Here are three flooring options up for consideration in the hallway. These are color copies and much lighter than the final flooring will be. It will be the same darker coloration as the fancy parlor floor. These are also quick mockups without consideration for the precise placement of the patterns and angles.
First, just plain wood flooring. Perfectly acceptable, and I know upstairs rooms weren’t as fancy as downstairs rooms where guests would be entertained. (April later pointed out that with only one bathroom in the house, guests would likely see this space.)
Second, herringbone in the middle with only the plain wood border. The railings I end up with will not have the bottom bar which obscures the plain wood edge in this photo. This is such a small space, I wonder if the herringbone overpowers the rest of the detailing.
Lastly, herringbone in the middle with the marquetry border inside the plain outer border. This is more polished than the second option, but it also has the same issue of overpowering the room. I don’t have enough of the marquetry border left from the parlor project, so I’ll have to order some more if I do end up using this last option.
The plain floor was the clear winner for me. One nice thing about choosing the plain wood floor for the hallway is the fact that it was done in no time! I had just enough stained flooring with the bristol backing from the parlor floor project that I was able to use the leftovers. This had been previously finished with Minwax English Chestnut and then sanded to bring out the sheen of the wood. The sanding also makes the wood floor look old and well worn.
I installed the bathroom door and the rear piece of baseboard trim, too. I need to assemble the railings for the balcony before I can cut the forward piece.
These are the tall spindles I plan to use.
I got these in a miniatures lot. They are currently unfinished, but I am undecided if I will stain the spindles or paint them. I might do painted spindles with a stained railing. Either way, I’ll finish these with the stair spindles and railings all at the same time so it is a seamless finish from downstairs.
