Girl’s Bedroom – Week 1

Week one in M.’s bedroom started with a little planning hiccup. If you are just joining us, you can read about the bedroom renovation plan here. Last weekend we intended to rent a wallpaper steamer which had always been available locally on a walk-in basis. I guess we were just lucky the last few times we rented because this time, the steamer was being used by someone else. I put it on reserve for this weekend, and we will begin the wallpaper strip-a-thon tomorrow. Yes, I know how that sounds.

Rather than squander a whole weekend watching Netflix or Amazon (Making a Murder or Mozart in the Jungle anyone? I am hooked!), I asked Andy to drill some adhesive holes in the visible cracks in the closet. It should be noted that I did not ask him to do this while I was watching TV. I was getting ready to watch TV. That makes it better.

We are planning to repair the plaster in this room using the Frankenwall technique again. Currently, we do not know the condition of the walls behind the paper in the bedroom. I figured that if he drilled the holes in the closet, I could pop some adhesive in there during the week, and insert the screws to adhere the plaster back to the lath.

It was a 15-minute job, but Andy discovered something unexpected. It turns out that some of the walls are covered in wallpaper which has been painted. Nuts… Removing painted wallpaper is a bear. (That is my family-friendly word choice.) The paint makes it adhere tighter, and it has to be scraped off in much smaller chunks. The process of removing painted wallpaper is much more time-consuming than removing regular paper. Complicating matters in this closet, the paint was put over partially removed wallpaper so the walls are in rough shape. I had to decide whether or not to try to blend the existing mess with wall patch or remove the painted paper altogether.

After evaluating the situation and feeling crabby about this turn of events, I decided that it would be more in line with our restoration goals to spend the extra time removing the painted paper. I know it is just a closet, but I believe it is the right thing to do. We cannot put new paint or paper on the walls in their current state. It would be putting good over bad. The old paper needed to come off.

Some of the paper was in such poor condition that in some spots, I was able to peel it off with a scraper. No steam required.

I spent about an hour scraping and peeling everything that was hanging loosely from the walls.

Just when I was feeling really cranky about the whole thing, I found something fun. Underneath the bottom drawer of the dresser, I found an old newspaper from 1973. The kids and I pored over it, marveling at the cheap price for goods, and trying to decipher why “Housewives threaten to Boycott” meat by having meatless meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It must have had something to do with prices, because an add on the back page proclaimed, “Our Meat Prices Have Not Gone Up!” The Watergate Scandal was in full swing. There was an article about Goldwater and Nixon.

Finding that newspaper really lifted my spirits. It was used as an under-drawer liner during Dorothy’s time in the house. She and her husband moved in during the 1960’s. I enjoy finding these little treasures during our restoration and renovation. It makes me feel as if I am getting a glimpse into the lives of the past occupants of BHH.

I have done as much scraping as I can at this point, and we will attempt to remove the rest of the paper this weekend with our rented steamer.

As is typical with DIY and renovations, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on. I am currently looking for mirrors, scouring IKEA Hackers for toy storage ideas, and putting a plan in place for the doll apartment. It will all come together, and once we know the condition of the walls behind the wallpaper, we will plan our next steps.