In my previous property the landing was 3 feet by 6 feet. So you couldn’t do anything to it. A new light fixture, paint and a piece of art pretty much filled up the space. Lady Mathison however, has a massive landing big enough to be a bedroom really. It has more of my favourite wood paneling (ha-ha), 8″ baseboards a large bright window, a door that leads to the balcony (I have a house with a balcony he he), a light fixture on the ceiling that is falling off and a small vintage sconce light on the wall coming up the stairs.
Since I am using all three bedrooms as intended I’ve decided to make the landing my office and art studio space. This area will require quite a bit of paint. The ceiling will need to be painted, the walls need to be primed and painted, all of the baseboards, crown moulding and window trim will need a fresh coat (or two) of white paint and the stair rails will need painting as well. I’ve purchased a curtain rod, curtains and roman blind for the window and a new light fixture for the ceiling. Since the sconce is pretty adorable I will simply refinish it with some gold paint to match the other fixtures.
Since I am still on vacation this month I’ve been plugging away and doing a few hours of work each day. So far 95% of the landing walls have been primed. Reason for stopping – ran out of primer. Much like the living and dining room just a simple coat of primer has made a dramatic change upstairs. It is already so much brighter. I will be painting the landing in the same Incredible White by Sherwin Williams that was used in the Living, dining, sitting and single guest bedroom.
The landing was missing some quarter round (shoe kick) which I installed to complete the look. I used my new Air Strike Brad Nailer by Ryobi and some 1.5″ nails which sped the installation time right up ( I use to do it by hand… What was I thinking?) I’ve set up my mitre box and hand saw in the basement on the work table with a measuring tape and pencil – this is so I do not have to bring the measuring tape and pencil upstairs each time and risk forgetting to bring it back down. I have a notepad, pencil and measuring tape upstairs and as I measure and track the pieces I need I head back downstairs, cut and come back up and install every couple pieces as I go.
With the ceiling, walls and trim all painted with two coats it was time to decorate. I reused my lovely table purchased from Kijiji I used in the sunroom in my previous house, black Ikea chair, little white cabinet purchased for $60 at the Antique Market in Woodstock Ontario, easel purchased from the Trent Hills Classifieds for $45, stool from Nostalgic Journey for $35, oil painting from Home sense, plants, and art supplies.
Overall the total cost to complete the landing is approximately $660. The larger amount of paint came in around $120, window treatments $170, and light fixture $209 are the more costly items in this room.
Here is the completed office & studio space:
And since completing the space I’ve had some time to enjoy painting (which I haven’t done since childhood)
I’ve also decided to add a slightly contrasting paint colour (Sherwin Williams – Alpaca) to the doors in the house to really make them pop.
Coming up in (hopefully) less than 2 weeks – the completed stair case with new traditional runner and completed paint.
Be creative!
🙂
My Country Farmhouse 