‘Our hall is as beautiful as its stained-glass door’ Ben and Dave

Ben has had the sideboard for years and has upcycled it with grey paint and new handles. As he loves yellow, the lamps were a natural choice to match the original stainedglass window

Stitch rugs together and attach them to the stairs with carpet tacks. Add stair rods to elevate the look even further BU DGET RU NNER

wanted it to be like Beamish Museum of the North: old-fashioned, but with a twist – somewhere that I could display the life junk I’ve accumulated,’ he says. ‘Everything is a little frayed – much like me!’

After buying the house, Ben’s partner, Dave, sold his house in Leeds and moved in, so it was all hands on deck. ‘Every night it’s been suit off, overalls on,’ says Ben. ‘I’m the destroyer, whereas he’s the builder. He’s great at anything precise and meticulous.’

Luckily, their tastes are very similar, so the style developed to suit them both as the renovation project progressed. ‘We both love history and vintage pieces,’ says Ben. ‘Dave runs a charity that sells second-hand furniture, so he hates waste.’

WHAT WE DID

Ben started his DIY demolition on day one. ‘I remember carrying boxes and kicking holes through the boxed-in staircase to see if there were original Art Deco spindles behind,’ he says. ‘Luckily there were, so we stripped them and painted them off-black.’

After blocking up the door to the kitchen, Dave made a window mirror using square adhesive mirrors from IKEA and a painted trim. ‘It brings loads more light in,’ says Ben. The Arts & Crafts chest of drawers was a freebie that has been buffed up with a wax finish

My My style style tips tips

MAKE IT PERSONAL. The

hallway sets the tone for the rest of your home, so fill it with a collection of artwork, furniture and accessories that represent you.

ADD LOTS OF MIRRORS.

Hallways can be dark spaces, so add as many mirrors as you can to bounce light around the space. I’ve added a mix of large mirrors and small vintage ones.

MIX AND MATCH ART I’ve

displayed new prints with vintage designs from a variety of different eras to give my gallery wall an eclectic look.

Choosing dark paint for the stairs and lower walls is more practical with a dog. ‘It also takes away a bit of the height so the space doesn’t look too cavernous,’ says Ben. A vintage railway poster of Roker and Seaburn reflects the location, while a picture of the couple’s dog in historical garb takes pride of place in a gold frame

TWO TONE

White walls and dark woodwork is a classic combination thatwill give your hall a designer look, and is practical, too

After getting an £800 quote for a stair runner, the pair made their own using five £20 rugs and second-hand carpet rods to keep them in place. ‘Dave matched them up as he’s got an eye for detail,’ says Ben.

Other big changes included turning the under-stairs cupboard into a WC, blocking up a door to the kitchen so it can only be accessed from the dining room, and removing Anaglypta wallpaper from the walls and in-between the panelling. ‘The wallpaper had weird Corinthian columns on it, so I didn’t want to just paint over it,’ says Ben. ‘And we couldn’t afford to re-plaster everywhere.’ While it was feasible to fill in the cracks and paint the panelling and upper walls white, the lower walls were more damaged. To solve the problem, Dave put in a dado rail and re-papered them with a nicer Anaglypta that hides a multitude of sins.

Then Ben sanded, stained, and varnished the floor, after having observed a professional do it in their living room. ‘The sanding belt kept breaking every five minutes, but I managed to do the rest of the downstairs for about £30.’ Completing the 1920s feel, the pair replaced the light fittings with deco-style chandeliers and added drama on the landing with a wrap-around tropical mural.

The radiator cover was one of the few things Ben kept from the old hall and he’s added a vintage mirror above. ‘Not only are they brilliant for bouncing light around, but I like the idea that somebody has used them their whole life,’ he says. ‘Mirrors see everything that goes on’

HIGHS & LOWS

With six metre-high walls, decorating up the stairs was no mean feat. ‘The previous owner had used a series of ladders and planks of wood, but we’re both afraid of heights,’ says Ben. ‘Having tried Sellotaping a brush on top of a broom to paint the edge of the ceiling, we knew it was time to get in the professionals in to wallpaper the landing!’

The stairs were a real labour of love. ‘They were literally my Everest!’ laughs Ben. ‘But I’ve learned I can work a lot harder than I thought I could. As an English teacher, I spend my life reading poems and plays, but it’s nice to be physically creative, too.’

As the pair began stripping other rooms before the hallway was finished, the project did take its toll towards the end. ‘There was nowhere to sit, just a square on my bed where I ate my dinner and did my marking,’ recalls Ben. ‘I had to keep remembering why I’d bought the house and what the end goal was.’

THE FINAL DETAILS

Once the labour-intensive work was done, Ben could start styling the space, beginning

BRAVE MOVE You walk through the landing several times a day, so make it interesting with a bold mural

An old Stag console table, bought for £2 many years ago, has been given a glam makeover with garden paint

A curated gallery wall up the stairs was a key part of the couple’s vision, although attaching the pictures was challenging. ‘Don’t try this at home, but we were tied to the bannister with dressing gown cords to prevent falling!’ recalls Ben

with a huge gallery wall up the staircase. ‘I wanted somewhere the eye could rest for everybody,’ explains Ben. ‘So, some of it is very modern and some is more old-fashioned.’

Dave was able to display some of his collection of original Life magazine covers from the 1920s, while Ben could indulge his obsession with vintage mirrors. Two second-hand chests provide ample storage and there are plenty of spots to display pieces the pair have picked up over the years. ‘There are bowls from when I lived in Africa and a picture of my grandma as a girl in the 1920s,’ says Ben. ‘It all reflects who I am.’

After their successful hall update, they have been spurred on to create a long-term home. ‘I like to be anchored,’ says Ben, ‘and this house is like a huge seaside anchor for me!’

3 OF THE BEST... deco drama

£5 from B&M

This hurricane candle holder features a modern twist on geometric deco designs.

£22 from Habitat

Display candles and trinkets on a gold tray to elevate a console table.

£130 from där lighting

Laura Ashley’s Vienna chandelier will bring a sense of occasion to an entrance.

ROOM PL AN

8M

3M

THE DETAILS

LIGHTING FLOOR STAIR RUNNERS PAINT WALLPAPER

£350

£30

£190

£200

£202

FURNITURE £50 ART AND ACCESSORIES £100

TOTAL £1,122

SHOPPING LIST

Walls painted in All White, £59 per 2.5L, Farrow & Ball. Anaglypta wallpaper, £6 per roll, Sunderland Decorating Centre. Stairs and below dado rail painted in Valspar

Premium wood and metal eggshell paint

(matched to Off Black by Farrow & Ball), £40 per 2.5L; for a similar lamp, try First

Choice Lighting clear glass pineapple

lamp, £19.99, both B&Q. Floorboards stained in Morrells Medium Oak wood stain, £14.95 per 1L, Wood Finishes Direct. No Nonsense Quick-Dry floor varnish, £25.99 per 2.5L, Screwfix. Vintage tropical Black and White wall mural, from £50;

Moretti indoor outdoor runner 57m x

230cm (used as stair runners), £29 each, all Dunelm. Blodlönn 30 x 30cm mirror, £7 for four, IKEA. Aubrey frosted glass ceiling pendant, £140, BHS. For a similar doormat, try geo print long doormat, £12.50, Matalan. For a similar mirror, try Evelyn round Black metal mirror, £19.99, The Range. Roker and Seaburn vintage A2 railway poster, £19.99, Ink Berry Moon Studio on Etsy. For a similar pet portrait, try custom vintage pet portrait, from £29.99, Purr & Mutt.