My Homely Hallway

This is our hallway nook area in a trial "before".

You can see we started painting.

I dragged the ottoman

that goes with my man's chair and a half

over to see if I might, maybe, possibly, kinda, sorta like

a leather ottoman in its place.

Note the lovely accessories: Grecian pillar (Yowz!) and

pillows grabbed from here and there...

A charming stack of books and a dresser with a

missing door...

I decided I would rather have a bench. I found this one at a resale

store, but it did not look like this!

It had dark wood and a tapestry seat that

looked a little more like grandma's bedroom (okay, A LOT more)

than I would have liked.

I used two coats of bonding primer from Sherwin Williams. Make sure the primer dries well.

I made sure it didn't come off when I scraped it with my finger nail.

I painted it with the same color as my trim, then used a

raw umber glaze

so you could see the carved designs. The tapestry fabric would not come off without major ripping. So I stapled the new fabric over the top. (I still need to glue cording over those staples!)

The new fabric didn't "give" as much as I needed it to, that's

why you can see a few gathers where the legs come to a point.

Another fun note, it is a triple-bum seater.

Unfortunately, my work-in-progress photos are lost to posterity!

They are on another out-of-order computer...so sad,

--muffled, sniffling sound inserted here--

The niche got a mini-makeover as well.

It is painted the same green as the family room and accented with a Big Lots

frame (to make it look larger--a lot easier than adding molding). Oops,

that extra piece of zebra fabric should not be there: Please ignore.

Much cozier!

The dresser has it's door back on!

Please help me decide:

Should I paint this dresser?

If so, what color?

Black, or the same as the bench, something else?

The reason is IS NOT painted is because it was made by hand, by my great

grandfather. The drawer pulls are even original. I guess I have

a little angst

about it.

Fabric junkie note: All fabric items made by me!

This post is featured along with several other great makeovers at DIY Showoff. Also at The Shabby Chic Cottage.