Oh yeah! I sat on DH's shoulders. . . kidding :P My coworker was nice enough to let me borrow his short stair ladder. I think it's a smaller version of those little giant ladders. I had DH stand behind me while I was using it. The steps on it weren't wide so it was awkward at times trying to bend/twist and be careful not to fall! Since I don't own one of these ladders that's another reason the color needs to stay for now.

Thank you guys! sushipup1-there would only be two bars..hallway and dining area/office. I have to do the dining one because I am tearing out the bath in the middle of a red rock wall. We are pretty sure there will be damage to the wall so I thought putting a bar there would be a good idea...but I could make it more of a place to display dishes and midcentury items. There will be a huge door to close it off also. So you think two is too much? The house will be almost 5000 sq. feet when done, if that helps (way too big!). Allison-I know what you mean. I tried to make it as private as possible by adding the hallway to separate the bedroom from the rest of the house. Currently, the bedroom is on a street corner and I would prefer it set back on the property in a quieter area. There are lots of succulents and a big tree that will give it a lot of privacy from the pool area.

Eld: first of all, thank you so much for your thoughtful suggestions! You are really educating me here. It never occurred to me that anything other than white would be the solution to a dingy looking area. But what you said makes perfect sense. Funnily enough, I was actually going to use Light Navajo White, because that is what I just used in my kitchen. Because my house is so small, I really want to use the same colors and materials throughout everything except two bedrooms and the bathrooms. So same flooring, paint colors, etc. in the library, LR, eat-in kitchen, and hallway. I thought it would help the visual flow of the space and unify it, while at the same time making it look and feel bigger. The light navajo white says it has a hint of brown. It is definitely not a super white white. Do you think it would work in the hallway? Also, Eld, yes, the door on the right in the picture is the back door of the house. It's actually located about in the middle of the length of the house. The hallway, if you measure starting at the Sterilite drawers on the left, is just over 16' long. There are three other doors off it besides the back door. The main bathroom is just before the laundry on the left, my room is on the left just after the laundry, and Joy's room is at the very end. I completely agree that better lighting would make a huge difference! Murraysmom, thanks for sharing! I love water colors! Your little hallway sounds peaceful, with the softness of a light green and the painting. I don't know if you've seen any of cpartist's colored pencil art--she posts on the kitchen forum and sometimes here as well, but her drawings are so gorgeous! She is to drawing what Shades is to glass mosaics. My dream wall would have a large cpartist work of flowers in a vase hanging up and Shades' glass lizard climbing up the wall! Eld, hahaha! Every time I write your name, my stupid phone changes it to either "Elf" or "Elderly!" If I missed any when I proofread, my apologies in advance, lol!! :-) Chris, if that mural is to cover up a "design mistake," then I say Praise the Lord for design mistakes! My comments are glowing because I truly love your art!! And I'm so glad you have this "therapy" to work on while you're caring for Joe in the sunset of his life. You are one strong woman, and I am so inspired by you. :-) If I get really industrious in the next few days, haha, I'll post a floor plan of my house. But I'd love to hear more stories about all your hallways or other awkward spaces you have or want to decorate! :-)

Adding that archway would completely mess up the living room layout. Furniture arrangements would become very difficult and it would become a traffic path. Maybe consider shortening the wall, so keep the bench and closet, but lose the second smaller coat closer and maybe even shorten the other stuff. It will still create an entry way and block sound from the living room but it wouldn't create a super long closed in hallway. You may want to also reconsider the kitchen area. That pantry is way too far away to be useful and the dining room looks tight once you account for all of the traffic paths.