Project #1: Kitchen

OK so enough about trees and shrubs and on to more important things - like this kitchen!


So here's my project #1 - removing this lovely {to some} wallpaper combo I inherited from the previous owners. As you can see, I have two different patterns... so how to remove wallpaper without ripping your hair out:

So the first step is to remove as much of the wallpaper as you can without spraying it with anything. Most wallpapers if not all have 2 layers - so if you can manage to remove the first layer just by ripping it off with your fingers then you'll save yourself a lot of time/aggravation. It may seem like double work, but I found it much better to do it this way - you also end up using less of the solution.



I got this tool which helps create tiny holes on the paper. Note that this wallpaper was a lot thinner than the one they used on top, so I didn't have to manually remove the top layer.

The more holes the better - more DIF will be absorbed, making the scraping/removing much much easier. (Note that this picture was taken, before I realized that it was easier to first remove the top layer before scoring)

I tried both the gel and original formula. Although the clean up of the gel formula seemed easier to manage - I think overall I prefer the original (you dilute it yourself) formula and it's much cheaper (works just as well).


It took me about a day to complete this project. The hardest parts were the ones above the cabinets and behind the fridge and stove.

I'm going to paint the kitchen a fresh pineapple color, ceiling will be painted Patriotic White (Benjamin Moore) - it has a very light light light blue undertone and the trims will be painted Ivory White (Benjamin Moore).

The cabinets will also get a nice coat of white paint! I'm still looking for the perfect shade :)