Homeowner Strips 80 Years Of Wallpaper And Paint From A Hallway With Six Doors, Then Swears Off Staircase Molding Forever After A First Paint Color Fail

“This room in my home is both strange and ugly.” That is how the creator behind @theblackstoneproject describes a little hallway that looks like “the hallway of a million doors,” and every one of them is orange.

A hallway with several doorways and peeling old wallpaper and paint.

Someone online said it looked like a Scooby-Doo chase scene, according to her caption. Not anymore, she says.

This is the story of a neglected landing, six doors, a lot of trim and one color mistake she will not forget.

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Stripping 80 Years Of Wallpaper And Old Paint Off Tired Walls

The staircase leading up to the hallway had seen better days too, so the whole area got a full makeover. She started with what she calls a good exfoliation.

She removed about 80 years worth of wallpaper and old paint. Once that was gone, the walls underneath looked a little rough, so she covered them with a fresh, healthy layer.

A bit more exfoliating, and she says the tired old walls looked brand new. Next she gave the old stair risers some love with a fresh coat of paint.

Six Doors In One Little Landing, And A Plan To Make Them Pretty

There was one thing she could not change. “There’s nothing I could do to change the fact that there are six doors in one little landing.”

What she could fix was how they looked. She upgraded the six ugly doors with new, beautiful ones.

“While it’s still a lot of doors in one little spot,” she says, “at least it’s a lot of pretty doors.” Of course, the new doors needed new trim.

“I Will Never Do Staircase Molding Again, Ever”

Then she had what she calls a great idea. She would add trim to the walls to give the hallway a little architectural intrigue.

It turned out to be the hard part. Figuring out the geometry for the cuts almost took her out, she says, and she adds, “I will never do staircase molding again, ever.”

Despite the suffering she endured, she says it does look pretty great. Angled cuts along a staircase are a famously tricky job, since the wall trim has to follow the slope of the steps.

The First Paint Color Looked Exactly Like “Barbie Skin”

After the humbling experience of cutting all that trim, she moved on to what she called a quick, easy win: painting the doors. It was not technically difficult, but her first color choice was a pretty big fail.

“It looked exactly like Barbie skin,” she says. So she went back over it with a slightly less fleshy shade of beige, and this time it turned out perfect. She loves the new color.

Anyone who has painted a room knows the feeling. A color that looks lovely on a small swatch can read very differently once it covers a whole door.

Small Finishing Touches For A Busy Family Home

With the big work done, a few final touches remained. She loves the wooden steps, but they are a little slippery for her kids, so she added non-permanent tread covers.

She also added a small sign to the bathroom door to make life easier for guests. Little details like that make a hallway feel finished.

The result, she says, is bright and fresh, and best of all, it matches the vibe of the rest of her home. And yes, she admits it is still a lot of doors in one little spot.

What You Can Borrow For Your Own Hallway Makeover

You do not need six doors to use these ideas. Hallways and stairs are some of the most used spaces in a home, and they often get ignored, so even small changes make a big difference.

Test paint colors on the actual surface. Put a large sample on a door or wall and look at it in morning and evening light before committing.
Prep before you paint. Removing old wallpaper and smoothing rough walls gives paint a better surface to grip.
Keep safety in mind on stairs. Non-permanent tread covers, like the ones she chose, add grip without changing the steps themselves.
Think about trim as decoration. Wall trim can give a plain hallway character, but plan carefully, since cuts along a stair slope are harder than straight runs.
Add small guest-friendly touches. A simple sign on the bathroom door saves visitors from guessing.

Old Wallpaper And Old Paint, A Word Of Caution

Homes that are decades old may have layers of paint that include lead, a risk in houses built before 1978. Before sanding or scraping old paint, it is smart to test it with a kit or hire a certified professional, and to follow safe cleanup steps, especially in a home with kids.

Wallpaper removal can be messy, too. Scoring the paper and using a steamer or a removal solution helps it come off in sheets, and covering floors keeps cleanup simple.

You can see more of this kind of work on @theblackstoneproject. Her hallway went from a spooky maze of orange doors to a bright, matching space, and she has a lesson to share about molding that she is sticking to.

Willow and Hearth