Let’s talk about what we’d like to accomplish before this baby comes for a second. In our first house when we were preparing for Clara’s arrival, over those nine months we tackled a few rooms that were still on our redo list (mainly the full bathroom and the nursery) since so much of the house was already done (our kitchen reno was all finished, the hardwood floors had been redone, we had opened up some walls and closed off others, etc). This time around, there’s a baby on the way but this house is much less finished than our first one was, so our goals before baby are more about getting it to a nice blank slate than a fully finished after.
You see, I’m a mom on a mission. And that mission is to get rid of all of the old wallpaper, old carpeting, and blue trim before this baby comes. So that means chipping away at seven spaces over the next six months:
- de-blue-trim-ifying and de-wallpapering the dining room
- finishing Project No More Graph Paper in the kitchen
- stripping the blue wallpaper in the sink/tub area of our bathroom
- ripping up the old carpet runner on the stairs (our new runners finally came after being on backorder, woot!)
- painting the blue trim in the office
- removing the old carpeting on the steps that lead from the garage into the kitchen (don’t even know if we’ve shown those…)
Of course we also have other updates on our radar that we mentioned in this post last Friday – like adding built-ins to the bedroom, amping up the office, packing in a few guest room updates, and creating a nursery of course! But man I’ll be a happy momma to slowly but surely send the blue trim, the peeling wallpaper, and those old stair runners packing. Out with the old, and in with the new, baby! Or should I say out with the old and in with the new baby? Somehow they both work.
And we actually get to cross off that second bullet already, thanks to a few days of the serious wallpaper battle that I waged on the kitchen graph paper wallpaper. Ahh, look at that clean wallpaper-less wall, complete with a big ol’ intercom. Can I get a hootie hoo?
Every time I tackle wallpaper I try out a different wallpaper removal method just to see what works better (I’m like Anderson Cooper with this hard-hitting investigative journalism) so you can read about how boiling water worked here, and how a steamer worked here (spoiler alert: so far the steamer is in the lead). And this time my method of choice was warm tap water and Dr Bronner’s soap. I hear that soap can help cut the glue from the wallpaper a bit more than plain water can. Some people swear by a Downy + water mixture, but since my tummy is so easily rebellious these days (morning sickness tends to go until about the half-way point of pregnancy for me) and my nose is turned up to “bloodhound mode”, I opted for a less fragrant soap that still cuts grease/tackiness : Dr. Bronner’s.
I just added about seven squirts of Dr Bronner’s to my wonky spray bottle (remember when I nearly melted it with boiling water here?) and filled the rest of the bottle with hot water from the tap (so it wasn’t boiling, but it wasn’t lukewarm either). Then I sprayed down this entire wall, let it soak in for about three minutes, and got to work peeling like a madwoman.
This is my third attempt at wallpaper removal and my third attempt without a scoring tool. Going into this I assumed I’d try one out one of these times, but thanks to many large sheets coming off like this, I’ve actually become afraid of a scoring tool since it seems like it could create a lot more work for me (peeling off ten million scored pieces instead of one big sheet).
So the best removal methods certainly seem to depend on a multitude of factors (how stuck your wallpaper is, what glue was used, what prep work was done to the wall under it before it was papered, and how old it is, how many layers there are, etc). My recommendation would be to try peeling it without scoring first, and if it just won’t budge you can then move onto scoring things to get through the paper and loosen things up. I just think it’s a smart secondary step in case your wallpaper comes up in larger sheets like ours has so far (if it helps anyone, this wallpaper was all applied around 30 years ago to our knowledge, and we believe the walls were properly prepped beneath it with primer, which definitely helps with removal).
After doing that big wall next to the table, I just inched my way around the room, spraying, waiting three minutes for it to soak in, and peeling.
Once again, there were some nice big sections that came off…
… but of course from these piles you can see that there were also smaller sections that took a little longer after the big chunks came down (I just resprayed those more stubborn areas and picked at them with my fingernail until they came off). I should also mention that I tried a spackle knife since I’ve heard those can be helpful but I found that it caused little dents in the wall so I quickly abandoned that. I’d rather take my time getting the paper off and have pristine walls in the end than ding them up getting the paper off faster (but then have to spend time spackling those spots to get things smooth again).
I ended up getting around to the other side of the kitchen (where the built-in desk is) about three hours into the removal process, which is when this momma needed a break.
So I posted this Instagram picture of the mess I made, and curled up in the fetal position for a while. Wallpaper will do that to ya.
About four days later I had more prego gusto as I like to call it (every few days I get bursts of energy, and dang it if I don’t capitalize on them) so I ran into the kitchen with a battle cry of “Arrrggggghhh!” and scared the dog got to spraying and peeling again. I had this side of the kitchen to do this time, which was easier in some aspects (the backsplash is a lot smaller of a space to peel, for example)…
… but there seemed to be more glue going on, so it took a while longer to make my way around.
More glue in some areas meant that I was left with more of the paper backing on the walls in some areas, which looked a little bit like white tiger stripes wherever it stuck to the wall.
Here’s where I tried an entirely new method, that worked LIKE GANGBUSTERS. Guys, if you have that paper backing mocking you silently from your freshly peeled walls, here’s what to try. Fill a bowl with as-hot-as-you-can-get-it tap water and a few pumps of Dr Bronner’s soap (I’m sure other soaps could work, but I had luck with DBs). Then just dip a paper towel or a rag into it and dab that over the paper backing right on the wall. It saturates it a lot more than the spray bottle (without giving you hand cramps from squeeze-squeeze-squeezing) and…
… even giant chunks of that stubborn backing should peel right off in one giant piece. At least that’s what worked this time. Look at me go.
So in some parts of the room it felt like I was really peeling wallpaper twice (since it was a few hours of wallpaper removal followed by a few hours of backing removal) but when the dust cleared, we had a wallpaperless kitchen! Hurrah!
It’s still dark as heck with faux brick linoleum and a big ol’ garage-looking light on the ceiling, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. As for how long the entire process took, I’d estimate that it was 8 hours of work when you add it all up.
But those blank walls sure do feel good. Now all I need to do is wipe them down with a vinegar and water spray (that has worked to get rid of any lingering glue residue in the past for us) and we can paint our little hearts out.
Aaaand, just because I like to cross things off…
- de-blue-trim-ify and de-wallpaper the dining room
finish Project No More Graph Paper in the kitchen- strip the bold blue wallpaper in our bathroom
- rip up the old carpet runner on the stairs (our new runners finally came after being on backorder, woot!)
- paint the blue trim in the office
Oh and in case you’re wondering, the steamer still wins as the easiest/fastest method, but neither the boiling water or the hot tap water + soap approaches were that bad (and they’re 100% free) so they’re pretty decent back-up options – at least to try. Next up, I have my eye on the bathroom wallpaper (I think I need a smaller space to give my arms a break) and the carpet runner on the stairs’ days are numbered too. Be afraid, be very afraid (if you’re our carpet runner or bathroom wallpaper – if not, no need to be afraid). Is there anyone else out there with a deadline and a list of non-negotiable house stuff they’d like to accomplish? Honestly I’m so excited about the nursery that I’m hoping to rush through all of those other bullets so we can get to the fun stuff.
Psst- Clara’s having conversations again. And as usual, she’s cracking us up.
Todd Kelly says
I love when you take down the wallpaper. My OCD needs that paper gone ;) And how about that intercom – so retro! It’s like an Atari 2600 hanging on your wall!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I want to start an intercom club. We can talk about what buttons still work and how big the hole behind them in the wall is (we checked in our bedroom and it can best be described as “gaping”).
xo
s
Megan says
We have an intercom as well (circa 1988) in our new home! I can’t wait to see what you all (John and Sherry) do with yours. We have no plan as of yet.
Megan
Larissa says
We have one in our new (1972) house. I’m scared to touch it.
Emily says
I love the idea of an intercom, but WOW that one is dated :) It’ll be fun to see what you do with it. What about your trick of painting the outside electrical box the same color as the brick?
YoungHouseLove says
Sadly it doesn’t fully work anymore, so we’ll need to update it with more than just paint. We’re leaning towards either a new system or just removing it and patching the wall if we can’t afford one.
xo
s
megan e. says
My inlaws have one of those intercoms. It’s works great as a baby monitor in a big house. No need to have to carry around one of those receivers.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo
s
Mary | Lemon Grove Blog says
Is there anything better than liberating your space from bad, bad wallpaper? We had some dalmatian esq wallpaper in our Master Bedroom and it felt GOOD to peel that off! ;) Your kitchen looks better already!
Rene @thedomesticlady says
Is it weird that I sorta like that wallpaper? kinda has a ralph lauren thing going on. But I am sure it has seen better days. Can’t wait to see the kitchen overhaul!!
http://thedomesticlady.com/2013/10/16/recipe-review-texmex-cheesy-chicken-and-rice-bake/
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, I think in person it was more yellowed and peeling/ratty, so it won’t really be missed. I did save a big chunk of it for memory’s sake though! So far I have saved a strip of wallpaper from all three rooms I’ve peeled – I have dreams of a little shadowbox of them all or something to look back on. The wallpapered outlet plates are the best (I save one of them for each room too).
xo
s
Lisa says
Sherry, I was reading real quick and saw shadowbox. I at first thought you were going to make the space where the intercom is into a shadowbox. Have you considered that? That’s the kind of thing that is a real quirky, unique house thing, but could be cool.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, in a big acrylic box! That would be fun! Eventually that wall will be opened to the living room so I think for now we’re just going to see if we can get a new system (to play ipads from or something) and if that’s too expensive we’ll just remove it entirely.
xo
s
megan says
I love Dr. Bronners! It never fails!
Wendy @ New Moms Talk says
Parents on a house-yard improving mission with deadlines! Absolutely!
Our new house came with 3 greenhouses and 2 concrete ponds. The yard sat untouched for 18+ months. My goal is to get the yard back to a blank slate so next summer Susanna can enjoy it fully.
Every time I look at the stuff we’ve done or are in the midst of doing, I think about her and that mission. It’s incredible how that love and desire for our children can inspire us to move on beyond what once was and to transform spaces for beauty, living, creating, learning, etc
To all who are doing it, I raise a chain saw and pick ax, I light another pile in the fire pit, and I’ll jack hammer in a few days.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw so sweet! Chainsaws and pick axes raised!
xo
s
Wendy @ New Moms Talk says
When you see these pics- you’ll understand why the pick axing and chain sawing- http://www.newmomstalk.com/2013/10/16/yard-pictures-beginning/
After 6 hours of work on Monday, we started to burn the piles that night. Our fire pit was in action for 5 straight hours (legal where we live). It scared the coons away for just a bit.
YoungHouseLove says
Woah! That’s a ton of work!
xo
s
Natalie C says
Sooooo this might be off topic, but OMG $HER DOG HAVE YOU HEARD EMINEM’S NEW SINGLE ‘RAP GOD’? I heard it and I was like “My friend Sheri who doesn’t know I exist would probably love this.” Awkward. For both of us.
YoungHouseLove says
Just heard it yesterday! Although “Berzerk” is still my favorite recent song by him I think.
xo
s
Toni says
Fantastic! I remember painting our living room walls until the wee hours of the morning and then rushing downstairs as soon as I woke up so I could enjoy it in the daylight. Hard work is rewarding!
(By the way, you wrote budget instead of budge.)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Subliminal slip! So funny. Thanks for the tip Toni!
xo
s
Gauri says
I am SO impressed with how different that room looks without wallpaper! Maybe I missed this but are you planning on painting/replacing the cabinets? Now that the wallpaper is gone, I kind of like them dark!
YoungHouseLove says
Unfortunately the cabinets are damaged/gauged/gnawed looking when you get closer (there was a pic on Facebook/Instagram a while back that people were like “oh, now I know what you mean by gouged and damaged!”) so our long haul plan is to paint them and use them in the garage down the line (to create some nice storage along one side that still allows for a car to pull in) and to save up for new cabinets eventually.
xo
s
Aimee says
I would so see if the damage could be repaired before I painted over wood. Cabinet quality is just not the same anymore as it was back in the 70s. I mean, if John could knock off those oddball cabinets in the previous kitchen, simple wood repair and stain matching ought to be a piece of cake in comparison.
YoungHouseLove says
I think if I post photos you’ll see what I mean. Some of the bevels have been grinded down, there are gnawed marks around the base of the doors and framing like they were chewed on by a dog, etc. We’re just not confident that we’ll ever be happy with a patch job since we’re hoping to be here for the long haul. But who knows where we’ll end up!
xo
s
Katie {deranchification} says
Wow – what a difference having blank walls makes!! I have a similar before-baby-to-do list at our house – but I only have about 5 weeks left and need to shift into high gear :)
Brit [House Updated] says
So glad to see that wallpaper gone! Pregnancy is so funny, I totally remember those bursts of energy and you’ve got to go with them. I am really looking forward to seeing the stairs with the runner – aren’t you just so excited when you get a package with stuff for a new project that you want to do it right then and there?!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Except John is the logical one, so he pointed out that we should paint the walls and ceiling of the staircase before we install the new runner so we don’t have to worry about dripping on it. Smart! But another step (boo!).
xo
s
Eileen says
So glad to hear about the Dr. Bronner’s tip. My 21 y.o. daughter just bought a house covered in 1970’s wallpaper. We’ve been using a product called Dif, which really seems to work well, but I’m not crazy about the chemicals in it. I’ll pick up some Dr. Bronner’s for our next weekend wallpaper stripping marathon.
YoungHouseLove says
Hope it works for you Eileen!
xo
s
Emma (Broke Ass Home) says
We’ve got a baby on the way too- though my baby doesn’t’ like me DIYing- with hubby going to school and both of us working full time getting our pre-baby list done is going terribly slow!!
Manda Wolf says
Looking good! With the nice clean white walls it makes the dark wood look really good, almost like someone designed it to be like that. Amazing how much difference just taking off the wallpaper can make in a space… says the girl who has rolls of wallpaper watching her from the living room corner waiting to be installed.
Sugar Cookie says
Yes, speaking of deadlines, my husband and I are expecting our first child in late March. So in addition to the usual baby-anticipating chores (like reading up on pregnancy, planning showers, registering, taking care of hospital details, planning the nursery, working out FMLA time, etc.), I’m also writing my dissertation proposal like a mad woman since I hope it defend it before baby time. Ahh!
YoungHouseLove says
Woah! Go Sugar Cookie, go!
xo
s
Heather says
Your instincts on the paper scorer are dead on — the paper comes off like confetti. I stripped 7 rooms of wallpaper in my old house and used a scorer on 3 of them before I came to the realization that the scorer leaves nasty marks on the drywall as well as shredding the paper. In one room, I more or less had to plaster the walls with spackle to fill all the lines left by the scorer. That wallpaper was my first real DIY project — wish I’d woken up sooner to the damaging aspect of the scorer. I’d have saved myself a lot of spackling.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, so sorry about that Heather!
xo
s
Leah says
I’ll provide the other side of the perspective. I agree with scoring as a second (or third) line tool, but it’s all that worked at my house growing up. We had this textured, fancy wallpaper in the entry. It was so textured that the wall would scratch you if you rubbed against it. The texturing was with fancy white ridges of some weird material that would also rub off if you scraped.
Anyway, we tried our darndest to get that paper off. We soaked, scrubbed, etc. Scoring was the only way to make any inroads. We finally got it off. The wall was damaged enough that my parents just did the plaster texturing thing, which actually looked nice in that space. (side note: apologies to future homeowners who might hate it!)
To note, though, is that the walls were not prepped in any way. It looked like they superglued this heavy duty wallpaper straight onto the drywall when the home was built. It was pretty crazy.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, Leah! That sounds like a bear! So glad you guys figured out a way to get it off!
xo
s
Candice says
In our house, the fireplace brick and mantle is living on borrowed time. I’ve disliked the color or both for the 8 years we’ve been here. The mantle is too shiny with its high gloss finish, too orangey with its stain. We painted the matching orangey oak kitchen cabinets last year…finally. And the brick, blah. Red brown and classic like our exterior but it doesn’t make sense in the house. I’m aiming to have the brick whitewashed and something done w/the mantle by thanksgiving…Christmas decorating season.
Rachel says
I’m impressed that you stick with a method for each room. If I tried another method and it didn’t work as well as another one I’d tried I’d quickly switch to the faster/easier method. Way to hang in there for the sake of research!
Heidi says
What a daunting task to tackle but it is looking great! We have a friend that owns a painting business and he won’t remove wallpaper for clients, no matter how much they are willing to pay him. 2 questions for you…1. Did any of your drywall paper tear during the removal process? 2. Do you roll a coat of Guardz over the areas you removed wallpaper from before you apply paint? Guardz helps to seal in any leftover adhesive residue that may affect your topcoat in case you aren’t familiar.
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully our drywall paper stays in good shape (at least in the last three instances/methods) and wiping down with vinegar and water to remover leftover adhesive, so we have been able to go right to paint, but I hear great things about Guardz for people with more glue/tackiness.
xo
s
Jenb says
I may be strange, but removing wallpaper has been one of my favorite DIY projects. I guess I’ve never hit a terrible time with any of the ones I’ve done. I have used the water/downey. I’m actually disapointed that my new house doesn’t have any wallpaper to remove. But lots of other DIY projects!
betty (the sweaty betty) says
ugh. I feel for you. the day we got the keys to our house, we stripped all the wallpaper from the kitchen (not that large of a kitchen, mind you).. it took us from 1pm to 1am. I wasn’t stopping until I was done.. I was exhausted after all that steaming and peeling!
i’m interested to see how the stairs turn out! my carpet (that doesn’t match the carpet it connects to upstairs) has been on my list since we moved in a year ago.. I might have to follow your lead once you pave the way :)
Kate says
Go lady go! Go lady go! Woot woot! *cheers Sherry on*
What a difference doing something like removing ugly wallpaper can do to a space. Even the dark cabinets don’t look so bad now.
laura~eye candy event details says
ugghhhhh wallpaper is the worst & those stubborn pieces are a pain in the ___! Well you know! ;) Wanted to share my TIP that works like a charm for ‘next time’: instead of using a spackle knife, use one of those ‘scrapers’ from Pampered Chef that you get with those ‘stones’ to clean them – it will NOT ding your walls since it’s hard plastic & has just the right curve on the edges . . . I had an abundance of them & use them to scrap everything! Funny I no longer have any of those baking stones but have ALL my scrapers. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh I love that tip!
xo
s
Cynthia says
I had the same tip! The scrappers work so well. I found mine at Bed Bath and Beyond and I’m so happy I did. Less spackling afterwards makes me very happy!
Debby says
I used that Pampered Chef scraper to remove my wallpaper. It was the bomb. Saved my fingernails and walls.
Sayward says
Yes! Years ago I helped friends remove wallpaper and they were woefully unprepared, so we scavenged the kitchen and came up with the Pampered Chef scraper thing. It was AMAZING. I love that this is an actual “thing” and not just something we did once :)
jenb says
I used mine too. It works great!
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
Wow! What a difference just taking down that wallpaper makes! I love how you are trying all different types of methods too. Thankfully we are wallpaper free for now (although we have a sneaking suspicion it could be there under layers of paint).
Also, it looks like your kitchen cabinets are a really nice shape and are solid. Are you planning on painting them or doing a full reno? I know you said you were going to do a big kitchen overhaul after you live with it in the future and that even after you painted your last kitchen cabinets they still felt old. Just curious but maybe I’m jumping the gun. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Unfortunately the cabinets are damaged/gauged/gnawed looking when you get closer (there was a pic on Facebook/Instagram a while back that people were like “oh, now I know what you mean by gouged!”) so our long haul plan is to paint them and use them in the garage down the line (to create some nice storage along one side that still allows for a car to pull in) and to save up for new cabinets eventually.
xo
s
Isabelle says
Go Preggo, Go Preggo, Go! So funny. That will be stuck in my head for a while.
Question – I know you’ve mentioned getting new cabinetry in the kitchen (and not painting the existing ones). From the look of these photos, the current cabinets look beautiful (albeit, dark) and look like they’re in pretty good shape.
Any thought of keeping them?
YoungHouseLove says
Unfortunately the cabinets are damaged/gauged/gnawed looking when you get closer (there was a pic on Facebook/Instagram a while back that people were like “oh, now I know what you mean by gouged!”) so our long haul plan is to paint them and use them in the garage down the line (to create some nice storage along one side that still allows for a car to pull in) and to save up for new cabinets eventually.
xo
s
Johanna P says
I know it’s odd but I’m a little envious about all the peeling you get to do. Someone give me something to peel! :D
Lisa @ Double Door Ranch says
Whoa mama! You go with your preggo self! It amazes me what you accomplish!
The past few months I’ve been working like a madwoman to get the house ready for my bestie’s baby shower. I got hardwood floors installed, added board & batten, and repaired drywall (also tons of painting!) Add to that the actual shower decorating and whew! Im tired! It all paid off this weekend when the shower went off without a hitch. :)
http://www.doubledoorranch.blogspot.com/2013/10/oh-baby.html
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow! That’s dedication to a bestie like I’ve never heard! Congrats on an awesome party!
xo
s
SusanB says
I have found that using Windex (even the non-branded variety) will remove the most stubborn wallpaper glue.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo
s
erika m says
My big fat greek wedding for the win!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha!
xo
s
Becki Peckham says
Wow! Looks good! That is a lot of hard work, we were lucky not to have wallpaper however we did have stucco everywhere! We are pushing to have our basement done by christmas, I have been doing laundry in the pitch dark for 2 years haha
Can’t wait to see the place all done.
Erin @ One Project at a Time says
Nice work Sherry! I know exactly where you are coming from- when I found out I was pregnant I went into super-reno mode to try to finish up our rehab house before the baby came. We gutted and rebuilt 2 bathrooms, removed carpet and laid 700 feet of wood floors, rebuilt 5 half flights of stairs and did the nursery. It was exhausting work, especially while pregnant, but the whole time I just remembered how much harder (i.e. impossible) it would be to do this with an infant in the house, and that it was now or never. Nothing like bringing a little bambino back to the sweet house you made for him. :)
Janice says
We have a similar intercom from the 70’s….state of the art at the time it was installed, I’m sure. Does your play music too? Previous owners installed in-wall speakers in every room on the main level-I can just picture the parties they had in this house!
The speakers actually still worked well up until about a year ago!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, ours has the radio too, but it only partially works. Still fun to play with though…
xo
s
Cynthia says
So after seeing your posts on wallpaper I decided to try the steamer. It worked pretty well for me as my wallpaper is probably 20-30 years old. There was no priming done prior to the wallpaper installation (as identified by the ‘lovely’ sea-foam green color underneath). I did find one really useful tool other than my fingernails. I don’t know what it’s called but Bed, Bath and Beyond has them in the pots/pans area. It’s a little square of plastic (2″) with beveled edges. I think it’s for safely scraping pans, but it does a great job scraping wallpaper without gouging like a spackle knife! Love the blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip Cynthia! And so glad the steamer method worked for you!
xo
s
Elizabeth K. says
We had three layers of different wallpaper (and the walls were NOT primed correctly) on the walls in our bedrooms, and we just stripped them all and painted them this summer. It was slightly hellacious, but it felt SO GOOD to get through that! Needless to say, we will NEVER consider wallpaper as a means to decorate a room!!!
I understand what you’re going through. Good luck getting it all done before the baby comes – we’re all cheering you on!
Sarah says
Sherry, gotta say, I’m totally in awe of you doing such a lot of DIY whilst you’re still suffering awful morning sickness! If it were me, I’m pretty sure I’d be curled up in the foetal position 24/7!
The kitchen looks so much nicer de-graphed… I noticed you’ve got nice white countertops – are you thinking of painting the cabinets a white / light colour down the line?
Sarah x
YoungHouseLove says
I’m not sure what color we’ll paint them for phase 1, although the counters are sort of a cream tone, so I think stark white would make them look yellow. We’ll have to be strategic about it!
xo
s
Sarah says
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Our countertops are a nasty grey/blue colour… Can’t wait to save up enough to get rid of them!
JustMe says
I love the spurts of energy we get mid-pregnancy! I love how much better the kitchen looks, just after removing wallpaper!
I had two rooms with wallpaper. The kitchen, all-over Tuscan-ish tile-looking, PLUS grape-cluster border. Yay, 90s! That peeled off in nice big sheets too, plus having to go back to peel off the backing (also in big sheets, yay!!)
Our family room just had a border, lovely blue and rose-colored bouquets. THIS BORDER WAS THE DEVIL! I had to score it, spray with DIF gel, let sit for 30 minutes (no more, no less), and scrape it off, inch by inch. And yes, I tried steaming. It was waterproof. HORRIBLE! It took me all day JUST TO REMOVE THE BORDER! I don’t know what kind it was, but it wins BIG points for invincibility and impenetrability.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we had a border like that at our first house! It was a BEAST! It was super old and I seriously thought it was put on with crazy glue!
xo
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Kristi says
We have one of those intercom/radios, too!
I am currently hiding it with a giant B canvas. http://instagram.com/p/fiCFsHAumo/
The first night we lived here at 2 AM Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen woke us up blaring from somewhere downstairs. It was this thing. Apparently there is some snooze feature on it that got set up when we were playing with it the day we moved in. Either that or ghosts. #scary
YoungHouseLove says
Seriously, it has a mind of its own! We were both laying hardwood flooring before we had even moved in and out of complete silence the radio was suddenly blaring. Scared the heck out of us!
xo
s
Katie O says
I have a to-do list a mile long before Baby #3 arrives in February. So far, we’ve changed out a door from a hollow core to a real wood door (door leads from our living room to our office/guest room), removed the strange door from the stairway (added molding to make it not look so much like a doorway and then painted it the same color as our trim), painted windows, and tonight, I have my eyeballs on a crowbar to tear out the (useless, small, stupid (pick your adjective)) closet in our bathroom in favor of DIYing some drawers with open shelving on top. I’m sure I’m driving my husband bonkers, but there’s nothing like a looming “deadline” to kick me into full gear!
YoungHouseLove says
I love hearing what you guys have done and what’s still on the list!
xo
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Marcia says
We have a random door that connects two bedrooms (the guest room and the toddler’s room) in our house that needs to be removed and sheetrocked (is that a word?) over. The husband is not excited about spending the money. BUT we need to do it. Not only does the toddler pinch his fingers in the saloon style doors, but the noise transfer between the two rooms is high. Eventually there will be another kiddo and sleep for both kids will be imperative.
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
Go preggo! Go preggo! Go! You are the de-wallpapering queen!
Chrissann says
My childhood home (located in Glen Allen and built in 1983) had the EXACT same wallpaper in the kitchen. My mom removed it in the early 90s…and replaced it with a fruit border.
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! Wallpaper twinsies!
xo
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Connie says
About that intercom – We have them too – are you going to get rid of them? Tell us how!!!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re not sure if we’ll sub in something newer and fun (like a whole-house music system to play ipods or something) or if we’ll just take them down and patch the walls. I think it depends how much those systems are and if we can DIY any aspect of it to take the cost down…
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Theresa M says
Now I’ve seen Dr. Bronner’s soap before, I’ve seen it in the organic beauty aisle, but I thought it was a body soap. So is a general cleaning soap? I guess I need to start reading labels.
Have you thought about painting over the “brick” floors? As a clean slate thing… I’ve seen it done on a couple of other blogs and it looks like a perfect, temporary solution, much like painting a subfloor.
YoungHouseLove says
We use it as a multi-purpose soap (it’s plant based so it’s nice and eco, but it works for hand washing and pot washing and lots of other stuff!). As for the floors, they’re linoleum, so painting such a high traffic area makes us worry it’ll scratch off (I loved how Jenny at Little Green Notebook painted her faux brick floors but hers are grouted faux stones, so they seem to hold the paint a bit better). We’ll have to see where we end up!
xo
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Theresa M says
I was thinking of Jenny’s floor when I posted that, just didn’t realize they were faux stone. (a great word faux) Have you seen Kelly’s from A View Along the Way?
http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2013/01/how-to-paint-vinyl-or-laminate-flooring/
And thanks for the info about the soap!
Have a great day!
YoungHouseLove says
I did see that! Yesterday actually! Haha! I just worry that chairs sliding back and forth on it and dropping backpacks and shoes and toys in here day in and day out might beat it up right away. The kitchen is such a heavily used space by all of us, ya know? We’ll have to see where we end up. In our first house’s kitchen we did peel and stick tiles for a year until we fully renovated and that helped tide us over for just around 50 cents a tile.
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Kelly says
So exciting!
Sherry, I am also starting to go into “what to accomplish before the baby arrives” mode. Expecting our first little one May 2nd! But I have a question for you. We plan on moving in about a year and a half and so don’t want to invest too much time and money into the nursery (currently our guest bedroom). Any thoughts on what essentials might make it more nursery-like (aside from the crib and change table), while still being flexible/moveable? Thanks and congrats!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, a comfy chair was a must for me (so much nursing happens) and a noise machine was so important for sleep for Clara. Maybe some black out shades or curtains too? And a cute mobile so the baby has something to stare at? Anyone else have tips for Kelly?
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Kristen says
Hm, I second Sherry’s cute mobile idea and curtains! Also – “baby-friendly” artwork, or a cute family photo blown up to a large size above the crib :)
Victoria says
I know it’s jumping ahead, and you might have a surprise planned, or no plan yet at all, but what are you going to do about that big fluorescent light in the middle of your kitchen. I have one that we never use because it feels like I’m in a creepy basement when I turn it on. I even bought some different bulbs to get rid of the blue undertone and it’s still too stark.
YoungHouseLove says
I think that thing will come down as soon as we find a replacement for it. Maybe a clean looking light for now and then we’ll add can lights down the line when we get into the reno phase?
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gretchen says
For the last pieces, I found that using one of those dollar store exfoliating bath gloves worked awesome for buffing off the dribs and drabs that got stuck. Works especially nice in corners, too….
YoungHouseLove says
Such a great tip!
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Laura S. says
I’m in the middle of wallpaper removal, too, in two bathrooms and a hallway! It consumes all of my evenings after work while my husband removes old carpet and popcorn ceilings :) Our deadline for ourselves is 11/5 when we have to install new carpet throughout – and escape his parents’ basement. Do you have any prep/finishing (pre-paint) recommendations for de-wallpapered walls? The guy at Home Depot told us that we have to clean the walls multiple times, patch/sand and then use an oil-based primer to seal in any old adhesive residue that remains… Thanks and awesome job with your removal progress!
YoungHouseLove says
We hear good things about Guardz primer after wallpaper but since ours seems to come off so cleanly we have had luck scrubbing the walls with a vinegar and water mix to cut any residual glue and just go straight to painting. I’d definitely sand/fill any holes/bumps beforehand too!
xo
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Teri says
What are you going to with the intercom? Could you use the existing wires and hook up a more modern system? Or is it better just to take it down and drywall?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re debating between those two possibilities, so I think it’ll come down to how expensive a new system could be!
xo
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Stephanie says
When I was pregnant, the smell of peppermint, which I usually love, made me want to vomit. I’d actually forgotten about how intense it was until I saw the pictures of the Dr. Bronner’s. So glad you don’t seem to be having the same aversion!
YoungHouseLove says
Oddly enough my aversion is pizza and chicken. Which is strange because I usually love those foods. And I can never drink milk alone (like not in cereal or with cookies) unless I’m prego. So weird!
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Stephanie says
I was the same way with milk. Before pregnancy we often wouldn’t even keep it in the house, but during my 3rd trimester I wanted an ice-cold glass of milk and Newman Os every night. Bizarre!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s so funny! Must be the vitamins or nutrients in it?!
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Jen says
Wow, they even papered the outlet covers!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah! I save one of those from each room I strip. Memories!
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Kaesey says
Go, Mama!! LOVE a wall that’s been cleared of paper. Wallpaper is the bane of our existence around here, too. I’ve only got the kitchen left to do.
My lingering task: lighting in our hallway. We still have our “avant garde” dangling lights going on….
Torie K. says
Sherry…my husband owns a painting company and as I find wallpaper removing sort of zen…I end up doing A LOT of it.(We can discuss the state of my mental health another time, mkay?).
But I wanted to offer you one teeny-weeny suggestion to save your hand from cramping. Buy a one gallon pump sprayer. You’ll be able to saturate the walls so much more easily. And since you won’t be using anything yucky in it, you’ll be able to use it for any number of other things later. I promise you will love, love, love me for this suggestion.
(P.S. I usually just use soap and water too and I’ve been at it for almost two decades!)
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! Thanks for the tip Torie! And I love to hear that you use the soap and water method after two decades of doing it!
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Emily says
Yes, Torie! I have been thinking the exact same thing about the pump sprayer. I have actually seen John and Sherry use one on another project, and meant to comment that they should use it for wallpaper removal. I use ours for a lot of different things including wallpaper removal and removal of popcorn ceilings.