I started stripping wallpaper in my dining room this week.
I thought it added an old world charm, enhancing the age and style of my home. It may even be original from my 1870 Victorian, but it was most likely added in the 1960's.
It matched my madeover furniture I brought from my farmhouse perfectly. The color of my huge cupboard and rocking chair is called Buckwheat. I painted all the trim the same color.
I was okay with it also because being an old home, I knew that the walls are plaster and lathe and that there is a really good chance that there were many cracks and imperfections in them. It has proven true in other parts of the home that we have redone.
That was all good and well until I went to my Pastor's home for a ladies' bible study. Our Pastor's wife Kathleen went to school for design and I have always loved her style. She has done a wonderful job styling their new home with every single element I love and have seen on HGTV!
Our tastes are similar except for one thing. Where I use color and wallpaper, she used a backdrop of plain grey walls. All of her décor just popped! Industrial and primitive mixed in with modern worked so well.
I have been incorporating a lot of industrial and primitive items into my dining room décor but they seemed to have gotten lost in the busyness of the wallpaper.
When I got home from her house I went into the dining room and started ripping the wallpaper off in an area I knew was loose....I really did! I have left the remnants there as a reminder that I was really going to do this.
Should I even go into the fact that there are two other projects that I was definitely getting to this winter? I still have the paint swatches hanging from the door frame in my linen closet area. The wallpaper has to be stripped from there too and it should be a fairly easy and quick job. But still it is waiting.
My front foyer floor and stairs are hardwood and a hot mess. This house used to have two apartments upstairs so it was the main entrance for those and the main house. After I saw Tuula's makeover over at Thrifty Rebel Vintage, I was determined to pretty mine up too. Still it sits waiting. That would be a significantly harder job!
I think it comes down to how sick you are of looking at the stuff that needs fixing. I am pretty sick of looking at my front hall entrance, I am still okay with the linen closet area, but the dining room? I was more than over looking at that wallpaper.
Can I say I might be regretting it now?
It is too late to turn back. Major cracks.
And did I mention yet that the wallpaper is not cooperating on coming off? It is GLUED on pretty good.
I am now thinking of how I might be able to embrace the cracks. You know, make them part of the design and décor? My vision is to paint the walls a neutral linen color so that all my stuff shows much better.
I have visions of those ancient walls you see in Italian villas or castles in Ireland.
Yeah, probably not.
Our handyman Jim is coming over this weekend to fix our kitchen faucet. I may have to ambush him and negotiate a job.
The dining room!
Stay tuned!
AnnMarie xoxo
What was I thinking??!!
I have talked myself into leaving the wallpaper in the dining room for the past 20 years for a couple reasons. I thought it added an old world charm, enhancing the age and style of my home. It may even be original from my 1870 Victorian, but it was most likely added in the 1960's.
It matched my madeover furniture I brought from my farmhouse perfectly. The color of my huge cupboard and rocking chair is called Buckwheat. I painted all the trim the same color.
That was all good and well until I went to my Pastor's home for a ladies' bible study. Our Pastor's wife Kathleen went to school for design and I have always loved her style. She has done a wonderful job styling their new home with every single element I love and have seen on HGTV!
I have been incorporating a lot of industrial and primitive items into my dining room décor but they seemed to have gotten lost in the busyness of the wallpaper.
Should I even go into the fact that there are two other projects that I was definitely getting to this winter? I still have the paint swatches hanging from the door frame in my linen closet area. The wallpaper has to be stripped from there too and it should be a fairly easy and quick job. But still it is waiting.
My front foyer floor and stairs are hardwood and a hot mess. This house used to have two apartments upstairs so it was the main entrance for those and the main house. After I saw Tuula's makeover over at Thrifty Rebel Vintage, I was determined to pretty mine up too. Still it sits waiting. That would be a significantly harder job!
I think it comes down to how sick you are of looking at the stuff that needs fixing. I am pretty sick of looking at my front hall entrance, I am still okay with the linen closet area, but the dining room? I was more than over looking at that wallpaper.
Can I say I might be regretting it now?
It is too late to turn back. Major cracks.
And did I mention yet that the wallpaper is not cooperating on coming off? It is GLUED on pretty good.
I am now thinking of how I might be able to embrace the cracks. You know, make them part of the design and décor? My vision is to paint the walls a neutral linen color so that all my stuff shows much better.
I have visions of those ancient walls you see in Italian villas or castles in Ireland.
Yeah, probably not.
Our handyman Jim is coming over this weekend to fix our kitchen faucet. I may have to ambush him and negotiate a job.
The dining room!
Stay tuned!
AnnMarie xoxo
I am linking up with these great blog parties:
We just removed the wallpaper from our stairwell, also with lathe & plaster walls and an old home. It's a lot of work but I love the new look - so fresh & bright. I can't wait to see your walls when they are done :)
ReplyDeletethere is something to be said for cracks...I call them wrinkles. LOL, and we all know about those. The probably need a good sizing and seal first anyway. You could try a 'pickling' wash in the colors of your choice mixed with a clear sealer and paint to see if you could get that old stonewashed look, while covering some imperfections. A big sea sponge is great for this look, and makes quick work of it.
ReplyDeleteI've used 1/4 paint to 3/4 sealer and up to 1/2 and 1/2. The opacity of the paint determines how much this will cover. You could experiment and see, and always paint over it with little issues. Sometimes emphasizing flaws can be its own design....LOVE your room though, all the built-ins will pop with the neutral behind it. Sandi
Oh AnnMarie, I loved that wallpaper! You know me though, Victorian at heart! Wishing you luck with the project! Don't worry, I know it will at turn out just fine! :)
ReplyDeleteWishing you a Happy Valentine's Day on Sunday!
Gina
I detest removing wallpaper - why is it always impossible to remove? Can you just put drywall over everything and start from scratch or would that be too expensive?
ReplyDeleteIn my bedroom at the lakehouse we tried to remove 3 ancient layers of wallpaper when we bought the house. They came off in 2" pieces. I wanted to cry. It was one huge mess. Once we got it all off, the walls were in horrible shape. I bought something in the paint department that we mixed with paint and rolled onto the walls - it gave the walls a textured finish and covered the imperfections. I was happy with the results and it was way cheaper than drywalling the entire room.
It's a big job to take off all that wallpaper, I know. I've done it. So many possibilities of what to do with the wall and its cracks once you're at that point. I can't wait to see what you come up with. I know it will be wonderful. Same with your foyer and stairs. You'll be happy to have everything freshened up AnnMarie. xo
ReplyDeleteYour home is charming!! I detest taking off wallpaper - it must be one of the most awful DIY jobs ever!! I used fabric softener and hot water in a spray bottle after using one of those things you use to perforate the wallpaper, it made it more tolerable but still....I do not envy you one bit! Can't wait to see the finished product, though! I just added your blog to my blogroll so I can keep up with your posts - so glad I found your blog by you finding mine!!
ReplyDeleteOh my, you have your hands full now! I know you'll come up with something lovely - good luck!
ReplyDeleteRather you than me :) Our kitchen is going to need freshening up soon, but not yet. I hope to just do the paintwork as the paper is fairly neutral and in pretty good nick. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteDiana
Oooh Ann Marie that looks like hard work! I bet you'll be so glad when it's done though.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking with Thoughts of Home on Thursday. We are so happy with the warm welcome we've had today. :)
Hi Ann Marie, the wallpaper is beautiful, I'm so glad that you shared it on SYC! Thank you! xx Jo
ReplyDeleteAnnMarie, If you can make those cracks work out nice....please show us the finished work. I hope you can get your home repairs done like you want. I am still looking at two different colors of wood floors that touch...waiting for my hubby to sand. Waiting-waiting-waiting. I told him I could have sanded it in all these years with my emory boards. LOL> Blessings, xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteI understand exactly what you're going through AnnMarie. This whole old house of mine s wallpapered when we moved in here 18 years ago. I removed it all room by room, and some had several layers. A few years ago I actually put wallpaper up again in one of the bathrooms, but will probably be taking it down again. lol.
ReplyDeleteI am the same as you, AnnMarie...when I get something in my head, I have to change it immediately. So I can totally relate to the fact that you came home and ripped the wallpaper right off the wall! I hope that your handyman can help you out. Looking forward to seeing the transformation. Oh, and by the way, I've got my projects lined up, too. I can't decide which to do first...so I haven't started any of them!
ReplyDeleteHi Ann Marie,
ReplyDeleteOh how I remember the tedious task of removing old wallpaper in our house. Also discovering all the cracks in the old plaster walls. Could rub a color wash into the walls or do the quick version of Venician plaster and feel like you're in an old villa. What we did was put up Grass cloth and we have never regretted it. I know whatever you decide to do will look wonderful and be soooo worth the effort and time.
xoxo,
Vera
I feel your pain! In an old house, any lufting of carpets or peeling off wallpaper can result in a 'can of worms' scenario!! We had our living room walls re-skimmed as they were so bad, cracks, artex etc.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, your homes is looking very charming xx
I feel your pain--our house in Wolcott was built in 1876 and had cracks EVERYWHERE!!! We used wallpaper as our strategy for covering them.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, that is some job! Been there and it was never fun. In the house we live in now, there is wallpaper under the paint in two bedrooms! I guess the original owners (1920's) wallpapered. Then the next owner painted. We are the third owners and so we've got what we've got! The walls are obviously not perfect now, but that's ok, nothing in this old house is. We chalk it up to charm...like your cracks! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi AnnMarie, I know removing wall paper can be a huge job. In a lot of cases I have painted right over the paper as long as it is in good condition without flaws that would show with paint. You can fix a few spots before painting if needed. For the cracks, I did a tuscan type wall in our living room about 10 years ago. Changed it since them with my look, but at that time, I painted cracks to get the look you already have. It can be a plus to paint and them glaze over for an antiqued old world look as long as the cracks aren't getting bigger. Then that's a whole other issue. Looks like you have some winter fun to look forward too.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day!! xo
Wow you took the plunge and decided to remove the wallpaper. I can see how pretty the linen color will look on the walls. But I would cover up the cracks because it might not be good for the house structurally to leave them like that. I live in an earthquake zone so I worry about that stuff.
ReplyDeleteAw the pleasures of owning an older home. I have the same situation in my bathroom. :) Just think when its finished you'll love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for joining Thoughts of Home on Thursday. Your presence really helped to make it very special. I hope you will return again and again.
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!
There is always that stage in a big project where you wonder what you were thinking. I know it well. But I also know that you will persevere and see it through and that it will be wonderful and well worth the journey.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Oh my....I know that feeling of what was I thinking well. Your handyman will, hopefully, come up with a solution to your problem with the walls, and you will end up loving the results. It will end up being a labor of love. Your house is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Oh AnnMarie, I know this is a JOB! I've had my fair share of "what-was-I-thinking-projects!" I can't wait to see the beauty that comes from your hard work. Thank you for sharing @Vintage Charm!
ReplyDeleteOh my, looks like you have your work cut out for you. I guess older homes will do that to you.
ReplyDeleteMary Alice
Stripping wallpaper is one of those jobs I have vowed to never do again, so I feel your pain, lol. Hopefully you'll come up with an idea to cover or disguise the cracks, but embrasing their charm is OK with me especially in an older home.
ReplyDeleteHi AnnMarie,
ReplyDeleteOh gosh...what a huge job you've gotten yourself into...I think it's a good idea to get some advice from your handyman...you may need a bit of help with this one.
What about just putting up wallpaper again? They have paintable wallpaper, so you could use it to hide the cracks and paint it the wall color you want...
I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Kimberley
Hi AnnMarie,
ReplyDeleteOh gosh...what a huge job you've gotten yourself into...I think it's a good idea to get some advice from your handyman...you may need a bit of help with this one.
What about just putting up wallpaper again? They have paintable wallpaper, so you could use it to hide the cracks and paint it the wall color you want...
I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Kimberley
Oh cutie, you make me laugh! I too often have too many irons in the fire. Started an on line quilt block today and I really should finish others I've started. :) I sometimes get the urge to do something after I visit a friends lovely home as well. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
I don't know, embracing the cracks sounds like it might be an interesting look. I've seen photos of French apartments with the walls "as is" and the art looks cool on the walls.
ReplyDeleteNow I can't wait to see what you do.
Thanks for Sharing Your Cup!