Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Well, we started in the dining room. It seemed after only ten minutes that things were going pretty smoothly. We scored, sprayed, sprayed again and the edges started to loosen. I started in one corner and got a pretty good size piece loose. It was just peeling right off. Success! Until I looked under the piece. MORE WALLPAPER! Ugh. I never thought that a 30 year old house would have multiple layers. It's turning into a minor disaster. The newer layer comes off cleanly enough, but the older one is so thin that its hard to get it off without damaging the drywall beneath it.

Today is day 2. Wish us luck!

It has begun.

I couldn't help myself. We were in the half bath discussing some ideas and I noticed a peeling corner of paper behind the towel bar. It was just begging to be ripped off. I got a few spots down to the bare wall where the border overlapped with the wallpaper. Oh yeah, did I mention that? There is a row of border paper halfway up the bathroom wall. As if just the wallpaper wasn't bad enough.

This weekend will be the first official project, starting with removing that dining room wallpaper. I'm praying that it comes down easily. We've gotten quite a few suggestions on the best ways to take it down. I think we'll start by scoring with the Pirahna http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=64100-1748-202301&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3036950&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=sim and use hot water and vinegar to loosen the glue. If this doesn't seem to be working we'll upgrade to a commercial steamer.

We've narrowed down some paint colors for the first floor. It will be nice to have some wallpaper free walls to put these lovely colors on.

Fingers crossed!

Things that go bump in the night.

We discovered a new critter last night. A raccoon scampered out of the woods as we were finishing dinner, crying and fussing and making a ruckus as it came through the brush in the backyard. I initially thought it was a lost puppy. Silly me. We can only imagine that he came out because it was trash night. Otherwise the few hundred acres of woods I hope would be more appealing than hiding under our deck. We might need to get a deer cam to check and see what else comes through.

Icing on the cake.

Just another touch of class.



I seriously can't believe people still live with this crap hanging around. These shades should have been chucked at least 15 years ago, along with the brass chandelier. The replacement fixture will take some time to pick out as it will have to go with whatever goes over the kitchen island. There is currently a recessed light over the island, another bad idea as it does not produce enough light for such a major work space. I will be spending lots of time here http://www.lightinguniverse.com/ in the meantime.

As promised.

Here is a shot of the camouflaged heat vent. I'll tip my hat to whoever took the time to oh so carefully cut and paste this on to the vent.

Neighbors.

We saw our neighborhood deer again yesterday afternoon. Around 4pm there were five deer in the backyard, including a baby and a large buck. This was a different, younger buck than the one we saw the day we moved in. Apparently our house is on one of the regular pathways the deer travel. There are tracks everywhere, including on our deck and nearly right up to the front door. Of course my camera is always out of reach.

Grrrr.

Ugh. I'm having quite the tough time figuring out how to get my card reader for my camera card to work on this laptop. I've got new pics to share and they're stuck in this little piece of plastic. This will have to be remedied. Unfortunately the IT department is sleeping in today.

In the meantime I've gotten a few requests for help. "Come to our house when you're done!" Which I'd love to do for everyone, at least virtually. I'll try to figure out a way for people to post or email pics and I will gladly share some advice. My design brain is always on and when I walk into a room usually the first thing I do is rearrange it in my head. I've had friends be afraid of me judging their house when I come over but I promise this is not the case. With some minor exceptions I've always been able to separate my own style from that of others. To each their own. One of my strongest design beliefs, especially when it comes to homes, is to fill it with things you love. If you do that it will all come together.

So much for my day off!

I was planning on having a really productive day today. I never take days off so I thought I'd take full advantage, maybe get my closet together or at least all my clothes in one place.

Not so much. My cat, Andre, was so scared of the cable guy that he peed on the carpet in the hallway and then sat on the wet spot. So I cleaned the carpet and then had to give the cat a bath, which is not something I regularly do. In fact I haven't fully shampooed him since he was a kitten and he fell in the toilet.

I also discovered that he has somehow cut or scratched his paw so I attempted to attend to that as well. I even ran out to buy gauze so I could bandage him up but after a series of dirty looks in my direction he just shook it til it fell off. Ah well, I hope at least the neosporin helps.

The good news is we've got cable finally. I am way behind on Real Housewives of Orange County! More to come tomorrow!

Alright, alright.

So the dining room has taken a narrow lead, due to some campaigning a certain someone has been doing. But what do I see? Is the bedroom creeping up from behind?

For reference (since I'm still working out the kinks on here) the crackled peach disaster is the base paper in the bedroom (close up below) and the border is the navy blue with flowers the I think was supposed to look like needlepoint but instead just looks like pixelated. The trim is painted peach to match which just makes me shake my head in wonder. Omg that reminds me! Speaking of the wallpaper being plastered everywhere...in the bedroom the border is quite masterfully tacked over a heat vent on the wall. I can only imagine the time and precision it took someone to make that happen. I'll post a picture asap.

Keep the votes coming!

A tie?

Ok, so with 20 votes so far there seems to be a tie between the dining room and the half bath. I guess that bathroom wallpaper is far more offensive than I thought. Some small disillusioned part of me was reminded of something by Josef Frank (see links) only gone terribly 80's wrong.

I'll wait for more votes but the good news is those rooms would be the easiest and fastest to take down. Famous last words right? The crisp peeling edges of each strip of paper are just calling to be pulled down, even it knows its days are numbered.

How could I forget?

I can't believe I left this one off. It's everywhere! I hope the picture comes out ok. From afar the walls just look beige but as you get closer you can see the architectural pattern going on there. This is in the hallways, downstairs and upstairs. There is so much of it. Taking it down in the hallway above the stairs is going to be a challenge, but well worth it.

I should mention that the picture below with the flowers in the center and the looping greenery is in the mudroom/laundry room. True to form it is even behind the washer and dryer (which are closed off by a set of doors anyway) and on all the light switches.

Bad, worse and just plain awful.

Lots, and lots, and LOTS of bad wallpaper. I've named the wallpaper and border combo in the bedroom "How do you sleep at night?". The sellers were even kind enough to leave the matching curtains and some lovely throw pillows to match. Can you say bonfire?

The kitchen is painted a deep shade of red, over the wallpaper, leaving me to wonder just how bad that wallpaper must have been for someone to paint over it. It's hard to imagine something worse than the faux fabric in the dining room. (Psssst...you're not fooling anyone) Whoever put this stuff up was serious too. They papered the inside of the window frames, even up behind the cornice along with a 5/8" strip along a section of the crown molding. Just lovely.

Although the paisley in the half bath is not completely offensive in terms of pattern, the color wave is disgusting. If you're going to have flowers and leaves why make them brown, blue and some muted color that is best reserved for yogurt? All of the outlet covers and switch plates have also been papered.

What do we take down first?

Here goes!

My first post. I have no idea what I'm doing but off I go. I'll take some pics of the house tonight so the world can get an idea of just how much hideous wallpaper is in the otherwise lovely home. Oh wait, did I mention the carpet?