Waving "Good-Bye!" to the "Wheat Walls"

I think this makeover is even more drastic than my bathroom makeover.  Yes, I finally kissed my 70's ugly wheat designed wallpaper walls good-bye!  Here is how it progressed....

I had, unfortunately, attempted to scrape some of the paper off of one wall.  I followed all the directions that friends, family members and the internet suggested, but to little avail.  I scraped with all my might and hurt my arm and all I accomplished was to get a small amount of wallpaper off of the upper lefthand corner of the smallest "wheat wall"....

 

So, finally, I followed the next line of suggestions, that is to opt to paint over the ugly wallpaper.  I started off my covering up the one spot that I had scraped off with some wall joint compound.

 

After hot gluing down a few seams that were actually pulling away from the wall a little on the larger "wheat wall", I then proceeded to use wall joint compound to try to smooth over the seams of the wallpaper on this and one other wall on the north side of the family room.

 

Next, began the smelly part of the job.  That was, to paint over all three walls with an oil-based primer.  I read that you should use an oil-based primer, rather than a water-based primer, because the water can soak through the paper and make it bubble and bend, etc.  So, here's what they looked like after they were primed.

 

Thankfully, the terrible smell only lasted for about a day or two.  The next step was to begin by starting to paint all of the edges first.  I used Behr paint.  The color was called "High Plateau".

 

The next step was the funnest part, where I could roll over the walls in wide swaths with the roller brushes to finally say, "Adieu!" to my ugly walls for the last time.  Oh, I forgot to mention, before I did that I sprayed some texture on the walls to make them look a little bumpy.  Here's what they looked like after the first coat of paint....

 

Today I finished painting the white edges around the large east wall and did a little touching up.  Then I cleaned up, put back my book shelves and books and began hanging our artwork on the walls, which have been waiting for a "home" ever since we moved in over 3 and a half years ago! 

And, "Why?" you may ask, "am I finally getting around to painting my basement family room after nearly 4 years of being in this house.  Well, I had been so discouraged about my failure to remove the wallpaper last year, that I just let it sit.  But, now I had new motivation, as I really wanted to create a warm inviting atmosphere for our international exchange student who is coming to stay with us next week from Japan.  Here is a peek at her bedroom....

 

No, I did not get her bedroom painted, but it wasn't quite as ugly as the bathroom and the hideous "wheat walls" of the family room.  So, now, let me show you the final Reveal, I have to show you the amazing transformation.  Here are the "Before" and "After" pictures below...

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

You may have noticed in one picture that there is still a couple of small walls in the corner, behind the entertainment center that have the old wood paneling.  Someday, I will move the whole entertainment center and tackle those last walls in the corner.  But, for now I'm pretty tickled pink over my "high plateau walls".  No more wheat walls!  Woo hoo!  Come on over and kick your feet up on the couch and relax in this warm, inviting family room, which no longer resembles a 70's dark cave with wheat walls!

Guest Bathroom Makeover

I have started to give our ugly guest bathroom a makeover.  Ever since we moved in I have imagined what our bathroom would look like if I repainted it.  But, here it is 3 and a half years since we moved in and I'm finally making that dream a reality.  I was tired of looking at the old, dingy bathroom that I hardly want to enter, because of it's ugly state.  Just look at how shabby things look in there.

 

The only things I have purchased, so far for this makeover is a new metal cover for the pipe from the toilet to the wall. ( See the old one above); 1 quart of paint; and some solution to remove rust stains from the sink.  The grand total cost of those items were $25.  Actually, I also purchased some new linens, rugs and items for the bathroom at Kohl's for the cost of $85.  So, up until now I've spent a little over $100.  Let me show you how far I've come so far with the transformation.

 

Notice the spackling? There were some uneven seams probably from when they put the shower in.  So, I decided to try to even out these uneven seams, by smoothing over them with spackling.

 

Notice, one more spot I added spackling.  Also, I painted the edges of the ceiling with fresh white paint.

 

Next, I repainted the support beam with fresh white paint as it was very dull and ugly with various stains.

 

Here's what it looked like when I started painting the edges.

 

I used some leftover paint I had used at our house in Ft. Collins.  It's Behr paint and the color is "Emminence".

After I painted the edges, Jay helped me out by removing the towel racks.  Here's what it looks like since I've painted two coats of paint on the walls.

 

It only seemed to need one coat of white paint on the ceiling, but two coats of the white for the trim between the walls and the ceiling.

 

And remember that ugly, old, rusty vent cover?  Here it is after I spray painted it white.

 

And then there were those hideous looking discolored metal handles to the bathroom vanity.  Here is what they are looking like since I've spray painted them with silver paint.  Notice, I also repainted the vanity doors with fresh white paint, as well.

And here is what the room looks like after repainting it, putting down some rugs, getting new towels and  a couple of accessories, in addition to hanging some pictures on the walls.

 

Now the guest bathroom will look a little more welcoming for our international student who will be visiting us from Japan in a little over two weeks.  Since completing the bathroom project I have begun another painting project downstairs.  To be continued....