We are one month in and we have encountered great and no so great surprises.
To start things off we pulled off layer after layer of wallpaper, it was like a not so fun time machine.
We started removal in the master bedroom first since it was only one wall (and roller shades....).
I scored the walls and we applied piranha roll on wallpaper remover, let it sit for 15 min...nothing....20 min...nothing...40 min we were frustrated....
Even Scout was depressed.
So we broke down and bought a steamer....I can't recommend it enough the wallpaper slid off- we literally started laughing and joking about all the people who said it was so easy- telling eachother we would go into professional wallpaper removal. We spoke too soon.
Enter- bathroom.
No longer fun. Two layers of wallpaper and it was on good- adhered to raw plaster.
We found nothing good in the bathroom under said wallpaper; previous electrical outlets that weren't properly terminated/covered and poorly patched holes in the walls. Add another huge hole we made to access kitchen electrical and this room currently looks like a war zone. I currently close the door and pretend like it doesn't exist.
The Kitchen and laundry area had three layers of wallpaper that was behind all of the baseboards and appliances- toss in a few steamer burns and you have some major frustrations. This is where we broke down.
We finally succeed though and now there is ZERO wallpaper left in our house.
It was then time for paint. I had many variations of the same color, so at least I had a general direction. This is a time in my life I like to call 50 shades of Graige.
I wound up going with Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Grey for the bedrooms and I dug up a retired color (Martha Stewart Tortilla) for the living room and hallway.
Now for the fun part, before and afters.
Front Living Before
Front Living Before
Front Living Before
Front Living After
Front Living After
Front Living After
Front Living After
Hallway Before
Hallway During (notice there is no quarter round trim)
Hallway After
Adding the quarter round trim and painting it all made SUCH a difference although I wont lie, I broke down in tears on day three of painting trim and windows. Its enough to drive you crazy.
Master Bedroom Before
Master Bedroom Before
Master Bedroom After
Master Bedroom After
Even after cleaners and multiple sanding blocks and a good washing with TSP, It took three coats of paint to make the previously wallpapered wall look even, in the next rooms that were previously wallpapered we are going to prime with Kilz and save ourselves the extra work. Lesson learned. It still turned out great though!
Guest Room Before
Guest Room Before
Guest Room After....kind of.
We are still using this room as a work room so It will be awhile before the big reveal.
Projects from the fist month:
-stripped all wallpaper
-removed the iron rail and tile at entry way
-removed spindles and refinished half wall
-Painted all ceilings, windows, walls and trim
-Stripped and refinished the original hardware
--removed old thermostat(s?) and (almost) installed nest thermostat.
- Removed carpets
-replaced all electrical outlets with three prong ones and switched out all light switches and covers.
Products we couldn't live without:
-Warner 5 Way Tool (this is my godsend, I cant recommend it enough)
-Frog Tape (this tape is the BEST, we tried 3M and we were super let down)
- GooGone (we used this to remove old adhesive, paint stains etc)
Its been so stressful at times but it is the most satisfying experience. Its still bare bones as far as decor and we still need to install ceiling fans in the bedrooms, recessed lighting in the hallway and paint the closet doors, but we are 99% done with the front half of the house and it feels GREAT! Many thanks to our parents for lending us tools, wisdom and helping hands and our friends who helped move, helped pull up carpet and helped paint.
Next month I will post our March progress but in between I will be writing some mini posts about how we did things and some finishing touches in these spaces.
