$100 Room Challenge | Week 3: Painting the Hallway White

I'm convinced paint is absolute magic. It can completely transform a space, costs as little as $30, and can be done in less than a day. The $100 Room Challenge is in full swing and for Week 3 I painted the hallway a perfect shade of white. When we moved in we painted every room Sherwin William's Repose Gray, which really is the perfect gray. But I wanted to lighten up the hallway and create a clean canvas to display the gallery wall. I used my go-to white is Behr's Snow Fall increased by 100%, and bonus I had it left over from our guest room meaning I didn't have to spend any money (woo!).

Week 1: The Hallway Pt. 2 Befores
Week 2: The Natural Hallway Mood Board

Painting is 90% prep and 10% actually painting. To make the entire process quicker, I use these painting products every time and it really does make everything easier. Handy Paint Pail is an amazing company and everything they make is a must have. A short, flexible angle brush is perfect for getting those corners and next to the trim. My favorite product though is the paint lid that has a closeable, retractable nozzle. It makes pouring paint a thousand times cleaner and also is easier to store.

Edging is arguably the least fun part about painting, but it's always my first step. It takes a lot of time and it feels like you're not getting anything done, but it's a crucial step and you can tell once a paint job is done if the edging was crappy or not. Don't rush it. Yes there are a bunch of edging tools out there you could use but I've found the easiest and cleanest way is to use a flexible angle brush. The flexible part is important because its soft on your hand and doesn't give you hand cramps.

Unless you get a paint that is guaranteed one coat, you'll most likely have to put two coats up. The first coat of white can be daunting because there are obviously imperfections, but the second coat is where the magic happens.

It only took me an afternoon to put up both coats. I know I've said this, but a white room just feels like an endless space of possibilities.

I mentioned this in last week's post about the mood board, but this natural stripped rug will really tie this long hallway together. It's out of the budget for this challenge reveal, but I do have it back ordered and it should ship in February.

I haven't spent any of the $100 budget yet (because I've been doing this for 2 years and have products on hand you may not), but I will this next week. Hopefully, I can decide on and do a DIY art piece, and decide on and order the wall hooks. Cruise by the rest of the participants to catch up on their progress!

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