Hallway

When you enter our house, you are confronted with numerous doorways, one of which led away to the bomb site that is our office (we focus as much energy on cleaning the office as we do our bedroom, though I try not to leave my bra and panties on the office floor).

Rather than actually clean the office, we felt it much better to just close the doorway off. Of course this does have the added benefit of making the space more private when we are trying to work. The design inspiration for the hall came from a magazine - stark white walls, off-color trim, and a rough wood shelf as a focal point. A few years ago I pulled a six foot slab of wood out of the Thames (in London, duh), and schlepped this massive, water-sodden piece 2 miles back home, knowing I would use it for something like this.

I even managed to find the same shelf brackets as the magazine had (thanks Google image search). A slap of paint all round (including a grey accent wall), plus some high-rise, non-health and safety approved stair painting - bob's yer uncle, etc. etc.

The plastering was much better than when I had tried it previously - as long as the sun isn't shining at the right (wrong?) angle, it almost looks perfect - just don't run your hand over it. Floor tiles still look crap, but hey, what you going to do?