The trouble with this house is that when starting a project, I'm never sure how deep to go. If I rip off ugly wallpaper, will the drywall I find be finished and ready for paint? Or did the wallpaper cover up unfinished seams and lumpy installation? Or OSB in lieu of drywall? Should I remove the faux-wood paneling? Do I dare? Is there drywall underneath or will I be exposing old insulation?
That said, every time I do an upgrade from sickly stained wallpaper to fresh paint, I don't want to spend too much time or effort because in the long run, we'll be replacing a LOT of drywall when we replace the insulation behind it. But this is way down the road and there are several things I don't want to live with for that long. Like this room:
It's the spare bedroom and it was very obvious that the carpet had to go (smelly and grimy), along with the wallpaper (top half of walls), which was peeling off. But once the wallpaper was removed, I found gaps in the drywall. I wanted to removed the paneling, but wasn't up for doing drywall if there wasn't any underneath. As for the floor, I found sheets of plywood with some gaps under the carpet and we weren't ready to buy new carpet yet. So, within these compromises I assembled my arsenal:
1) flat paint in a warm white for the walls.
2) glossy chocolate brown for the trim.
3) floor paint in tan.
4) white painter's caulk for drywall gaps.
5) a variety of curtains and fabrics from Goodwill.
Of course it still wants rugs, accent furniture, and pillowcases, but these pictures show progress and they show what a difference a very simple neutral palette can make when you're going from icky to usable. It won't grace the cover of House Beautiful anytime soon with such a bland look, but this is where we are right now. Paint + Compromise.
Similar compromises were made in the upstairs hall and bathroom. At some point cosmetic becomes structural and finding that point and knowing when to quit are a big part of getting anything accomplished.
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