Before & After: The Hallway

We are equal opportunity house lovers - each tiny crevice in our home gets the royal treatment. Well except for the master bathroom which currently looks like the loo in some sort of horrible P.O.W. camp. We'll get to it one day but until then I'll just have to dream of my Kohler BubbleMassage tub. But as Mr. P is constantly reminding me, we must first finish tackling other less glamorous projects.

Did I mention that the Kohler BubbleMassage tub has 120 airjets and a variable speed-blower? I don't even know what a variable speed-blower is but I know that I want it.

FOCUS, MRS. P. Where were we?

Right. Less glamour. Hallways.

One main hallway connects all three bedrooms and the guest bathroom to the living room. And when we moved in, the master bathroom could be accessed through the bedroom and through the hallway. The previous owner had used that bath as another guest bathroom. As for Mr. P and I? Well we decided that we didn't want to share that bathroom. It's not that we're selfish - no. It's just that we have a lot of crap, have complex and off-putting grooming rituals, and, well shed a lot. There, I said it. I shed a lot. I hope you're happy now.

Long story short, I don't want to have to clean up every time someone sets foot in my house. And I don't like the idea of the A/C repairman having access to my make-up or seeing my collection of mini-shampoo bottles stolen from hotels. (I know, I know - don't do the crime if you can't do the time.) It's just creepy, okay?

Anywho all of that is a long way of saying that we decided to seal the door. And by "we" I mean Mr. P with a lot of moral support from me. Here's the before:



It's like the pathway to Blah-ville, no? Well here's the after:



The paintings are from a fabulous Brooklyn-based artist named Steve Keene who was introduced to us by our fabulous friends in LA. (shout-out to Sharon and Jeff!) Steve's philosophy is that art should be like CDs - anyone should be able to afford it and you should be able to change it out as often as you want to. When you visit his web site (http://www.stevekeene.com/) you can choose between two sizes and then Steve will mail you whatever he happens to be working on that day. That's it. You don't get to pick. You don't get to dictate subjects or colors or materials...it's basically a control freak's worst nightmare.

But grouped together like this:



It adds the perfect pop of color to an otherwise dreary hallway!

I would venture a guess that it'd also "go" well with a Kohler BubbleMassage Tub. Because really everything looks good surrounded by 120 airjets. EVERYTHING. Sigh...if only Kohler believed BubbleMassage tubs should be like CDs. Life is so cruel.