The Beginning of the End.

It has begun.This weekend we will finish putting up wainscot and chair rail in the bathroom and hopefully will finish the final painting as well.
So excited to see this project nearing the end.

Now, who wants to make me some sheer window treatments to swag over the two windows? Anyone? Hello?

Ok, fine. I will work on the window treatments but I will hold off on final pictures until that last piece is complete.

Seeing the Light

Now that the jungle is gone and blue skies abound in our master bath, it is time to turn to details.

About a month before we started the project, I removed the shiny gold knobs and pulls and replaced them with brushed nickle ones. It is amazing what a difference that simple change made.

Now, as Scott and I wait for a clear weekend to tackle the wainscoting and chair rail, we are making other accessory changes that look great.

Off with the old:
If you click on the picture above, you can really see the sort of outdated gold rope detail for which I did not care.

On with the new:
I LOVE the curved, feminine feel to the new light fixture.

It is coming together, slowly but surely!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Keep them rollers rollin'
Scott is tired of rollin'Who's gonna put up the wainscoting'? Oh my!

(Note in the above that Scott already has the TV back up on the wall. Whew, I was so worried we would not be able to sit in the tub without a television! [Read with dripping sarcasm, please.] )

Could it be, could it be?

Is that primer, tape and paint I see?

Victory in the Jungle

The combat phase of Operation Leave the Jungle is complete.

The vines fought the good fight but in the end our sheer determination and a $25 steamer brought them to their knees.

Let's just take a look at what we accomplished in 9 days, shall we?

Before:
After: Before: After (with some test paint colors reflected in the closet mirror,
we are going with the darker one!):
Before:

After:

The other day Scott asked, "What has gotten into you with all the redecorating projects all the sudden?!"

Me thinks he is getting tired of being conscripted as height-advantaged slave labor to support my schemes. However, the next logical step is to paint the upper portion of the walls, an activity in which he will be heavily involved!

Making Progress

At the encouragement of a friend (thanks Mary S!), I bought a steamer and with it we have made lots of progress in a short amount of time.

Ever the bargain shopper - Scott has rubbed off on me after all these years - I did not purchase an actual wallpaper steamer ($50 at Home Depot) but instead bought a little canister clothing steamer for $25 at Big Lots.

The steamer is definitely the way to go and hopefully Scott and I will team up this weekend to kick out the high places.

Slowly but surely it is coming along. I am seeing a tiny, pin-point light at the end of the tunnel so let's hope our backs hang in there long enough to get the job done!

Last week

Today!

Meanwhile, Back in the Jungle...

The indigenous plant life is putting up quite the resistance.
It is clinging to the wall surfaces with kudzu-like strength.
We are bringing in reinforcements by the gallon.We are committed.

And by the time this is all over we may need to be committed!

Viva la jungle revolution and viva la Dif!

Oh, and if there are any local folks who have a wallpaper steamer, would you be willing to lend it to us for a couple of weeks? Pretty, pretty please?

Operation "Leave the Jungle" Underway

Despite some wonderful advice regarding faux and/or texture painting right over the wallpaper, we decided to go for the smooth walls and thus began taking the wallpaper down.

2 hours. This is what we accomplished in 2 hours.

Oh yeah, we are so having fun now.