My husband and I decided that it would be a good idea to kick off the New Year with a few home improvement projects, beginning with the bathroom. Water damage from a storm meant it was high time to make some repairs, remove the wallpaper that had been there since we moved in, and add a fresh coat of paint. Since it was a small room, we figured it would be a fast, easy project; we could tackle it in a weekend.
Talk about famous last words.
We invited two friends over to help. The four of us spent more than nine hours attacking that wallpaper with every trick in the book, but nothing seemed to work. It was as if the wallpaper had a mind of its own, and had decided that it was NOT budging.
Maybe you think I’m being dramatic, but honestly it’s the only thing that makes sense. How else to explain the fact that we did everything “right” and yet that stubborn wallpaper still wouldn’t come down? My original plan was to slap a coat of Killz over the wallpaper and call it a day, and after the sweat and tears we put in, I’m convinced that would have been a better option!
After we finally stripped the last bit of wallpaper, we spackled and sanded the walls, once again following every rule in the book. And, once again, it didn’t seem to matter. As soon as the paint dried, we could see every imperfection in the wall. Sure, we’d picked a light sandy color called “gravel,” but I didn’t think my bathroom walls would end up looking like an actual driveway! Needless to say, I’m not feeling confident about the rest of our home improvement plans-especially since the bathroom was supposed to be the “easy” project!
Since we did everything right, I can’t blame myself, or my husband, or our two unlucky friends. I can only blame the wallpaper. Of course, it could have been worse. I could have been working in these rooms. Imagine having to scrape these wallpapers off of cabinets, stairs, ceilings and fireplaces:
What about you? Do you have a wallpaper horror story? Do you like wallpaper or loathe it? Share your thoughts (and photos!) on our Facebook page.
Happy Monday,
Mary
