Hallway Help! My hallway needs some minor improvements.
Kelly Loedeman
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
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Hallway bookcase...dimensions needed for hallway?
Comments (16)brickeyee, I'm not sure why you seem to be leaning toward being argumentative with others rather than being helpful with suggestions to the op in your posts. No one has portrayed their answers as carrying any more weight than they actually do. Since you seem to be leading up to it, however, I'll go ahead and make the point for you now rather than later: Many things CAN be done, but that does not mean that doing them is either smart or wise. Perhaps, I don't know because I don't know current codes generally or for every municipality specifically--which the op will really need to check regardless of what any of us here says, one CAN have a three-foot hallway, but as someone who has a hall that size in our existing, yes, pretty old, house, I can tell you it is neither smart nor wise and does pose a hazard. Also, generally, the longer the hallway, the wider it should be for aesthetics and psychological comfort. Further, I double-checked the nkba guidelines, and they actually say 36 inches for single walkways and 42 inches for intersecting walkways as well as for work areas (48 inches for two-cook kitchens). Kitchens walkways are not hallways; I quoted them not as any kind of legal authority but because their guidelines are based on sound safety and design principles and research findings and a kitchen walkway is somewhat analogous to a hallway. Since the hallway is usually longer and has more function as an egress, I would think it should be at least as wide as and probably wider than a walkway within a room. If I were the op, I would try to steal six inches on each side for a total of five feet. If the bookcases are tall, the extra width will help soften the effect of being boxed in. It would also provide a little room, perhaps, at a far end (past all doors if there is such a spot) for a very small armchair or browsing stool and/or side table to really finish off the feeling of a "library." Good luck to the op. I hope you are able to achieve your vision with safety, comfort, and style....See MoreWesley Hall have good leather? Need help.
Comments (4)Keep in mind that many high quality leathers can be stiff at first and some can take a few months ot break in. Look for a full aniline dyed leather dyed all the way through. It is more comfortable. As far as the brands you have mentioned H and M does make a good product but they are very high cost with many sofas in the $6000 area and up. I agree I would look at some of the other options and there are quite a few, making comparable products for a lot less money....See MoreNew and improved entry hall/stairs!
Comments (79)Auntjen -- thanks! I do hope you'll try some GG. Did you see my comments/directions about it above? I hope they help. Moonkat -- I'm delighted you showed up! I thought of you and Nanny often while doing this. Your ceiling and her walls were inspiration for this project. I'm very glad I stuck with it, but I wish I'd just done the BB wallpaper to begin with. It turned out much better than I expected, I think largely because of turning the railing shiny black. That made a huge difference. Glad I could inspire you back and can't wait to see what you do. I gave some instructions above and hope they help. Artlover -- yes she is a Mucha above the stairs. The plexiglas "sg" window over the door is *not* mounted. Got any ideas how to mount it? Chloe's mom -- I love what you did with the $5 clearance wallpaper! It looks just amazing. That wallpaper was perfect. The answer to your q. over there is yes, a coat of good paint will help your beadboard wallpaper be tougher against bumps and bangs. I'll be watching to see what you do with Vivian's room. Mistyhayes -- I hear you; wood is easier to upkeep than white paint. What if you paint your woodwork and the plant shelves shiny black? I put several coats of polyurethane over my railings, and the shiny black, with the satin white, and the flat beige looks just amazing in person. I took the railings and that little bookcase into the garage on a plastic tarp w the car in the driveway, roughed them up just a little with sandpaper and spray painted them black. Misty, it could look amazing if you scrap the curtains and blinds and do GG in there. It's just tracing lines and filling in color - you can do it! Plus you'd get a lot more light in. You can make the GG so you keep your privacy, or leave clear places where you can look out. I can see out my big window, but from outside you just really can't see in well. Part of the reason for that might be because the GG is angled, leaning? Dunno, but I retained the light and view, and gained privacy. No curtains/blinds to wash, hooray! You can go snoop the web for designs you like. Then you can make them on your computer and have Staples/etc. print them, or you could draw them yourself on paper full size. Then pick your fave colors. You will enjoy doing yours on plexi, rather than directly on the window. Your choice, but you can work the plexi on your table, but the windows will have to be done on your feet/ladder. Gallery Glass For those of you wanting to do GG, I recommend the plexi. You can get it at Lowes and they will cut it whatever size you want. It comes 72" x 36". You don't have to worry about being cut or accidentally breaking your window, and it's very lightweight. Or, just mess around with the clings, and that's a great way to get started, and you can cover your entire window with them if you like. The dragonfly window was part clings, and part done on the real window. I cemented the clings in with paint onto it's borders. I did put jewels on my windows. Mostly I used the clear marbles you get at Michaels, but I also found some plastic jewels with no silvering on the back, and I love those. These add an extra dimension and more believability, I think. But they're a bit heavy for on clings....See MoreHelp me arrange the 'front hall' area of my living room
Comments (16)Caminne, that is a BRILLIANT idea, because I definitely need as much bookcase space as I can squeeze into every room, and at the moment there are no built-ins. Now, les917 cautioned against putting something just to the left of the door as you come in (i.e. on the living-room side of the door), to avoid cramping people (or dogs) as they step around the door, which I think it good advice. But if you look at my floorplan, you can see that there's quite a bit of space between the front door and the front wall windows. Floorplan: I think it should be possible to put a bookcase so it more or less lines up with the left side of the entrance to the dining room, which is about where I'd want the living room rug to end and the entryway rug to start. (Not describing this too well, but will try to photoshop a furniture-arranging floorplan soon.) In any case, I think that would leave plenty of clearance to get around the door - more clearance than you'd have in the entry to most historic rowhouses around here, anyway. That would preclude using the big desk as a sofa-table-type room divider, but I think it would solve two serious storage problems at once. I wonder if it would even be possible to have two bookcases back to back, with one facing the living room for books and the other offering baskets for leashes and mittens and whatnot on the door side. I'm thinking maybe about 36" high - high enough to make a divider, but low enough not to block light and to make it easy to put things down on top of. Hmm.......See MoreKelly Loedeman
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