Painting the Bathroom and Entryway -- a waytoolong project

We have had plans for the outdated wallpaper in our house since before it was our house. It was not a priority, and that's why it's been two years. But this summer I got the redecorating itch. My Tracy said once, "you kids really like to paint huh?" He was right, I guess. It's not so much the work I like but the finished product. And I was really tired of the mauve seashells in my bathroom. REALLY tired.





The entry wallpaper wasn't TOO awful....


...until I accidentally (on purpose) hung our Christmas cards on it with double-sided tape.


So, first step: what's the best way to remove the wallpaper? Don't. Paint over it with oil-based primer. Stink! That was an all-day project that involved ridding the house of children. I think that was around May.





Here's a tidbit of information for you to file away. Oil-based paint does not come off of human skin. Or ceramic tile. Or solid-surface countertops. Still looking for a solution to the last two, but thankfully the human body regenerates skin in a timely fashion, so the paint wore off my hands (and a few places on my legs and ankles) in about 5 days. I'm not even kidding.



Step Two: determine if it's possible to just paint over the primed wallpaper without showing the imperfections in the wall or paper. It wasn't.

Step Three: Retexture the walls. No small feat. But with lots of painting professionals and experienced DIY-ers in my circle of acquaintance, I gathered the knowledge and tools necessary. For free, thanks to two generous neighbors! This was mid-July..



I do realize that this is a picture of a blank white wall. Hopefully you can see the texture in the photo.



The kids thought it was funny that mommy was standing on the countertop.




And finally, step 4: Paint! We went with "Willow Tree", a grayish green that goes well in both spaces.

In one small stroke of insanity, we let the kids paint for a few minutes. They had fun, and didn't make too big a mess. Carly did NOT like getting paint on her hands, just like her mama!









The finished Entryway:






And, the Bathroom!


The countertops, cabinets, and fixtures will eventually change as well, if we stay in this house long enough.


I tried to get a good picture of the view from the master bedroom, since it's all open. It's hard to get the lighting right to take a picture of an open doorway! But here it is:


I still need to rehang the art and frames on the walls, but you can see the difference a little work (ok, it was a LOT of work) makes! We just finished this last Saturday, the 21st of August.