Over the past few years, we’ve been tackling projects in our house room-by-room. We’ve taken on some pretty big ones like removing a kitchenette from our bedroom and turning a hair salon (!!) into my office (I laugh even typing those things — we had a LOT of vision to buy this house). We have also replaced lighting, removed more wallpaper than I care to recount, and painted and painted and painted (like 5 coats of white paint to cover all of the wood paneling in our living room). We’re finally getting to the point where nearly every room has come together and what is left is the not-so-fun makeovers of things like hallways.
Our upstairs hallway and the staircase leading up to it was a project we procrastinated for a while, and for a number of reasons. First, it’s the hallway, so it’s not exactly the world’s most exciting project to tackle — a good before and after makeover makes up 99% of my DIY motivations. Second, it was covered floor to ceiling in wallpaper and wallpaper removal is just about the worst task in the world. Third, and perhaps my biggest reason for procrastination, is that the hallway walls over the staircase would require me standing on a very high ladder and I’m freaked out about heights (and very very klutzy).
We finally decided that the project was never going to get done unless we called in some help, and by a stroke of luck, the team at Handyman Connection reached out to me about trying their services! We worked with Handyman Connection of the South Shore to tackle a few parts of the project. They removed wallpaper, which was blissful because I hate doing that task. Then they fixed up our walls, which were really damaged underneath, and probably the reason the precious owners had chosen to wallpaper over them. Always fun when you have a little surprise like that in a home project; it was great that their handyman could tackle that component of the project too. Then once the walls were fixed up, everything got a fresh coat of paint — Benjamin Moore Titanium to match our living room since the stairs lead into that room, and White Dove for all of the trim. It was so worth it to have a professional do that part of the work, I’m so grateful I didn’t have to climb a giant extension ladder to do all of that painting over the staircase!
Some new artwork from Gus and Ruby added a little pop of cheer to the space — I beam a big smile when I see that new lobster print at the top of the staircase — and updated the light fixture in the hallway too with a simple linen flush mount. I joked that the before and afters weren’t going to be that exciting, but all of the work that Handyman Connection put into it is actually has made a huge difference. Removing that old grungey wallpaper and giving it a fresh coat of paint made everything feel so much brighter — the hallway looks fresh and clean when I open our doors now. It also helped brighten up our living room too, with more light bouncing off the freshly painted woodwork. Sometimes the less-exciting projects can make a big impact on the rest of our home, I’m so glad we tackled this one! 
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Looks so fresh and bright! Jane is adorable and getting so grown up!