This is what a week of work will buy you. The top photo is the original wallpaper. We never liked it, from even when we looked at the house with the realtor but this is the first time we actually did something about it. The middle photo is what 13 man hours with the steamer buys you. I think the bare drywall looks better than the damn wallpaper. The bottom is the final product. Big difference, no?
Darlene thinks this is the prettier of the two colors. I like this one, but I think the living room color is nicer. I like it though and the improvement is dramatic to me. I only wish we didn’t have another chunk of painting to do in the living room.
Update: At my wife’s insistence, I included a bonus shot of both layers of the ugly wallpaper. Both layers suck, but the top one at least could get steamed off with a reasonable amount of effort. The bottom was pasted to the bare wallboard with no paint, so it must have been the original thing that came with the house in 1961. That nearly 50 year old wallpaper paste is a bitch. Friends don’t let friends wallpaper.
Nice! Hey, does that mean there won’t be any tacky wallpaper left before you birthday? Darn.
Friends don’t let friends wallpaper without priming first. It’s very important. If the drywall had been primed, both layers would have come off cleanly and simply.
I personally like wallpaper. Good wallpaper is more interesting than good paint, in my opinion. On the flip side, bad wallpaper is the worst thing possible. Wallpaper works like clothing. The weirder the colors and/or pattern, the quicker it ages and the worse it looks in retrospect. If you pick nice neutrals and simple patterns, it will look good for a long time and never go out of style. Like a good pair of khakis.
All that having been said, wow, does that look better. I love that color. We did our foyer and hall in a slightly lighter version of that and it is a great color.
Paul, that’s all there is, so you missed the wallpaper era. I hope you can have a good time anyway.
James, I don’t know how many people have that level of foresight to prime before wallpaper. Most people are lazy asses and aren’t thinking one month ahead, much less to the schmuck taking this thing down in 40 years. Darlene continues to marvel at how much she likes it, but I still like the “lion” in the living room better.