You know how it is on those home make-over shows – they start a massive renovation project and within an hour of TV time all is pretty and shiny again. You know it isn’t that way in real life but somehow you can still be lulled into thinking a “small” project will be faster than it turns out to be.
Yesterday, instead of going to Home Depot and getting the supplies I need to paint and complete the transformation of my now open kitchen shelving (which, by the way, every time I see I feel like I need to go shut the cupboard doors) I decided to pull down the wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom. I didn’t feel much like going out and it seemed like a manageable project to tackle. There was also the efficiency factor – then I could get the supplies I need for the shelving AND painting the bathroom at the same time!
There was nothing in particular wrong with the wallpaper except that the border was beginning to peel and I didn’t like it.
Butterflies are fine, I just don’t want them flitting around my bathroom.
As I said, I was too lazy to go out and get a wallpaper removing tool so I just scored the paper with a miniature box cutter and sprayed it with vinegar water – which worked fine except that I got a little enthusiastic with the box cutter and ended up scoring the paint underneath as well which caused some of that to come up too. Oops.
Otherwise it wall all going along pretty well until I came to the sink cabinet. The wallpaper was hiding the mess that was left when the previous owners replaced a larger sink and counter with a smaller one (which incidentally isn’t even attached to the wall)
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this – there is always some unexpected repair to be done in those home shows as well. And this bathroom was definitely a do-it-yourself job. Looks like I’ll be learning how to do drywall repair myself.
I think I can do better than this however.
After I repair the wall, I’ll be painting the walls plum (with some leftover paint from my daughter’s room). But today I’m taking a break. My eyes are feeling puffy, possibly from a day spent in an enclosed space full of vinegar fumes. Perhaps a little time spent outside taking down Christmas decorations on this balmy 40F day will help.
It’s almost a given, isn’t it, when you start a ‘small’ project it grows exponentially! My problem is that I get almost done with one thing and get distracted by another, etc. Things never get quite done! I bet that bathroom will look wonderful in plum – be sure to post an “after” picture.
by susan January 9th, 2013 at 4:44 pmI will be moving that sink cabinet out of the way to get at the remaining wall paper and to repair the wall – guess it’s a good thing it ISN’T attached to the wall!! I’ll fix that after I do the painting. And yes, there will be pictures
by Jenyfer January 10th, 2013 at 11:09 am