The Wallpaper Must Go!

Wallpaper. I don't like it. I never really have. I prefer my walls to be left pure. ;) Taking wallpaper down.  I don't like it. I never have and I have never even taken it down before! 

I did some Internet research and watched a few you tube videos so I think that makes me an expert now, right?

The culprit

The weapon

My research findings are that is it much easier to take down wallpaper with a steamer. It is also much easier to take down non-vinyl wallpaper. However, to my dismay, vinyl wallpaper is what I discovered I had.

So with a few choice words after that discovery, I started with steaming the heck out of the walls. When that didn't work, because the steam could not penetrate through the dang vinyl, I began to peel and peel the vinyl paper away. It left the paper backing still on the wall, unfortunately.

Removing wall paper requires beer. 

Once I got all the dang vinyl off the wall I was able to bring out my trusty weapon...the steamer! I steamed the backing and it easily peeled off. I also got a good facial in the process.

Some parts needed a little scraping to get started but once it got started it came off in large pieces, yeeeah!

After I steamed and peeled a million times over it was time to wash the glue off the wall. I used a damp soapy rag...you don't want to saturate the drywall otherwise you may ruin it. I used the rag to wash off all that gunk and soap, it came off pretty easily and then I used a clean dry rag to wipe the walls down. 

Many hours later, clean white wallpaper free walls emerged! 

I am awfully proud of myself if I do say so. Next on my agenda for this bathroom is a fresh coat of paint, a new counter top, and new sink installation! I also need towels and a shower curtain.

Oh...and also on that bathroom update agenda are new light fixtures, did you see that funky fixture a few pics above?? It is just not doing the trick for me.

Cheers!

A Little Help In the Kitchen Please!

First things first. The kitchen. This house has lots of potential but the kitchen and the bathrooms are going to be the biggest task. Why you ask? Well, lets start with the kitchen.

The appliances are, um...vintage...and the countertops, they speak for themselves. The linoleum flooring also needs to be updated. But, I know the people that lived here before loved it the way it is so I certainly want to respect that while at the same time making it my own and er...more updated.

The oven and microwave must have been fancy back it the day. Its one of those combos that attach together. I think one of my friends had a microwave/oven combo in their Barbie Dream House...I remember it being pretty cool.

This is the eat in kitchen area. I love that they kept the beams the origional color and did not pain them. 

One of my main concerns is that the fridge is custom framed and it's small, very small. Much smaller than the mega fridges of today and yep I sure do want one of those mega fridges. They are shiny, have bells and whistles, and fancy bright lights! Shiny things are hard for me to pass up. Fortunately, we have a handy friend that helped knock out the framing and cabinet above to make room for my mega fridge. 

He reframed around the new fridge and then built a wine rack above. Love. It. 

Yes, I do believe I need more wine up there. 

I think he did a mighty fine job. Now, if this mega fridge ever needs any mega servicing, we are in trouble because I don't think there is any way to get it out of the kitchen, it was hard enough to get it in! So, lets hope that mega fridge is built to last a mega lifetime. Next on the kitchen recon mission agenda...floors, countertops, and back splash!

Cheers!

IKEA Is The Bomb

A few weekends ago my mother and I took  the treck all the way to Ikea. Yeah, it sounds like a long drive but it isn't really. It was in the past with all the construction but since it has been like 6 years since I have gone all the construction is complete and it only took 1 hour to get there despite all the exits we missed and wrong ways we went!

When we arrived it was like arriving to the ultimate amusement park of furniture and housewares. We got up to the top level so I could hunt down all the furniture I knew I wanted from stalking their website. Then, the lights went off. It was like the Ikea apocolypse. A storm had moved in and was giving their eletricity a run for its money. After a brief wait in the pitch black...the lights came back on and then we went forth and shopped. About 2.5 hours we came to the cafe....we new we needed a break. After hours of writing down item numbers and perusing all the great things that Ikea has to offer, it was time for some Sweedish meatballs and lingonberry juice. Not bad for furniture store food if I do say so myself.

Once we re-powered, lingonberry juice will do that for you, was time to push forth and continue the journey. We continued to write down item numbers and then went downstairs to the market (which can be completely damaging to the pocket book). At the end of our journey, we ended up in the section where you pull all the items listed on your little item number pamphlet. We soon realized that the 2 of us were not going to be able to do to it alone. But alas, Ikea has people that will pull your items for you and deliver it too...for a cost of course but man if you are going there for a truck load of stuff it is well worth it! We got that all squared away and then started our journey back home and then a few days later our Ikea delivery truck arrived!

After countless hours of Mr. Lucas putting everything together (Ikea instructions are horrible!) it is all starting to come together around here.

I tried to go easy on the budget since we have so much to do to the house. So, instead of buying a new coffee table I just updated our old Ikea coffee table with a bit of paint. 

Before:

After:

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. This stuff is awesome!  Annie Sloan is a genious. I wish I came up with this paint and wax system myself! Oh, the boxer is a couch accessory since I have not been able to find coordinating couch pillows I like. ;)

Cheers!

Crawling Out From Under The Rock

Hello!! I have been living under a rock for a while in the blogging world. Why? Well, After my last post I went on vacation to Santa Fe (awesome) and then came back and Mr. Lucas and I put our house on the market. It has been quite a whirlwind. I've only bought a house, never sold and bought. A ton of effort goes into it and it practically consumes you, I had no idea. So, after our vacation we got our house museum style clean and organized for showings. Then we had to keep it that clean for weeks which is a hard thing to do when you are still trying to live! So, most of my time was wrapped up in real estate so I didn't have much time to blog and I wasn't doing anything that was even blog worthy. But, after the 3rd showing we sold our house! When we started showing we had already found a house we loved and everything fell into place. The house was for sale by owner and the owner was very patient and even accepted a contingency contract! We closed on September 13th and have been packing, decorating, organizing, fixing, and everything else imaginable since! But, I am happy to report I will have plenty to blog about now!

We have wall paper to remove, counter tops to update, furniture to buy, appliances to purchase, bathrooms that need ultra updating, and much more. So, I imagine these next several months are going to be about the trials and tribulations of our new home. But, the home is perfect. We really love it. There is so much more space, the backyard is beautiful and ready for outdoor parties. There are several nice touches to this house but also a few unusual touches as well. The house was only owned by one family. It was built in 1959. The owner was builder and designed and built the house himself. There are certainly some quirks that drive me a little batty like the sink faucets turn the opposite direction, the locks turn the opposite direction, and the wall paper is hideous (but they loved it and that is OK). I will take the love and work that he put into building this house any day though.

So, with that said...I am no longer under the blogging rock. I have emerged :) and there will be LOTS to talk about.

Here is a little sneak peek into (the outside) of my house. I needed to mark it my own and in order to do that...I painted the door.

Before

After. A happy Gypsy Teal. I love teal.

I think I may paint the inside of the door as well, just for a pop of color. 

Cheers!!