Hallway + Stairway Wall Moulding: A Progress Update & What We’ve Learned So Far

When I first shared how I went about figuring out a hallway wall moulding layout for our hallway and stairway, I never imagined it would become one of the most read posts on the blog. It’s been so fun to see how many of you have been inspired to tackle wall moulding in your own homes. Or have used the post as a reference when working through a tricky layout.

While we aren’t completely finished with this project yet, we have made progress. Today I wanted to share what the space looks like now, what I’d do differently if we were starting today, and what’s next for our hallway.

A Quick Recap of the Original Plan

We started this project back in 2020 and the goal was to add character and interest to our hallway and stairway. We’ve been adding wall moulding throughout our home and it was time to tackle this space and give it some personality.

We also have the goal of updating our linen closet that sits at the top of our stairs. I want to add a hidden door so it blends in with the walls and doesn’t take up visual space.

What We’ve Actually Completed So Far

Since landing on the final layout, we were able to get most of the wall moulding installed. There are a few pieces we want to recut so the sit more cleanly against the wall, but overall the main structure is in place.

One design decision we made along the way was adding small boxes above the doors. Originally, I planned to leave this area blank. Once we stepped back, we both felt the space looked more finished with the additional detail.

That said, the door at the top of the landing has presented a bit of a challenge. There’s more blank space above this door than the others. Also we can’t keep the spacing between the moulding and the wall consistent because the stair trim and header get in the way. This is something we still need to think through a bit more.

Another unplanned update was our decision to drywall over the ceiling fan. Awe debated replacing it, since it’s been helpful during the in-between seasons, but it hasn’t been preforming as well lately. For now, we decided to wall it up, knowing it would be easy to reopen the ceiling if we changed our minds. This does mean that the boxes originally cut to accommodate the fan cover will need to be recut.

We’ve also made some progress on the linen closet at the top of the stairs. Over the last few years, Mike had suggested skipping the hidden door and installing a standard one since this isn’t our forever home. I’ll admit I was devastated and secretly determined to figure out a solution.

Knowing how much the change bothered me, Mike surprised me while I was traveling over the summer by starting to work through a design and ordering hinges. The door will operate more like a cabinet. Instead of extending all the way to the floor, it will stop about 6″ above and have a stationary bottom panel.

Another update we made that is now causing issues, is swapping out our hollow core doors for solid wood ones. We had planned to do this back in 2019 when we remodeled our upstairs bathroom but never got around to it. Well, that project quickly rose to the top of the list when Mike accidentally locked himself out of our bedroom while I was traveling. I told him to just drill through the door since we were planning to replace anyways.

We’ve come a long way but it still feels like we have so far to go. These doors have really put us behind. More on this below.

What Was Challenging About Our Hallway + Stairway Moulding

The layout was easily one of the most challenging parts of this project. I went in with a very specific design in mind, but once I started mapping it out on the walls, it just didn’t look right.

I also wanted the boxes along the angled stairway wall to follow the pitch of the stairs. An idea Mike was thrilled about, since it made figuring out the angles and cuts much more complicated.

Another area that continues to stump me is the space above the door at the top of the landing. The proportions are different from the rest of the hallway, and between the ceiling angle and nearby trim, it needs a more customized solution. Mike installed 2 boxes while I was traveling which was a great starting point. I think it needs to be tweaked a bit though.

What I’d Do Differently if I Were Starting Today

One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned from this hallway wall moulding layout is how important sequencing decisions can be.

If we were starting today, I would absolutely replace the doors before installing any wall moulding. Even small changes to door jambs and trim can throw off carefully planned proportions. Correcting that after the fact is far more complicated than doing it upfront.

We’ve had plans to replace our hollow core doors since we renovated our upstairs bathroom in 2019. We found a door style we liked at a building supply store but made a rookie mistake by purchasing only one door at that time. When we went to purchase the remaining 4 doors, they were sold out. Unfortunately it wasn’t a style they would get again. Since then, we had held off on replacing the doors until this past year when we were forced to after Mike locked himself out of our bedroom.

Installing the new doors turned out to be a bit trickier than we anticipated. We had to remove the existing trim and door jamb and use the jamb that came with the door. The new jamb is a bit bigger than the original. When Mike went to reinstall the trim around the door, he had to make some adjustments to get it to fit.

Because of this, the trim around the new doors is off just a hair and no longer lines up with the box moulding we so painstakingly installed.

Mike installed 3 of the 5 doors and stopped when he realized what was happening. We will need to finish installing the doors before we start making any adjustments to the wall moulding. We also decided to take this time to figure out what we wanted to do above the doors.

Originally we had left the space above our doors blank but it looked incomplete. We both decided we wanted a small box above the doors as well. The door at the top of the landing is a bit tricky. We won’t be able to use the door trim as a guide and keep the space between box and wall consistent. We will need to treat this space separately and design something that works for this unique area.

Advice if You’re Planning Your Own Hallway Moulding

My first piece of advice if you are planning a similar project would be to not box (pun intended) yourself in with your design. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted design wise but when I started mapping it out on the walls with painters tape, I quickly realized I needed to work with the space I had and not try to force a design that didn’t work. Once I did that, the design process went a lot smoother.

Secondly, you might have to tweak your design for the wall it is on. The width and height of a box on one wall might not look that good on another wall. It is ok to adjust and tweak the design to make it more pleasing to the eye. Especially if the space is broken up. You can almost treat each space as its own as long as you keep the overall look consistent.

My third piece of advice would be to consider other changes, if any, you want to make in the space that might have an affect on your design. If you are planning to add new doors, or replacing your trim, base or crown moulding, do these FIRST so you don’t end up having to redo work you already did. Like us.

What’s Next for Our Hallway

Once we have the last 2 doors and trim installed, I’m afraid to say our next steps will be to remove most if not all of the moulding in the hallway and reinstall.

Thankfully, I don’t think we will need to replace the moulding on the stairway wall. If any, it would just be the first row of boxes next to the door that would need adjusted. Honestly though, if the spacing isn’t off just a little and it’s not super noticeable, we’ll probably leave it. Fingers crossed for us!

After ALL the doors are installed and ALL the trim is adjusted, I’ll finalize the paint color. I have a few samples up and even painted one coat of Creamy by Sherwin Williams on a few of the walls to see if I liked it. This is the color we used on our walls in the guest bedroom and it is so pretty but in the hallway it is looking really white and doesn’t have the warmth it does in the guest bedroom.

Finally, we need to finish the linen closet. I can’t wait to see this part come together and the difference it will make visually in the space. Here’s hoping Mike doesn’t get frustrated and change his mind.

Let me know in the comments below what questions you have about wall moulding. If you have a tricky spot in your home I would love to help out!