Foyer Update Week 4

I am moving right along on my progress on the foyer. This week was devoted to painting. Before hanging the new wallpaper, I painted the molding above and below the wallpaper area so as not to have any mishaps on the new wallpaper. This week I painted the wall below the chair rail, the baseboards, the risers on the stairs, and the spindles, all 75 of them, and the newel posts, the doors to the coat closets, and the doors to the living room and dining room. It was a lot of tedious work. Now I am ready to get to the fun part. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

The photo above is a “before” shot and the photo below is the “after” of the same area.

Another “before” photo above and the “after” below.

And the last “before” above and the “after” below.

If you missed the previous posts you can click here for week 1,week 2, and week 3. I’m joining the One Room Challenge at Calling It Home. Click the link to see lots of great projects!

Have a great week!

Foyer Update–Week 3

I am continuing to make progress on my foyer update. To refresh your memory, this is what it looked like when I started.

One of the projects on my list was to remove the popcorn texture from the ceiling. I first stripped the old wallpaper and placed my order for new paper. I didn’t order until I was ready in case I needed to order more so that I could get the same “run number” if I did need to reorder. I ordered 2 more double rolls than I thought I needed and am so glad I did. Because of all of the waste in pattern matching, I used all of the rolls! I do have a large portion of the last roll left over but  had no unopened rolls left. The paper was on backorder for 2 weeks, so I worked on the ceiling and wall prep during that time. I also put a fresh coat of paint on the crown molding and the chair rail before starting the paper.

While the ceiling is not perfectly smooth, it is a tremendous improvement. I still haven’t decided on a new light fixture yet. The lower foyer light is a small crystal chandelier that hangs in front of the leaded glass fanlight window over the front door and I am keeping it.

After following the directions carefully for wall prep, the paper hanging went pretty quickly and smoothly. I am loving the new look.

I started with the longest strip of paper which was over the stairs and worked my way around.

Since I’m working from the top down, the yellow paint below the chair rail will be the next thing to go.

About 24 hours after I finished hanging the paper, I had an unexpected death in my family and had family coming in from out of town. We took down the scaffolding and cleaned up as best as we could. My aunt who was visiting went in to admire the project. Thankfully, she spotted a small area that I had missed! It was the small corner above the door to the dining room in the photo above. That was a quick and easy fix. Moving on to painting the lower walls, spindles, and all of the doors now.

If you missed my first post on this project, you can read about it by clicking here and if you missed the second post you can read it here.  I’m participating in the One Room Challenge to redecorate a room in six weeks at Calling It Home. Click here to see lots of inspiration!

I’m also linking to Grace at Home at Imparting Grace.

Foyer Update–Week 2

The race is now on to transform this foyer in six short weeks! You can read my Week One post by clicking here.

I’m replacing the wallpaper that has been here since we built this house 28 years ago. Because it is difficult for me to find someone to tackle the labor in this project in my very rural area, this is a big DIY project. I’ve done lots of wallpaper before and my mother and I did this 28 years ago. Actually, my mother did the work on the highest part the first time. The biggest challenge is the height in the open area.

I also decided to take this opportunity to remove the popcorn texture from the ceiling. The popcorn has already been removed in most of the other rooms but this one hasn’t been done yet due to the difficulty in getting to the ceiling two stories high.

The top layer of paper came off very easily. I just found an edge at the seam and started to pull.

Then I sprayed with water which caused the paper to come loose and release from the wall. You can see in the photo above where the paper is starting to bubble up and loosen. There is a steamer in the photo below but I didn’t need to use it.

This section went pretty quickly.

I was able to get all of this done before bringing in the ladders.

I was able to use an adjustable ladder to get some of the paper going up the stairs.

As you can see in the photo above, it made a huge mess. The bottom layer of paper came off in all sizes of pieces, some of them tiny.

This is the dangerous part. I had to use a walk board between two ladders to get part of the paper down and to scrape the ceiling in the corner. I used scaffolding to reach the ceiling in the center. Safety disclaimer: THIS IS NOT SAFE. My son who is a construction management professional walked into the room and said “Mom, this is not safe. Walkboards are not allowed on job sites. You are supposed to be tied off when doing any work more than 6 feet above the floor.” My brother in law walked in and said “Do you know how many OSHA violations are in this room?” I would not recommend any one do this. I did what I could with the equipment that I had. It is my private residence and not a commercial job site.

Scraping the ceiling goes pretty fast. After covering the floors, I used my spray bottle of water again to spray a small section of ceiling. I held a baking sheet in my left hand and used a wide putty knife in my right hand to scrape the ceiling letting the popcorn texture fall onto the baking sheet. I then dumped the material from the baking sheet into a trash can then started on a new section.

While this job required a considerable amount of patience, it was well worth the effort. I’m ready to be to the fun part. Hopefully I will have pretty pictures next week! Click over to Calling It Home to see the progress on the other projects.

Foyer Update–One Room Challenge

I have finally gotten to a project that has been on my “update” list for quite some time…….years to be more specific! This foyer has not been updated since this house was built 28 years ago! Needless to say, this project was long overdue. Because the foyer is open to the second floor it is quite a challenge to decorate. I’ll let the photos do the talking.

The original wallpaper coordinated with the dining room wallpaper which will eventually be replaced too.

Because it is a very tall room with a lot of open wall space I will be replacing the wallpaper with another paper with a large scale trellis print.

All of the spindles will be painted white and the existing white trim will get a fresh coat of white paint.

The plan is to keep the same furniture but update the mirror, lampshades, and rug. The small chair will probably get a new seat.

The coat closet doors on either side of the front door and the doors to the living room and dining rooms will all be painted white.

The yellow “Sugar Cookie” paint below the chair rail will be painted a neutral color to coordinate with the new wallpaper. Hopefully I will be able to find a sheer fabric for a new covering for the Palladian window. It has to be covered to keep the sunlight from fading everything.

I’ll be keeping this settee as I built it from 2 of my grandmother’s old dining chairs about 28 years ago. It was one of my first upcycle projects copied from one I saw in a magazine.  It will get a new seat too. I also plan to update the plant and the planter.

This ceiling is one the the last few in the house that still has the popcorn treatment. Now is the time to remove it! This light fixture will also be replaced if I can find a replacement that I like. The One Room Challenge has a six week timeline which will really push me. Because I keep things a llllooooooooonnnnnnnggggggg time, I like to find things that I really love which sometimes takes years to find. That being said, I will check as many things off this list as I can but have no idea if I will be able to pull it off in 6 weeks. For some crazy reason it is much easier for me to pick out things for someone else’s home than it is for me to pick out things for my own home. Click over to Calling it Home for lots of inspiration every Wednesday and Thursday for the next 6 weeks. It always provides great inspiration and eye candy.

If you are interested in some other updates I’ve made to this home you can click here to see the kitchen update, here to see the guest room, and here to see how I updated the built-in cabinets in the den.

I’m also linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style.

Tickled Pink by Answered Prayer

While I am not finished with my posts on affordable travel, I have to interrupt the series to let you know that I am tickled pink. My heart is overflowing with joy. We have prayed for seven years and our prayers have been answered.

Let me give you a little background.

Remember this chair that I covered for my sweet friend for her nursery.

And remember this dresser that I updated for her nursery. After several years of marriage and dealing with infertility, my friend decided to pursue adoption.  After being on an adoption waiting list for over two years, a sweet baby girl came through the foster care system to live in this nursery in October of 2014. Her adoption was final in January of 2015.

Remember this chair that I converted to a swivel rocker. Four months after baby #1 arrived from foster care, my sweet friend  became the proud mother of a newborn baby girl that was adopted in May of 2014. She happily had two girls under the age of two. But wait. There’s more. My sweet friend appeared to be going through a physical slump last summer. She was tired, sleepy, and had no appetite. She attributed it to adjusting to motherhood to the two babies. Not being able to snap out of it, she finally went to the doctor. I’m sure you have figured out the rest of the story by now. My precious friend was pregnant! By the grace of God, she delivered a healthy baby girl last week! She is now the proud mother of three girls under the age of three! Our many prayers for a baby have been answered. Please join me in praying for my sweet friend as she recovers from a  C-section and adjusts to a very busy life. We are praising God from whom all blessings flow!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

You will have to trust me when I say that they are all beautiful babies. To protect their privacy, I have not included photos.

Have a wonderful week as we welcome spring!

I’m linking to Grace at Home at Imparting Grace.