Hallway

Our previous house was a crush with just two in the hallway; now we have all the space our little hearts could desire.

The entrance way has somewhere to sit, take off your shoes and hang your coat. However, it’s currently unused as the over-sized front door is unfortunately rotten. It’s warped, so it only just opens fully (with one hell of a push) and will certainly need replacing. A good (if expensive!) reason to get the paint charts out, again.

Handsome, yet rotten. (Aren’t they always…..)

There are, alas, no original floor tiles to be found however the panelled screen is original…the frosted swirly glass, less so. That’ll be replaced.

Original panel, with dodgy glass and woodstain

Also for replacing is the completely out of keeping back door:

UPVC certainly has its place but not in an Edwardian hallway

Ah yes, the carpet. You noticed? What can one possibly say about this floral wonder? The house was once a Liberal Club and we’ve wondered if this was actually the carpet at the time. It is, however, incredibly good quality – try as we may we cannot ruin it and it hoovers up every time like new. But the fine quality and ridiculously high thread count is not enough to grant it a stay of execution.

Statement carpet

The artex ceiling and cheap reproduction mouldings complete the look:

Original cornice; the saving grace

All the wood is stained in a dodgy orangey brown colour but the panelling and spindles are in reasonable condition for their age. With sanding, painting and TLC we hope to revive their former glory.

The newel post bears the inevitable knocks of the past

The dodgy decorative moulding continues upstairs – the dado rail, however, is original

More artex adorns the ceiling

So, despite everything the hallway has to offer it’s that carpet that has generated the most comment from visitors and tradesmen alike. We’re yet to find a single person who likes it……

You can run from it Humph, but you can’t hide.