Maxwell, I hate to disagree with you, but... I know curtains instead of closet doors are a favorite solution of yours, but in my experience as a parent, they work better for singles than for families. I'd leave the doors alone, just maybe get someone handy to jigger the hardware so they line up and operate better.

As for durability in the hallway, what about wallpaper? There's lots of stuff now that's not cutesy, and it would be a quieter solution than tile. (Remember, tile really reflects sound!)

This looks like a great and functional family space, by the way. Don't get discouraged! One of my favorite sayings about living with (and cleaning up after) children is "cleaning up while the children are still growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing."

Remove that hutch between the entrance and the kitchen. It would transform the entire space.

Yes, I vote for tile mosaic work on the hall walls. you can keep costs down by buying sheets of fabulous glass sold for art/stainglass/fusing work at supply houses (look up spectrum glass and bullseye glass for retailers or order online). cut them with a plate glass cutting tool, break them up into assymetrical pieces and glue and grout onto the wall (assuming you're doing this yourself; make sure your wall surface is able to handle the new heavy weight, do all surface prep as for a paint job and better).

I like the canvas curtain solution, it's what I'll be doing for my closet cutouts.

and then post the results in flickr :)

What about cork tiles or panels? I used the super-cheap office supply kind but there are some really gorgeous (and still inexpensive) cork wall coverings. It's pretty durable, reduces sound, and you can pin things to it or change the look of it completely with fabric and a stapler.

I'm always confused about the advice to replace closet doors with fabric. Doesn't this look unfinished to anyone else?

I think that fixing the door would work much better than installing fabric curtains/doors. Not because I don't like the look of a nice panel of fabric, but I can imagine that the dirty hands of small children would just mean that one would have to "wash" the "doors" all the time.

If you need something durable on the hallway wall, why not corkboard? Or artwork behind some plexiglass? I don't know if wallpaper would be much more durable than the current paint/drywall.

Best of luck!

um, broken tile pieces and kids: file all sharp edges and make sure all pieces get glued and grouted flat and then a quick sanding of any sharp points

or penny tile! or round marbles! this might a fun project for the whole family!

oooh, I like the cork idea, plus you can do a combo thing by using the cork mosaic for floors that gets grouted but on the wall and it's very affordable for such a small area.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/cork_mosaic_til.php

http://www.habitusnyc.com/

http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la//cork-mosaic-flooring-011853

um, i'm into this project:)

Children will tug on fabric -- they can't help it because they're down so low in relation to the center of mass for the fabric. But if you're rough on the hallway, putting in mirrored doors seems like a recipe for disaster.

If you did that chipping and scuffing to drywall, you're going to be dangerous to really breakable surfaces like tile or mirror. How about patching the drywall (it's an easy job) and slapping on another coat of paint (a good idea after 5 years anyway)?

With respect to durability in the hallway...

Simple painted drywall will of course hardly stand up to a family- particularly children... yet if you skim-coat the drywall it becomes rediculously hard and durable.

Skim coating is a method of applying up to 1/4" of plaster to the drywall, sanding and then painting it-usually with an oil based paint. In my parents' house the entire house was skim-coated and damn if the walls aren't still glass-smooth.

You also might want to consider unconventional materials to put on the walls such as cork, bamboo flooring (yes, you read correct and it looks great) carpet tiles (such as flor tiles) etc...

Also... My opinion on mirrors:
The foyer is a small intimate staging area that leads to your living space. Embrace this, don't fight it. A mirror is ok, but my belief is that using mirrors in small spaces to create more space, or the illusion of more space is tacky. Embrace the small space, paint the walls dark, make it cozy and safe...and let it explode into the living area. Don't try and make it something it's not

What about fabric covered walls forthe hallway? I once cut up used boxes into squares, wrapped a thing layer of batting and then some fabric squares around them. To adhere them to the wall, I used industrial strength valcro. I did it half way up to the wall, like wainscotting.

rita

I also think fabric curtains looks messy; they would also be far too vulnerable to the assaults of children. i think you should fix the doors and leave them as is. they aren't gorgeous, but i like that they are plain and practical.

i think the flor idea for the wall is the best yet; your children could help design a pattern!

finally - the hutch needs to go! something simple and modern would suit your space much better. surely ikea has something?

How about bolting sheetmetal/steel/aluminum to the length/height of the wall and then painting it whatever color you'd like. I did this as a "backsplash" on the wall next to my stove so that I could clean and contain splatter much better. It works extremely well!

I would suggest new handles on the closet doors - it makes an unexpectedly huge change to the space.

Also, the closet doors strike me as something that should be intergrated into the room more as a focus - you look at them from the kitchen all the time and see them from so much of the space, you should see something that makes you happy. Paint? - you don't seem to have a lot of color in the space. This could be a good way to introduce it. New doors you like better? (they can be quite affordable) Painting the edges a different color from the front so when they are open you have that visual interest? I feel that these could help you actually make the space.

I'm interested to see what you decide to do.

Hey, put some color in this house. It reminds me of a very large dorm room with all that light stained wood and white walls.

How 'bout some wainscoting in the hallway? It could be fancy OR you could just cut plywood to size and paint - maybe with chalkboard paint.

Thanks for all the great ideas - it's so exciting to get feedback and advice!

Using fabric for a closet door: Some of our neighbours have done this and it looks really nice - it adds some softness and colour in a space that you can't do much with. I'm concerned that our family would be too hard on curtains. We've had curtains pulled down twice already, plus my husband would never close the curtains so the disorganized contents would be perpetually visible. I guess some solutions would be to install rock-solid hardware and to design it so that the panels could be opened in the middle but not drawn aside (therefore would stay closed). Worth considering further...

To clarify about the mirrored closet doors: the purpose would be to reflect daylight into the kitchen (from the new windowed entrance door that we're planning to get) and to be able to check to see if I have baby spitup running down my back before leaving the house ;-). But I guess that there is a safety concern about using glass there - good point.

Leaving the existing bifolds there is not an option - I absolutely loathe them - they're cheap-looking, noisy, and need regular adjusting. Higher quality ones might function better.

Skim coating/oil based paint: Julian thank you for this information! I didn't know about this technique - I will seriously consider this solution for our situation because it would also work for other hard-working wall surfaces in our home.

Using cork on the walls: I also had this idea and I haven't entirely discounted it. I really like the idea of the round cork tiles especially - interesting texture (though it's not cheap and involves a fair amount of labour). One concern I had is that it wouldn't be durable enough (I thought it would but the guy at Home Depot said no. The other concern is that the colour and texture is similar to wood and I already have a lot of wood going on in the room so I thought that ceramic tiles might be an opportunity to bring in a different texture. I would also be concerned about bamboo flooring adding to the "too much wood syndrome", but it's a great idea.

Wallpaper & fabric: hmm, I guess it might work if it was ultradurable and it could be fun. It could hide marks though I'm not sure if it would prevent drywall dings.

Broken glass mosaic: I think it would be a lot of work to ensure that it was safe for small fingers, but it's a cool idea.

Plexiglas: neat idea but IMO it looks terrible when scratched.

LadyJ, I think you have a point about the hutch. In the photo it's obvious that it's "too much". It would look nice as an accent wall with just a painting. But the hutch just fits so perfectly there, provides storage, and it's our only possible "landing strip" - otherwise our dining table would become the landing strip and I like to keep that clear. So I'll have to think about that.

BTW, thanks for the encouragement lisa!

the skim coating, steel, and flooring ideas sound really good.

as far as any wood/flooring materials you can always paint it so that you get texture and color but not that "wood look." i wouldn't completely rule them out...

regarding the "landing strip," you could put a nice small table there to function as a catchall which would look more streamlined than the big piece you have now. maybe a decorative mirror overtop so you can double check the baby spit before you leave. good luck~

I agree that your space would look better with the hutch moved. It seems to me to simply gobble up all the attention. What a perfect space for your lovely large painting! What do you think of having the hutch where the painting is now, and vice versa?

There does seem a preponderance of ponderosa going on here. A little too much of a good thing. Introducing some contrasting dark tones would be a good touch. I don't think you need to shy away from wainscotting in the hallway, especially not because it's too country. All your furniture leans that way, so unless you're phasing out that look, why not work with it? I could be a nice way to tie it all up -- wainscotting halfway up, then a nice dark color paint on the wall above, with some beautiful framed pictures, or a nice mirror. The frames would be lighter wood, perhaps with touches of gold leaf?

Using oil-rubbed bronze or oxidized copper on the wall under your kitchen cabinets would add depth and coordinate with the hallway. You could move the round dining table out into the room, perhaps adding a round area rug in a rich color under it, and (if practical, with kids about) some sort of centerpiece -- green apples (I know, I know!) in a dark wooden bowl, or something else that would help tie your other accent colors together with the now-prominent painting.

You have pretty floors. I hope you plan to keep them (mostly) exposed.

I really like the idea (in general) of wainscotting with tile. I tiled halfway up the wall in my bathroom with crisp white subway tile and I just love how it turned out. Click on my name for a peek.

Hey Jessica,

I love that green in the bathroom (and the orange in the dining room)!

Did you glaze paint over jt compound textured walls?

Looks great.

thanks, I don't seem to remember that house tour; I tried searching for it but came up with nothing. The AT search engine can be infuriating.

i don't mean to hop on the hutch-train, but it's clear that the space would open up if it were moved - say to the wall on the right in the photo. you could put a small mirror/console in its space instead. something wall-mountable if you were worried about kids, but which still offered convenient storage and a place to check yourself outside the tight hallway. Hold Everything had something back in the day...

i'm not all that clear on what's going on in the hall to damage the paint and drywall. is it scuff marks from dragging things down the hall and hitting the walls? holes from doorknobs being rammed against the drywall? grafitti-in-training? because there are a variety of solutions to all of those problems that don't involve completely resurfacing the walls. and i can't think of a treatment (except perhaps for skimcoating) that would resolve all of that and more.

i'm one of four children, and we had tons of issues with things like this. for instance we loved to violently force doors open, which resulted in lovely holes in the drywall where the doorknobs made contact. so my mother had these nifty terracotta rosettes installed right at doorknob level next to each door. they were indestructible. she also had the hall papered with a textured grass paper that was pretty impervious to scuffs, crayons, fingerprints, etc.

things have come a long way, though, and now i think there are a lot more options. for instance i think now you can get paints that crayon-proof, or at least more washable. magic eraser renders invisible all the scuffs my bike's handle bars make on my entryway walls. also (and this isn't a modern thing but something i've discovered recently) -- a solution of vinegar and water dissolves dirt and fingerprints that adhere to the walls. it's kind of miraculous, really.

anything worse than this sort of thing and i'm not really sure there's anything you can do but constantly repaint and replace until your kids are older.

oh, yeah, and there were COUNTLESS tile-related injuries in my house. i'd be wary of tiling anything.

Hi Olga-

Thanks! Both rooms have paint "treatments." For the bathroom, we textured the walls by troweling on compound in every which direction. Then we painted a mix of minty green and yellow (maybe some white). We then glazed with a warm yellow. It feels like being inside a fresh apple! For the orange, we painted a hideous mix of orange, red, and deep pink. While that dried, it felt like we were inside an arm, which was really gross. But then we glazed over that with a rich orange and now it just glows. No texture treatment in that room although the generally awful condition of our walls probably warrants it. I find that paint treatments help hide a lot and save time, money, and the fuss of texturing.

I live in Chicago so my house was one of first toured there. Perhaps that's why you couldn't find it with a search?

And, opoponax, what kind of injuries were sustained from tile (on floor? on walls?) Ever so curious...

I would suggest putting a little bench with maybe a mirror above it where the hutch is. You could put a little mat under it so people could sit and put on their shoes. Also you could put a little basket on the bench to catch mail/keys etc, or a little shelf mounted under the mirror.

Ok, I stand corrected. My professional painter boyfriend just came home and told me that the green bathroom was first blueish-green (real icy and cool) with a yellow glaze on top. The orange room started out with IVORY, red, and pink (the arm), with an orange glaze on top. I was close.

ksenia,

ok, random question, but the chair in the foreground in the picture--the one with the adjustable height seat? where did you get that? i am curious, because we used to have two of those chairs when i was a child--we called them "trip-trap chairs" (i have no idea why!) and i LOVED them! i would love to get my hands on one as an adult! the nostalgia would be overwhelming, and they're pretty useful and i love the design!

thanks in advance!

jessica

You've got a lot of stuff landing on that "landing space."

I agree with Sisero's suggestion to remove the hutch and replace it with a mirror and a bench.

I also think adding color is good advice. Maybe put some flowers or a bowl of fruit on the table? Add some cushions with color or pattern to the chairs?

What is the wooden thing in the kitchen?

Floor - unify the entry way with the adjoining floor.

Light - Put a nice track light along ( if going contemporary) or a nice simple whimsical chandelier(if you are going the eclectic way) - proportional to the size of the hallway. helps to
add a fun element.

Walls and closet doors - unify them. Make it look like one. for eg - if you paint a mural along the closet wall. this will draw the eyes all the way - looking like a long massive painting. Do not make it look heavy. Keep the base cream or white or any nice colour that the family likes but bring this color into the adjoining room too, trying to make the hallway look like it is part of the continuing room, thus reducing the current look of the cut-away hallway.

You can also put a horizontal mirror of 2 X 4.- This will help to reflect what ever you have done opposite the closet wall.

On the wall between the closet doors - hang your keys or umbrellas ( small space - use the space optimally )

The needs that are currently filled by the hutch should be transferred to the wall along the side of the kitchen cabinets opposite the wall where you have currently kept the dining table.

Enjoy the process ....

If you move the hutch to the wall where the poster now is and hang a mirror or picture on the hutch wall -- use something large enough that its top can be level with the line created by the top of the hutch and the top of the cabinets. (If the two heights aren't the same, match the hutch height. Your poster actually *is* large enough, depending what goes underneath it.) Having a single "water line" will quiet things down visually.

I'm wondering if the "bouncing around banging into things" phenomenon is related to the amount of visual busy-ness in the area. Small steps like getting all the books upright on the shelves and arranging the cabinet-top display to be more symmetrical might have a calming effect.

Oh, and here's another vote for repainting in a color that's closer in saturation to the wood tone. It'll knock back all the wood so that the space feels more unified. Again -- much calmer, even if the color itself looks livelier.

Hutch: I am considering moving it either elsewhere in the room or into another room (though that would involve *lots* of rearranging in the other rooms). Moving it adjacent to the kitchen cabinets could be a wierd juxtaposition though - "modern Shaker" in maple directly beside antique pine country. I guess I'll have to try it.

Sheet metal: a cool wall treatment idea but it would be a lot of work due to the small strips of wall that would have to be clad. I think that type of treatment would work better on a bigger expanse of wall or horizontal strips (like a backsplash) rather than vertical strips.

Accent colours on closet doors: I would consider this, but I also like the idea of "painting them out" because the remaining wall strips would look very busy in such a small space.

Why the drywall has dents: To clarify, this is not a kid issue, this is due to my hulking firefighter husband who doesn't fit very well into our apartment. Dents happen when he is carrying bulky and hard items and they bump into the wall as he is coming and going. That is also the reason why I will not be installing any chandeliers there - he can easily touch the ceiling and pendant light fixtures are just asking for trouble.

Colour: I agree that the living space needs more colour. I was confused about how to proceed because I have several original paintings that are quite colourful in the space and I didn't want to get too clashy with them. Now I think I will pull some colours from the largest piece that is barely visible in the photo (it is *not* a poster ;-) and it wouldn't fit where the hutch currently is but I have other paintings). I like Maxwell's 80/20 rule and I'm thinking about which walls could be painted an accent colour (and how I can bring other accents into the room). I also want to repaint the other walls in a warm cream. The main window is north-facing in a rainy climate so I can't afford to suck too much light out of the room. The dining table often has fruit or flowers as a centerpiece, but with two children under 3 in the home, *nothing* is sacred anymore except brushing my teeth every day. The other side of the living room has a warm brown IKEA leather sofa (a funky two-level one) and two light-coloured leather IKEA Poang chairs (sorry if they are considered tacky - they are inexpensive, comfortable, and visually light so they were a good fit for us) and an old trunk as a coffee table.

Jessica - the tile is beautiful but very bathroomy looking. I was thinking of a mosaic tile look like this:
http://tinyurl.com/l8aoc

Adjustable chair - yes this is a Tripp-trapp chair or Kinderzeat:
http://www.stokkeusa.com/tripptrapp.htm

Wooden thing in the kitchen - this is a "Learning Tower", an adjustable platform for children to stand on and safely and comfortably participate in kitchen activities:
http://www.littlepartners.com/learningtower.htm
I love cooking and I involve my 2 year old in cooking as much as humanly possible - the Learning Tower is bulky but totally worth it.

Thanks again for all the help!

Ksenia-

What a cheerful mosaic pattern you selected! I think it's great. I never meant for you to use the exact same pattern/tile as my bathroom but I only wanted to tell you how I have never regretted the tile wainscotting. I think it defines the space and is a classy way to help with the bumps and scuffs.

I searched online a bit and found this place that sells preblended mosaic patterns:
http://www.mosaictilemarket.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=18

Here's another one with more monochromatic schemes:
http://www.mosaictile.com/category/glass_tile_blends.hakatai/

I do like the one you posted though. Very fun. Good luck!

Why don't you use a set of sliding doors? You could cover the whole area, and hide the things you don't want in plain sight.
Ideas could come from raydoor (http://www.raydoor.com) or modernus (http;//www.modernus.com).