Category Archives: Renovating

Renovation of the library

08 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by in Decorating, DIY (do it yourself), Renovating

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I’ve talked about renovating our library a few times, but I finally started this project.  Does that ever happen to you?  You think you want to re-do a room and for a variety of reasons you just don’t  get around to that first step (in this case, removing wallpaper).

Before renovation (above), after wallpaper removal (can you believe the room was pink?…more on that later).

The room used to be our dining room (read about the switch HERE) but now serves as a smallish “sitting” room which I affectionately call the “library” since the wonderful southern exposure makes it a great room to read in (and yes, the walls, under the wallpaper, were pink)   As with so many benefits (plenty of sunlight) there is a down side…everything fades within a very short time due to non-stop sun exposure.  I will have to either upholster with Sunbrella fabrics next time or have the windows tinted, or both.

~BEFORE~

Can you see the faded sofa fabric…if not, that’s a good thing because it will be awhile before I reupholster.

~BEFORE~

The thing is, I figured since upholstery is still a ways off I should go ahead and paint the room.  Painting became more of an urgency when I decided to move the large, framed print (in picture above)  to another location in the house.  To my dismay the wallpaper was so badly faded from the sun it looked dreadful.

Stripping the wallpaper wasn’t too difficult.  I have used, with success, the liquid remover that you mix with warm water and spray on the walls, then begin to strip the paper using a light hand with a scraper.  The labor-intensive part was using TSP and warm water to dissolve and remove the wallpaper paste.  If you do not remove every bit of paste your paint will crackle and ruin your new paint job (I speak from experience).

Ta-da…here is the paint color, finished and ready for furniture.  What’s missing?  The ladder-back chair that sits to the right of the gate-leg table is being repaired.  The sun had really beat up the finish and my furniture re-finisher said her could fix it for so few dollars that we decided to let him work his magic.

Finding a paint color wasn’t easy, as I mention HERE.  But after an exhaustive search I ended up with a fairly safe, and very pleasing choice—the same color I have in our dining room, which I really like.  Dunn Edwards “Inside Passage”.  This color can take on a variety of hues depending on the time of day and the amount of light.  It has a grayish look and that is what I was searching for.

I kept most of the accessories and wall art in the same place (I did replace the botanic art (which was badly faded) for an etching Son #1 and his lovely wife brought me from Paris, which makes me smile every time I walk into the room.  I did add a basket of childrens books under the end table for upcoming visits from our granddaughter.

Oh, and about the pink walls…many years ago I was a total English Country/Mario Buatta gal and cabbage rose-filled chintz with all the accents were my deal.  I had a Ralph Lauren “Alison” comforter on our king sized bed in the master bedroom.  Hubby used to smile at his friends and declare, “I’m very comfortable with my masculinity”.  Bless his heart.  Anyway, the pink wasn’t nearly as “pink” as it appeared to me upon removal of the wallpaper and like many things in those early years after about 10 years of pinkness I was over it.  There was a collective sigh of relief from hubby and sons #1 & 2!

In the above image I forgot to take the towel off the love seat…this is where the cat sleeps and the amount of cat hair that little towel keeps off the cushion is amazing!  On the right is the sofa sans towel.

This is probably the first DIY project that was this involved I’ve taken on since I’ve been working full time.  It was rewarding but I confess it took a village…thank you doesn’t begin to cover the appreciation I must extend to my dear friend Gretchen!  She spent an entire day helping me paint and then returned the following day to help me paint the crown molding.  Gretchen, XOX to you and my offer to help you garden stands!

There you have it…my “before” and “after” Part I.  When I reupholster the window seat, sofa and possibly the ladder back chair I’ll post pictures.  Any thoughts, suggestions?

One quick note about the Jerk Chicken—I prepared it and it really was easy and delicious.  I made a couple of changes and thought I’d pass them along:  I substituted jalapeno chiles (fresh) for the habanero chile the recipe calls for. {only because my market didn’t have fresh habanero chiles}…and I used boneless skinless chicken breasts.  They were easy and because they marinate overnight, they were very flavorful.  It’s a keeper recipe, in my book.

Paint color…too many choices!

28 Monday Mar 2011

Posted by in Decorating, DIY (do it yourself), Renovating

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I’m in the process of renovating our library (or sitting room, or very small living room, whatever I call it on any given day).

The room was wallpapered with a Ralph Lauren paper made to look like aged plaster (not a really good imitation, but fairly neutral and I liked it for quite a few years).

The print between the plates (above) is the print that now hangs in the dining room…as you might imagine, quite a large patch of original colored wallpaper in a sea of faded paper, not a good look!

About a month ago I decided I wanted to move a framed print from the library into the dining room.  I had a little vignette all figured out for the space and was pretty excited for the change.  {I do love change!}  I moved the print and was amazed at how faded the wallpaper had become.

I confess, I love the new look Restoration Hardware (images above and below) has been promoting and the gray they use became an inspiration for upcoming (and much needed) upholstery fabric for the sofa, window seat cushion, and ladder back chair and ottoman.

Since the library was wallpapered about 8 years ago I thought it was a good time to take down the paper and paint (more on the renovation in a future post).

Image via Elle Decor

I knew I didn’t want the paint to be too sunny since the room has so much natural light, sunglasses indoors isn’t a good look for me!

Image via John Jacob Interiors

…I know this is a bathroom, but the color on the walls reminded me of Restoration Hardware paint and I really liked it.  So I bought a smallish can of Restoration Hardware’s Graphite (it was similar in appearance to the above wall color.

Image via Atmosphere blog

Additional inspiration…

Image via Atmosphere blog

I have a gray-ish basket trunk from IKEA that I use for a coffee table so this image was additional ammo for the whole gray paint idea.

Many of you probably figure that finding paint is easy, right?  Well, I have seen more paint chips over the past 2 ½ months than I care to mention and ultimately, I have decided to paint the room the same color the dining room is painted, “Inside Passage” by Dunn Edwards.

Image via Country Living

I didn’t think white paint (as in the image above) would be a good fit for the “look” I ultimately wanted to achieve, however, I love this room by Kolene Spicher.

Meanwhile, I looked at Pottery Barn paint chips (Benjamin Moore paint), Restoration Hardware paint chips, Behr from Home Depot, Martha Stewart paint chips, also at Home Depot, and my head was aching by the end.

There are a lot of paint tools online and House Beautiful has one that works well, but there is nothing like painting a good sized patch on the actual wall and standing back to determine its merit.  I ultimately called by good friend and designer, Gretchen, to weigh in on the sample.  She saw green in the Restoration Hardware gray sample.  Knowing her eye is better trained than mine I went back to the Inside Passage by Dunn Edwards.

Image via Jackye Lanham – website

The wall color in the image above is what “Inside Passage” looks like.  It has a bit of gray and taupe in it.  I like it because it changes looks with various light.

Have you had to select wall color recently?  Was it as challenging for you as it was for me?

 

Kitchen love

17 Monday Jan 2011

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I was trying my best to organize saved images in files that give some indication of subject.  I discovered something…I have more kitchen images than any other topic.

There’s no excuse really—we remodeled our kitchen in 2003 and I love it.  For a small kitchen it is very efficient and works well for hubby and I.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will most probably never have a large kitchen and I think that’s okay.

kitchen remodel

This is an overview of my kitchen; it's a galley kitchen but works pretty efficiently.

Above the scale are some of my favorite cookbooks.

This image doesn't do my pantry justice...it was built to look like a piece of furniture, including a beveled glass front cabinet in the middle, and it works well as a pantry. With a small kitchen I think it adds interest to an otherwise small space.

Many of the images below don’t resemble our kitchen, which is kind of strange, right?   I think what happened is that when we moved into this house the only thing we could afford to do right away was to remove the harvest gold Formica with white tile and install new cabinet doors that we had painted white.  Our kitchen went from looking absolutely sad to really looking pretty darn nice for not many $$$.  I loved that white kitchen even though it was sorely lacking in efficient storage space and the contact paper was permanently sealed on the particle board shelves inside each cupboard.

This is the kitchen of the blogger at A Country Farmhouse. She changes some of her shelf accessories to reflect the seasons.

I really like the wood paneled walls. (KML Design)

An all time favorite; love the black French doors (Tommy Smythe)

I would have opted for another white kitchen when we remodeled but hubby felt very strongly that we should go with stained cupboards.  Our kitchen designer’s kitchen was our wish list example of a great kitchen and her cupboards were stained so we all agreed that was the way to go.  I also figured that if the cupboards got really beat up and old I could do to them what we did to the old cabinets.  We could replace them with white painted cupboards.

The lanterns and natural light in the kitchen makes me swoon! (Alexa Hampton)

Not sure of the source, sorry.

This kitchen makes me smile---all the natural light!

Love the black accents with the white walls, great contrast. (John Jacob Interiors)

Hubby has wanted wing back chairs at a dining table for as long as we've been married...these are great. Question, would we ever leave the table in the morning? I think not.

Bottom line, I love white kitchens as you can see…some of these images make me sigh with happiness.

Do you have stained cabinets in your kitchen or white?

Driving the neighborhood

07 Friday Jan 2011

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We live in an older community of tract homes…not the old of Atlanta (built in 1928) but the older of Irvine (built in 1968).  Some of the  homes in my particular enclave have been renovated and some, sadly, have not.

In any event, there are a few show stoppers, or in my case car stoppers and I thought I’d share them with you.  I walk my little dog, Madison, in the area but usually take her out on the main street that circles our community, or up on the hill that cuts over the top ridge of our community.  During the holiday, when I thought about doing this, I thought I’d take my camera and see what’s going on in the neighborhood.

Just down the street this home is a total redesign.  The contractor, a friend of mine, has done several homes in our community, including my friend’s (Carol and Barry) home.

I like the stone on this house but wish the entry was just a little wider and more roomy.

This is Carol and Barry’s home, decked out for Christmas.  Their landscape is still to come but the home has a craftsman/Cape Cod charm that makes it a “car-stopper” in my book!

This charming home (below) is across the street from the major remodel going on.  Cathy keeps her home looking good year round.  She has done all of the landscape herself, including laying her own sod!  I’m in awe.

(Too bad I don’t know how to photoshop these 2 halves of my friend’s house to make one picture, but you get the jest of it, right?)

This is the hill we walk the dogs during the warmer, less muddy, months.  We can take them off lead and let them romp and run…very good for dogs and great exercise for people. 🙂  The surrounding view shows our homes, and up on the hill, homes that are way out of our price range.

This is my friend Debbie’s house.  She and her husband recently remodeled and while the outside of her home is lovely, the inside is a show stopper.  Maybe she’ll let me blog about it sometime.

This is one of my favorite remodeled homes.  My photography doesn’t do it justice but it is very pretty.

The owners of this home put up a giant, inflatable pumpkin during October and inside the giant clear plastic pumpkin is a ghost that circles inside—it’s lighted and at night is so festive for all who drive by.

The home below is one that a talented architect designed, I don’t remember his name but he  has since moved to Oregon so it doesn’t matter since I won’t be calling him if we ever do any major remodeling of our own home.  Anyway, he designed several homes in my community and what I loved about his design was that the homes appear to fit the lot (none of the McMansion on postage sized lots business) and the overall architecture appeals to my traditional sensibilities.  He was known for putting front porches on the homes, I could imagine sitting on this front porch and resting with an iced tea.

This house turned out to be quite large for the lot…still, it has some nice features.

So this is just a little peek at some of the homes that are gracing our neighborhood.  I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour!

What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

Its official…I have a blue and white room, at last

22 Wednesday Dec 2010

Posted by in Decorating, Renovating

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Just in case you’re over the steady stream of holiday images (although, I confess, I rarely tire of Christmas images until around December 26th) I thought I would follow up with a post I have published some months ago regarding my love of blue and white rooms…

Not too many months ago I posted about how I had always wanted a blue and white room {HERE}.  Many of you suggested that I “just do it” (in the words of Nike).  Well, as luck would have it a good friend of mine remodeled her home and had decided that her guest room needed a king sized bed instead of the queen that it was furnished with.  She asked if I’d like her ‘gently used’ duvet cover and pillow shams (the cover and shams were like new!).

I don't know the name of this pattern, but it's so pretty and has a linen-like texture which looks great with the off-white, PB iron headboard.

I jumped at the opportunity to take her up on her offer.  Son #2 had just moved into a new apartment and the room was ready for a little face lift—especially one that wasn’t going to cost an arm and a leg.  The existing quilt, a soft yellow and brown toile from Pottery Barn fit inside the blue and white duvet cover and I had a blue and white stripe fabric piece laying around that I could cover the little French chair with, as well as the 2 small accent pillows.

Part of the blue and white set was a table cloth out of the same fabric for a round pedestal table however the room is small and the nightstands that flank the bed work very well.  So I decided to use the fabric from the table cloth to provide welting for the chair and for a flange on the small accent pillows that sit in front of each of the pillow shams.

This is the fabric that the old quilt was made of---in fact the quilt was a Pottery Barn toile.

You can see the stripe I am planning on putting on the accent pillows and chairs right after Christmas.

The walls are painted a taupe color by Behr called Toffee Crunch in an eggshell finish (to be honest, when the room was painted I was not really happy with the glossier finish of “eggshell” but I’ve learned to like it fine).

I had a frame in the garage that had been used in the dining room and it was a standard size so I bought a mirror for the frame and hung it on the long wall in that room.  I believe when Son #1 and his lovely wife visit from Austin they will appreciate an extra mirror to use for make-up application (for D-I-L) or for getting dressed.  I hung some blue and white plates on either side, just to tie in the blue and white theme.

My friend gave me 2 of the blue and white plates and the top 2 I purchased from a little antique barn in Napa Valley.

A dear friend knew I needed a dust ruffle (the existing one was pale yellow and ivory mini-check) and volunteered to make one for me for my birthday—thank you Gretchen, you can’t know how excited I am about this!  So, after wishing for a blue and white room I finally have one.

Dreams do come true! 🙂

Make your kitchen seem larger than it is

06 Wednesday Oct 2010

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I have always had a soft spot in my heart for small homes—maybe it’s me romanticizing the whole “cottage” idea.  That said, I love to cook and the one room in my house I wish were larger is my kitchen.  I was able to remodel my kitchen in 2003 but budget constraints made it necessary to keep the same foot print.  My friend and kitchen designer, Sotera, helped us maximize the storage and space available and the kitchen works well.

As you can see, my kitchen is what I believe is called a "galley" kitchen; really best if there is only 1 cook in the kitchen as one time.

My little desk sits beside the pantry, which was made to look like a piece of furniture, a look I really like. (Pantry picture is below this picture.

I'm afraid my photography doesn't do this justice. The pantry is painted black with some detailing that makes it look like a hutch. It holds everything we need including a few decorative pieces behind the glass.

There used to be a bank of cupboards above the counter that faced the family room. We took those down to open the space between the kitchen and family room, something that seems to make the kitchen feel larger.

So I read with interest the Better Homes and Garden, “Weekly Home Improvement Newsletter” by Alicia Warden, Assistant Editor of Home Improvement, which was sent via email last week.  The title of the piece is “How to make a Small Kitchen Look Larger”.

I do love white kitchens.Right out of the shoot my kitchen failed the first suggestion, paint your kitchen white but I do see the wisdom of having a white kitchen if you are limited on space.  As BHG states, “White is your best friend in a small kitchen. It reflects the light, which enhances the sense of space and makes the walls seem to recede”.  As these pictures demonstrate, there is wisdom in those words!

A surprise suggestion (for me) was to remove the doors on upper cabinets or add glass front cabinets.  I love open shelves but I didn’t realize it would help make a kitchen look larger.

Minimal window covering is another great tip, let there be light.  That and borrow space from another room (by opening your kitchen to another space)—we did that and I admit, most of our friends who first viewed our remodeled kitchen thought for sure we had increased the floor space.

Another idea was to add a mirror, framed or as a back splash.  I think the back splash idea would be a challenge to keep clean but I’m here to tell you a mirror in the room can make a difference.  Hubby and I once visited a charming, small restaurant in Laguna Beach and the mirrored wall tricked my hubby—he backed his chair up and when he looked over his shoulder he mistakenly thought there was someone he had bumped into.  It was his reflection! {smile}

I love this idea, carve out storage.  I would like to try this when we get around to remodeling our guest bathroom.  It makes sense and looks to be something that wouldn’t be horribly expensive.  Eliminating clutter is a no-brainer but sometimes harder than it seems, especially in a kitchen—what do you do with your coffee maker, toaster, and espresso machine?  Okay, I HAVE heard of appliance “garages” but in a very small kitchen that is a luxury that might take up too much space.

Lastly, make doors disappear.  Using French doors or frosted glass doors as opposed to solid doors opens up the room and makes it feel lighter and more open.

I hope you have an enormous kitchen but if you don’t try some of these tips and see how much more room it will seem you have.  What do you think?  Any ideas for those of us with “cottage kitchens”?

If you’d like to visit this site click HERE.  All images via Better Homes & Gardens

Planning ~ Dreaming

27 Monday Sep 2010

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plan – 1.  to devise a scheme for doing, making or arranging  2.  to have in mind as a project or purpose;   dream – a fond hope or aspiration

Cart before the horse…I’m always dreaming of the next “thing” (code for project) I’d like to do to my home.  The project list is long and money (money being the horse in this whole cart horse scenario)  is usually the only hiccup in starting on that project, but that doesn’t stop me.  I’m forever thinking of things I’d like to do to our home.  I know some you must feel the same way—when you love doing something it occupies your thoughts more often than not, right?

Oh yeah, this is on the list as well---I've even talked to a friend who is a contractor and he said it wouldn't be that difficult to build!

That said, I was reminded recently how dreaming it is only the first step in the process, duh.

Carol and Barry, good friends of ours, recently did a major remodeling job on their home.  It took months of working with an architect to determine how the exterior of the home would change, to how each room within the new space would work.  Carol is an exercise buddy and know how much time and energy went into the planning process for her remodel, but it was only the tip of the iceberg.

I'd love a little playhouse in the back yard. Image via House Beautiful

As the construction began there were additional details and decisions that had to be made—what kind of hardware for the cabinetry, appliances for the kitchen, flooring, paint color, tile selection, marble/granite, finish on the floors, carpet (where used), lighting and on and on.

The learning curve is very steep on a major remodel, kind of like the learning curve on planning a wedding—there are always things that come up that are somewhat unexpected.

Love the wood walls. Image via KML Design

A recent guest blog on one of my favorite sites, Velvet & Linen, was given by Interior Designer Gwen Driscoll and it addressed this very topic.  She said that she feels the most important part of her work with a client is A MASTER PLAN.  Read her feature HERE.

…and my point you ask?  I believe that dreaming about the next big project could be very helpful if and when that lottery money arrives (no, I don’t actually buy lottery tickets but maybe I should).   I’ll have some of the planning done and be better equipped to remodel that guest bathroom that is currently in a sad state to be sure!

I've priced vanities, mirrors, wall sconces and hardware for this bathroom...now all I need is the money, easy-peasy!

Note:  I’m happy to report that my friend’s house is close to being finished and I believe it’s going to be amazing.  I hope to talk her into a few pics for my blog!

Things on a List

23 Friday Jul 2010

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Because its Friday and we’re headed into the weekend I thought we all might want to work on our respective “list of things to do”—even if #1 on the list is 1.  RELAX!  Here is what has been on my mind/list and I hope to get a DIY project done this weekend.  I’ll keep it (the project) a secret in case it doesn’t turn out and I can just casually say, “Oh, my DIY?  No, I ended up relaxing all weekend.” 🙂
Happy Weekend and enjoy!

I’m an avid list maker—I often have more lists than I can keep track of.  That pretty much defeats the purpose of a list, right?  Originally my list making was strictly of the variety commonly known as “Things to Do” list.  But over time I have started making lists of  home improvements, reference list (such as blog sites that have tutorials that may come in handy in the future), blog sites I love to visit list, and things we’ve done to our home list.

The prettier the paper for making a list the happier I am.

What I discovered is that lists, in addition to bringing order to chaos {when you actually fulfill your list}, can be a journal of sorts.  When I review my lists they help me recall what I’ve been doing.

Finding a mirror where this framed picture is hanging is on my "dream" list of future home improvement projects.

This comes in handy where our home is concerned.  In fact, I discovered that if a home-improvement project makes it to the “things I’d like to do to the house” list there is a pretty good chance that even some of the larger projects will get done sooner rather than later.  Is it that whole “positive thoughts produce positive results” thing?

Okay, I realize I don't have this view but one of the things on my list for a few years has been to create a stone pad in our backyard...we have a natural canopy of ficus trees that would be the perfect spot to have some comfy chairs.

Another thing on my list is finding a fountain that cascades the water instead of sounding like someone using the restroom (if you know what I mean).

I also found that the list of “things we bought/done to the house” serves me well when it comes to things like—why does this sofa fabric look so worn?  Oh it might be because its been 10 years since we’ve reupholstered!  Time does fly and we often forget that it was some time ago that we replaced/repaired something in the home.

This is inspiration for my "remodel the guest bath" list. It may be awhile but having it on the list helps.

I believe lists help me feel less stressed about the things I’d like to accomplish.  I do believe my list, where my home is concerned, is an unending list!  What’s on your list to do to your home this year?

Wood floors

16 Wednesday Jun 2010

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I love the look of wood floors.  We have 3/4″ red oak hardwood floors on a plywood base in most of our house.  The 3 bedrooms have carpet and the 2 bathrooms have tile floors.

Photo via Veranda - Wood floors in the kitchen (above) and Graystone mansion (below).

We have had our floors refinished twice in the 25 years they have been down and they are in need of being refinished again.  This would be a huge undertaking since we would have to move all of the small pieces of furniture and most probably would have to board the dogs/cat and stay in a hotel for at least a couple of nights ourselves.  It would also take some $$$, which we don’t seem to have right now.

Photo via Veranda - Hardwood floors seem a natural in a library.

So, my husband volunteered to stain some of the areas that are really bad (since he is currently looking for a job).  I confess, I was skeptical…I was concerned that the floors would look splotchy and possibly look worse than before we attempted to spot refinish them but I was wrong and he has given the floors a once-over and they look so much better than before.  This will tide us over for a bit.

This is a part of our family room wood floors that my husband added stain to, it looks so much better than it did.

What kind of floors do you have?

One Method for Removing Wallpaper

26 Wednesday May 2010

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Since I listed removing wallpaper from my library in a recent blog, I thought I’d pass along tips from my experience with removing wallpaper.  And no, I have not started removing the wallpaper in the library yet.  The method below has worked for me even when the wallpaper seems to be cemented to the wall.

Begin by tearing off the any loose edges/strips.

I suspect there may be some wallpaper that requires a wallpaper steamer, something I’m sure most of us don’t have waiting in the garage!  I haven’t encountered paper that requires one, yet, thankfully.  Be sure plant plenty of drop clothes before you begin.

1.  If there are any loose edges, or if you can lift a corner of the paper you will have a place to start.  Slowly tear the paper, don’t worry if it leaves a thin layer of paper on the wall, we have a solution that will take care of that.

2.  Remove as much of the paper using the tearing method—don’t despair if you cannot get very much of the paper off using the first step.  Once you’ve taken as much paper off the wall as possible, mix DIF Liquid Concentrate Wallpaper Stripper with hot tap water (following mix to water ratio on bottle) in a spray bottle.  Don’t be tempted to buy the pre-mixed spray unless you have only a couple of strips of wallpaper to remove, its more expensive and you will most probably need more than 1 bottle to do the job.  Spray the hot wallpaper remover on the area you want to start with. Note:  I would work 1 strip of wallpaper at a time, ceiling to floor, that way if you have to stop it looks a little less like the big mess that it is.

Carefully scrape wallpaper once solution has set for 15 minutes

3.  Leave the solution you’ve sprayed for about 15 minutes, this gives it time to work its magic.  Set the timer, you don’t want to let the paper dry out, it will make it more difficult to remove.  With a 3-4″ metal scraper begin to gently scrape the paper and paste from the wall. This is not an easy 1-2 hour task.  But you will get a rhythym going and with an iPod in your ears time will go by fairly quickly.  If the paper doesn’t budge, repeat step 2.

4.  1/2 to 1 day later you’ll be finished, hopefully.  Those who have read my site before will remember that I live in a cottage, not a McMansion, so the rooms are smallish and it doesn’t take me too long to remove wallpaper from a room.  Next, you want to mix a bucket of warm water and TSP (a powder cleaner found at most hardware stores).  Wash the walls with this solution until you are certain all paste is off the wall.  This step is especially important if you plan to paint.  If you don’t remove all of the paste residue it will cause your paint to crackle in those spots.  It won’t be pretty and we’re going for pretty!

This is you in your newly painted room once you've removed the wallpaper.

Sounds easy right?  So not I need to heed my own advice and get started.  Let me know if you have questions, I’m here to help if I can.

By the way, one of my favorite blog sites, Southern Hospitality, recently had a post about wallpapering just one wall—that probably wouldn’t work in my library but I loved the examples she shows us.  So, before you use my handy tools for eliminating wallpaper, think about keeping one wall or take down the paper you don’t like and put up some you like.

Images courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens/Cottage living ideas