Front entry- there is not much about this space that is the same as when we moved in. You’ll notice in the before pic that there is carpet everywhere. One of the first things we did when moving in was to free our trapped hardwood floors from the bondage of really old carpet. Yeah, something like that. Also notice the super fun wall paper that went all the way up the stairs. (so if you have to remove wall paper, I feel for you, really I do!). This wallpaper was actually not too hard to get off though, compared to the monstrosity in our upstairs bath-but I’ll save that for another day. We worked wonders using “DIF” and the “Paper Tiger” . I liked the liquid concentrate better than the gel stuff if you’re wondering. It was also helpful to use a plant mister to apply the concentrate, after first scoring the wallpaper with the paper tiger. Anyway, this part of the house was a bit of work- but isn’t it all? And the results are worth it, too.
How it looked right before we bought the house. The only thing that’s the same here now is the front door, but that too will be on it’s way out eventually.
How it looks now- sorry, this photo does not win the “quality” award- it’s a bit dark. I need to start using my photographer hubby’s cool camera but I never remember until it’s too late. Anyway, you can see we painted the door, ditched the carpet, painted and replaced the railing & light fixtures (we did, even though you can’t see ‘em in the pics), and added carpet tile stair runners that I cut from FLOR carpet tiles and secured with carpet tape so they don’t slip. Another addition was the cute little hooks so we can hang our most used stuff or guests coats and such. Whew! (And you get a sneak peak into our dining room, fully equipped with my daughter’s Ikea Kitchen!)
Another before shot of the stairs, complete with snazzy bandana.
After, showing our paint job (Benjamin Moore Lenox Tan), new stair railing (yay for friends who are carpenters!) and pics of our kiddies.
A before shot of our upstairs hallway. The railing here was nothing close to safe and had to be replaced- several of the spindles weren’t connected to the top railing. Not cool. At least we didn’t have have little kids when we moved in!
Upstairs hall after, with new railing. And yes, I did paint all the doors like this upstairs. (6 total) It makes me happy. 
Shot of another bedroom door & the art in the hallway. I framed some Eames fabric samples that I had leftover from a project. (Eames is a favorite of mine!) Fabric + Ikea frames =instant art.
