The forgotten zone

The little hallway that connects the kitchen to the garage and the basement has always been this really annoying eyesore. But oh, it was worse than we thought. Ignoring it for so long has this blinding effect, but then when you really look...wow. 

During the epic fruit fly invasion of 2014, the flies were congregating in this area, which left us confused, since we assumed that they were being attracted to something in the kitchen. But they didn't really hang out in the actual kitchen so much. Why they were hanging out right above the attic was a mystery. Until we found the fruit fly breeding ground that was created when a bag of forgotten potatoes became potato-mush-nastiness. In the meantime, we were battling the fruit flies with some tools of the trade, such as windex and hair dryers (didn't work). So along with dead fruit fly bodies, the walls and ceiling in this space were also covered with blue splotches. Oh and incense ash from the "smoke em out!" strategy (also didn't work). Because the stairwell was the hangout spot, it was also the dying spot, so the windowsill had a deep layer of fly carcasses. Which we ignored for like 6 months. 

So, I decided it was high time to spruce it up with a fresh coat paint and a little more functionality. Oh and actually cleaning it. Of course, the first step of painting in a house like this is breaking out the TSP and cleaning up the 1952 grime. I didn't actually think that it had grime dating back to 1952, but after replacing the muddy water 4 times to clean a closet-sized area, I'm reconsidering. The walls actually changed colors before my eyes! 

the real before--when the floors were covered in old glue or something

All in all, a very sexy spot. Obviously.

more fun with the pink ceiling paint!

Now it is ever so much nicer looking! I plan to add some hooks on the wall and a couple shelves (and fixing the railing and blah blah blah), which will be more useful when the garage door works and we use this door as an entrance to the house. For now, I'm just enjoying opening the door to this little hallway!