‘Our once-drab hall is now light modern and quirky’ Lyndsey

floor using a spray adhesive. It wasn’t too difficult, as you just over-cut around the edges and then trim it to the right size.’

Next, the walls were re-painted to look much fresher. Lyndsey also painted the front door, opting for a splash of colour. ‘I wanted something light but not white, so opted for a pale grey for the walls,’ she adds. ‘I also gave the boring white front door a makeover with a lick of paint, and I added a door wreath.’

As a big advocate of sustainability, Lyndsey was keen to re-use whatever she could. The shoe cabinet, which was already in situ, is a prime example. ‘I painted that a darker grey and changed the knobs to blend in better with the rest of the space,’ she says.

For additional storage, Lyndsey found a beautiful chest of silver drawers in TK Maxx for the nook by the stairs. Luckily, there’s also a cupboard which conceals the washing machine and dryer, where Lyndsey has added hooks for coats along with shelves for bulkier boots to keep the hallway uncluttered.

HIGHS AND LOWS

One of the trickiest parts was wallpapering up the stairs, so Lyndsey hired a decorator to add the feature wall of grey tartan wallpaper, which brings a touch of heritage style to her new scheme.

Although the hallway looks impressive now, Lyndsey admits to the odd mistake along the way. ‘I’ve painted the door many colours which haven’t worked, including dark blue, grey and green,’ she says. ‘The lighting was another sticking point as it needed to be bright but also a feature. We bought glass ones first, which actually hurt your eyes to look at. Then we found these ghost pendant lights from Creative Cables, which I’m much happier with.’

THE FINAL DETAILS

For about a year after the main decorating work was finished, Lyndsey kept an eagle eye out, looking for artwork to create a gallery wall up the stairs. The end result features everything from Pop Art and fun slogans to song lyrics, which reflects the family’s travels and favourite music. ‘There are a lot of personal pieces that mean something and make it ours,’ she adds.

By starting her home decorating process with the hallway, Lyndsey has created a look she could carry through to the rest of the house to ensure a cohesive flow. ‘All the other rooms have a similar feel with a light background and pops of colour,’ she says. ‘When people saw the hall and loved it, it confirmed that I was doing something right and encouraged me to continue decorating to my taste throughout the rest of the house.’

Lyndsey picked these silver drawers as they have a period look and provide ample storage. However, in future she might turn this into an office nook for her new interior design business, myhomeismyhappyinteriors.co.uk To add colour inside and out, Lyndsey painted her door on both sides. ‘I originally painted it green but then all the neighbours started doing the same,’ she laughs. ‘So, I went for a paler blue to make it easier to find when people come to the house for the first time’