Stripping wallpaper fun

Parent Cafe
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<p>ag54- the folks who decorated our houses had to have been twins!</p>

<p>We said that the house looked like a cross between a tacky funeral home and a bordello.</p>

<p>We didn’t have foil wallpaper on the ceiling in the entry way. Nope, we had veined mirror tiles!!! Which reflected the dark burgundy wall paper with enormous pink cabbage roses on the wall and the many faceted fake gold chandelier. The downstairs (except for the kitchen–see above) was carpeted in pepto-bismal pink. The living and dining room wall matched that wonderful carpet, except that the dining room had “panels” of burgundy flowered wallpaper framed by “fancy” molding. Heavy pepto-bismal draperies in the living room; heavy burgundy with little flowers draperies in the dining room, both sets shirred so tightly on the rod that, when tied back only a small triangle of light peeked through. The downstairs hallway had really bad dark paneling below a chair rail. Above was wallpaper: more dark burgundy wall paper with the giant roses. The powder room had the foil wallpaper.</p>

<p>The upstairs was just as heavy-handed but with more wild abandon.</p>

<p>I didn’t see past all this when we toured the house. It was only after, as we were in the car and I was running the house through my mind, that I realized that the layout and proportions were great. And the realtor minimized our concerns by telling us the issues were “just cosmetic.” I didn’t know at the time that “just cosmetic” can cover a ton of money and time. But we’ve been there for 24 years now, and yes, it does have good bones.</p>

<p>mathmom-we cross posted. I guess they were triplets.</p>

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<p>mafool and mathmom, we should start of club for people who’ve bought atrociously decorated homes! I’m sure there are tons of us on CC.</p>

<p>It is fun to read y’all’s descriptions!</p>

<p>As to how we got the paper off - we eventually paid someone. When we bought the house, we were so stretched financially (1 year old with another on the way and I had just quit my job to stay home) that we had to live with what we got for quite a while. We did renovations room by room as we could, starting with taking the pink flowers out of our son’s bedroom. The last to get done was the living room because there was NO way we could do it. A contractor had to come in with scaffolding to get the paper down.</p>

<p>I like the way we had to do it though - in stages. It gave us a real appreciation of how lucky we were to have “our” house. It was also fun (in those early days) to work side by side making the house what we wanted it to be. </p>

<p>I think that people miss out on something when they buy “Barbie’s Dream House”. You know the ones - they look like a model home. There is something really satisfying in seeing something atrocious turn into something beautiful (at least in your eyes ;)). Somebody loved all that foil and flowers too, and they’d probably hate what’s happened to their dream homes!!</p>

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<p>I am a realtor and the stories I can tell you…the worse part is I have to be professional and I just want to bust out laughing when I walk in the door (I always walk in b4 the client…dogs are usually my reason) anyway I digress, I am almost positive that I have seen every color, every wallpaper, and way too many porcelain dolls or beanies in lucite containers for my liking. I once went into a room with at least 300 dolls, big chintz floral curtains, purple carpeting and ruffled satin comforter…I have seen colors that can only be described as “WOW”, and you actually grab your sunglasses. </p>

<p>Only a month ago I was in a home that had a double green stove, and wallpaper filled with strawberries, white commercial style linoleum tile that you find in the grocery store, but the best part it had blue laminate counters with 1940 oak cabinets (house was built in 41 and I am pretty sure these were the original, at least 30 yrs plus…The bedrooms were neon pink, neon purple and royal blue. Best part my couple placed a bid and offered 3% below asking price…she rejected it saying that renovating the house wouldn’t cost that much, afterall it was only the kitchen and all of the bedrooms. The $ amt was off 10K</p>

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<p>You know, reading this thread is starting to make me nervous about putting up the wallpaper in my daughter’s room. In my old home (lived in for 14 years, 5 years ago) we had to pull out all the wallpaper (every single wall was covered.) The main/great room had that textured paper and one of the kids rooms had the burlap wallpaper. The only room that didn’t have wallpaper was the half bath…and that was wall to wall (including the ceiling) mirror! When I moved to my current home, I had vowed to not use wallpaper. Instead we faux painted all the bathrooms (two with stencils so they look like wallpaper). Now that we are doing my daughter’s room, I found this paper that looks like a vintage damask and is textured. I hope that I do not come to regret this move.</p>

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<p>memphismom said

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<p>No, most of the people I know do not have such bright colors in their houses. I just think yellows are cheerful.</p>

<p>Years ago, when the kids were tiny and we were very poor I knew a woman who decorated her house in light sherbert colors: pale raspberry, pale lime, pale orange, pale blue, etc. I thought it looked wonderful and I tried several times to figure out a way to do it, but it just won’t work.</p>

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<p>It’s the “great circle of life” to quote the inimitable Lion King. Tear out nasty old wall paper. Paint walls. Grow restless and strangely drawn to wall paper catalogues. Put in wall paper. Love the look then years pass and the urge returns . . . Tear out nasty old wallpaper . . .</p>

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<p>seiclan-</p>

<p>Just make sure you prime and size the walls. It will come off if and when you want it to.</p>

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<p>OK, Bullet here (Pima’s H),</p>

<p>After listening in the background to Pima’s hysterical laughter the past 4 days, I had to read this thread.</p>

<p>For the love of all that is Holy, please stop! :slight_smile: You can’t imagine the ideas and thoughts she is now putting towards our new home. And let me tell you, what that usually means is more work for me! Being in the military, I can’t tell you the number of times I come home from a deployment only to find her latest “projects” and “accomplishments”. Don’t get me wrong, they usually are beautiful, and I’m constantly amazed by her “Martha”-like skills, but there always is this little corner or part of near the ceiling that is “not quite right” and needs to be “fixed” by me! </p>

<p>And the stories I can tell you about her “projects”! They usually revolve around the work she and her best friend do on the house. (I call the two of them “Lucy and Ethel”, because I just have to laugh at their mis-adventures that involve decorating the house. And I usually just turn to her and say “Lucy, you have some “splainen” to do!” :stuck_out_tongue: ) It’s amazing what two women willing to experiment with a paint brush can do, espcially after their fourth bottle of wine!</p>

<p>I know there are other husbands who belong with me on the “married to an engineer” thread who are in agreement. Looks great! But those little imperfections drive me nuts! And it only ends up with me leaning percariously on top rung of a ladder fixing the places she couldn’t reach! </p>

<p>God I love her, and she puts up with me when I tell her "Honey, I’ll do any project you want around the house, as long as I get to go to Lowes to buy the “right tool for the job”. (my toolbox has grown nicely because of this!) You know, that 70s wallpaper works for me. I’ve even gotten used to those shiny foil squares and shag carpets. And I couldn’t tell you which drape matches which wall covering; and don’t get me started on matching throw pillows!</p>

<p>But for the love of God, stop encouraging her and giving her ideas!!!</p>

<p>Of course, I jest. You are all amazing. And without you, us husbands would be living in a dull and bland world. Covered with orange and green Shag carpets!</p>

<p>Bullet</p>

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<p>Pima here…don’t listen to him! Give me more ideas! I am sorry he got hold of the laptop, I promise never to let it happen again, I was busy being a Mom</p>

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<p>I have to admit that I haven’t read this thread. But I have to say, I’m extremely impressed that you can spend 8 pages of posts discussing how to strip wallpaper (that is, if you stayed on topic)!</p>

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<p>Stayed on topic? Sure, if you count wine cellars, beanie babies, and terrible 70’s decorating schemes as part of the original topic. ;)</p>

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<p>^^^amb3r, to paraphrase my D, “We have skillz!”</p>

<p>bulletandpima, were you guys our realtors, by any chance? :wink: </p>

<p>Our realtors, a lovely couple, had some major taste differences when it came to colors. When the wife was showing houses to us, she beamed up anytime she saw pastel colors and meticulously crafted decor schemes with everything a-matching. The husband, on the other hand, could not stand wallpaper of any kind, detested anything pink (his wife was prohibited from even saying the word, she had to call it “peach”), and once almost had a heart attack when we walked into a house where every room had different flowery decor complete with handmade ruffled curtains and bedspreads. In our tour of more than 50 homes we’ve seen it all. The worst was a house where apparently the wife had a major fight with her husband and made herself “an apartment” in the garage. Needless to say, we ran as fast as we could from that house.</p>

<p>I would say that the thought of stripping wallpaper stirred us towards buying a newly constructed house. And 9 years later, only two rooms are painted anything but “eggshell”: the powder room was my “while you were out” project when H was at a conference, and playroom has light yellow and light blue Disney paint. Now, after looking at too many messages on this thread, I’m itching to paint something else while H is in “the land of evil bosses”.</p>

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<p>No, No and no again…I am smart enough not to work with him :stuck_out_tongue: we would be the realtors you ran away from (although we do have the same taste in decorating…let’s be honest he just agrees!)</p>

<p>Bunsen b4 you start painting and I am still waiting for suggestions on my bedroom…no cutting the line!</p>

<p>BTW an apartment (man cave) is our dream, watch the tv at the highest level and I don’t hear it is my dream</p>

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<p>^ Just one word. M-I-R-R-O-R-S. </p>

<p>On the ceiling and red velvet walls. Honest, we saw one.</p>

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<p>A colleague of my husband’s has a cupid fountain spraying water in his living room. Very sober statistician fellow. Never married. Great cook. Whatever.</p>

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<p>Regarding staying on topic:</p>

<p>It is one of the Great Laws of Life: Buy the new (insert your item here) and the (insert your item here) looks wrong/bad/dirty. THEN, the (insert your item here) looks wrong/bad/dirty. And so on.</p>

<p>SO, stripping the wallpaper in a kitchen may seem like a small topic but it will no doubt lead to looking at the condition of the cabinets/counters/floors. And then, the adjoining rooms must “flow” and you need to add a touch for “pop”.
(That last line belongs in the “Retorical tics” thread.)</p>

<p>My wine cellar got a little smaller over the last few days, BTW. DH found a thermopane door somewhere that fits a smaller closet and has a very pretty window. Of course, this closet can be seen from several angles and so we’ll need to re-think the decor in several areas.</p>

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<p>I’m sorry, but the visual of this just seems so AWFUL!!! I mean the last thing I want to look up at when I am “powdering my nose” is a reflection of myself…</p>

<p>That would have to be the FIRST thing to go!!!:)</p>

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<p>Oh and bullet, you are awesome! I can tell from your post how much fun you and pima have with your “projects”. It shines right through!!!</p>

<p>And, my husband uses the, “Lucy, you’ve got some splainin to do” too, but only when my hair color turns out a bit too “shiny penny”.;)</p>

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<p>2cakes, I heard it’s pretty much standard equipment now to have a internet connected computer inside the wine cellar so that you can electronically track your years and vintages.</p>

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<p>Bullet, you want to start an “I’m married to Martha!” thread? ;)</p>