall in our home, the hallway never received a huge amount of sunlight. Plus the dark wood absorbed any light that did pass through, and over the years the hallway felt a bit depressing, and not the bright and happy space I wanted the entryway of our home to be. The approach to the house, the front door and the entry way are very important in feng shui. This is the place where people and energy enter the house. So these areas better be beautiful to attract good energy.

A bright and happy hallway is so important! According to Fengshui experts, the entryway is the place from where all of this good energy that we are inviting to enter will distribute throughout the house. It is great if it is spacious and well lit or has some natural light. After almost 8 years of living in this house and after careful consideration, it became clear that it was time for a change.

Here is what the hallway looks now after it has been professionally painted and wood treated. The wood required 2 coats of an oil based primer, followed by 2 coats of Benjamin Moore Cloud Cover, OC-17. We couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.