“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 600 (Saturday)

Ugh. Do these even coordinate?

On November 6, 2016, I began stripping the wallpaper from the kitchen, which, like so many other memories, I know only thanks to the Memories feature on Facebook. The main paper featured images of utensils and jars with labels including “marmalade” and “red currant jelly,” with a wide border of baskets with fruit on a cloth that didn’t seem like it coordinated with the other paper. I remember the paper vividly because I hated it. Pictures help, too. Duh.

There was no immediate plan beyond removing the paper. It just needed to be gone. Eventually it would be painted, but no color had been selected. Because of all the seams and the sculpted edge of the border, painting over the paper wasn’t feasible.

The first stage involved peeling off the border which was easy. If the paper underlying paper had gone all the way to ceiling, that might have been a temporary project stop, but it was clear by the raggedy edge that the border was planned from the start. All the sections that would come off dry were done. Then a butter knife was enlisted to get under the edges for more of it, and there were flashbacks to helping Mom peel off paper when I was a kid. That was good training back in the day, gouging the walls from holding the knife at the wrong angle and it reminded how to not gouge them now. It’s gratifying peeling off someone else’s ugly-ass wallpaper choice and there was hope the painting step would feel equally good.

A vinegar and water solution was sprayed on the paper that didn’t come off easily, and eventually, the walls were bare. They stayed bare for a while. It was at least a year, and maybe two. (I’ll need another round of Facebook Memories to remind me when the painting finally happened.) Color chips were gathered. Colors were debated. Finally, a grayish purple color was chosen, but by then the entire paint line had been discontinued from Lowe’s. The color selection process began again and a purplish gray was selected and purchased. During a staycation week, the kitchen was finally painted, and it was at least as satisfying as the paper removal.

The taping took the longest. The kitchen has six doorways (basement, bathroom, back door, laundry closet, office area, and dining room), a window, two long runs of counters, and cabinets. It didn’t need much paint, as there isn’t all that much wall space with all the other stuff going on. When  I got to the last wall, I was tired and just wanted to be done, and somehow got two spots of paint on the ceiling over the bathroom door. Oops.

Doorways and art wall in process.

It’s been a few years since the walls were painted and I still like the color, which feels like a win. The color ended up being a perfect choice with the mottled countertops. Once, while painting, what looked like a small smudge of paint on the counter turned out to be part of the counter color.

Bit by bit, artwork has been added to the plain walls and is still in process. Even with the new color, the walls don’t speak to me like they did in every other place I’ve lived where I knew exactly what to hang where and it was done in no time at all, and enjoyed for the rest of the time there. I hoped that after five years the house and I would be communicating better, but it’s not happening. Yet. Apparently, we’re still a work in process.