Thursday, January 20, 2011

Peeling Back the Layers

I have been a time traveler in my own house this week. I started out by finding this forties or maybe fifties rose print which had sadly been painted over with a bubblegum pink paint. I am thinking very evil thoughts about past residents who paint over wallpaper. They create a hellish task for future house renovators! On top of that there is this sweet ticking and floral stripe that looks early 1960's to me.
Then I found a groovy seventies floral print.
This wonderful old print was in the spare room which will become the dressing room. I wish it was intact because I might have kept this one.
This eighties mauve and colonial blue border print was the most recent and the last (top) layer.
Here you can see how I had to chip away inch by inch through all the layers which required multiple soakings. The lovely pink paint splintered into millions of tiny chips which I had to wash down off the walls. I still need to sand to get rid of them all before the walls are ready to paint.
Three days and a bottle of Advil later. Voila! Beautiful plaster walls which look pretty good as is to me but I don't think my husband would appreciate this look. He doesn't get that shabby thing that I like.
As a side note, look at these vicious looking icicles we have hanging off of our roof right now. I feel like I am living in an ice palace.
More to come later....

3 comments:

Sea Angels said...

Please will you swop houses with me ha ha I adore the room just as it is and I think those vicious looking icicles are the best I have ever seen.
You know Loribeth I was so enchanted by the layers of wall paper as well, isn't it funny how interesting and inspiring such a simple job as stripping a room is, I have so loved these posts thank you xx
Lynn

Terri said...

How facinating! It is like travelling through time. Sorry about the ache and pains though, I have been there for sure, renovating an older home. One of our homes had lath and plaster walls with horse hair in it to help give the plaster strength, it was super messy and awful to breathe! But so satisfying to see the results.
It looks like you are done with the worst of it now. I actually like the walls how they are too, but my hubby would not like it either.
Can't wait to see how it comes along : )
Hugs,
Terri

Alice said...

I believe a bedroom in our Milford house had the wallpaper you say you would have kept. Jeff didn't agree and off it went.

I love seeing your house and imagining you standing there taking the picture:)

Alice