Before and After: A $260 Redo Turns a Blah Hallway into a Dreamy Design Feature

Sure, it’s a literal means to an end, but hallways can still be a stylish and actually useful space in your home. Skeptical? Take a look at this redone hallway from Anne Chicheportiche.

Anne’s hallway started out plain, with off-white walls and no decor. Even the lightbulb on the ceiling was bare. Plus, the floors were a pinky-beige color that Anne says she wasn’t a fan of.

Ultimately, Anne says, she needed storage for her music — and the hallway was the perfect spot for that. “I also wanted to add colors to my apartment without losing the bright white look,” she says.

Anne started out with a couple IKEA shoe racks she had left over from her previous apartment. Instead of using them to store shoes, Anne uses them for her music collection.

Next, Anne created a gallery wall using some IKEA frames she already had, plus frames she scored at the dollar store. “I found a bunch of cute frames,” Anne says. “Some I painted in white, some in gold, and some I kept the way they came.”

Anne helped keep all her photos straight with a little trick: adding dots of glue behind the frames’ corners and letting them dry before hanging, which helps grip the wall so the frames don’t slide around. “I started a little gallery of my kids, nephew and nieces along the years,” Anne says. “Now each time I walk through this hallway I am reminded of the value of being present while growing all together.”

To help hide the pink tile, Anne added a runner from Wayfair that she scored for just $60. The new lights, both from CB2, were sale finds that Anne got for just $35 each.

For a little color, Anne painted the sliding doors at the end of the hall a deep blue (Sherwin-Williams’ Oceanside), then added fresh gold hardware at $10 per pull. Her total cost for the whole redo? Under $260 — impressive, considering the big results.

“I love the feeling of walking towards that calming and inviting door that leads to the bedrooms,” Anne says. “2020 taught me how important colors in your living space helps keeping a healthy mental health during difficult times, how colors can change a mood and inspire.”

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