Bobbin hooks

While thinking of ways to make the most of our space for our hallway transformation, I came across a selection of old wooden bobbins - some of my Mum's and some of Jim's Granny's - that I had put on top of the front door frame. As they weren't serving any specific purpose, and I needed to clear them out the way of any potential painting to be done, I took them down and put them on top of a tallboy in our living room, where they happened to sit right next to a long length of wood (that also had no current purpose) and suddenly I had a light-bulb moment...

I lightly sanded then painted the wood with some white primer, and followed with two coats of the same mocha paint that I had chosen for the stripes in the hallway.

Then I spaced the bobbins evenly apart along the wood and drilled long enough screws into the bobbin holes so that they reached the wood on the other side (but didn't poke out of the back of the plank).

Again using the trusty drill and rawl plugs I attached the hooks horizontally to the wall:

See Hallway transformation Part II to see the hooks in action!

Hallway transformation Part I

So the hallway in our flat has looked fairly bare and bland for a good year now... It really is a completely functional space used solely for traveling between the bedroom and bathroom, and the kitchen-living area, and nothing beyond that.

I thought it was about time to try and spruce it up to look a bit more attractive, and also see if there was a way to make the narrow space a bit more useful. However, at about 4m long by 1.5m wide with 5 doors (including one for a handy giant cupboard) coming off it, and a small radiator on one wall, it was limited in terms of being a canvas for creativity...

I found the below plant stand/table at a junk shop in Crystal Palace for £20. It was in a bit of a rickety condition and needed much TLC. Rather than sanding it down, enforcing the loose legs with nails and screws and repainting or waxing it, I decided to go completely the other way and literally take it apart...

 

 

In the meantime I had started measuring out and penciling in the lines of wide stripes on the inside of the external wall in the hallway. I found a selection of paint left in the handy giant cupboard by the previous owners, which I thought I'd make good, thrifty use of. I masking-taped the borders of where I wanted to paint, and cracked open a tin of Dulux "Mocha":

Halfway through (having temporarily run out of masking tape), I assembled the halved plant table and played around with different positions for it to work best in. The mirror below was already up in the hall, and with some Annie Sloane "Old White" chalk paint still left over, I thought that would be the best way to go with the table too.

The stripes are now finished in hallway, and manage to add a bit of depth and excitement already! Part II to follow...