January 20, 2011

Getting ready to work on my livingroom

As a warning, I have included a lot of pictures with this post so you can see what I am facing.

I am getting ready to repair our old plaster walls in our livingroom.  Actually the entire downstairs has old plaster walls in each room, except the bathroom. 

I stripped the wallpaper in the livingroom and in doing so I went through decades of wallpaper.  It took a very, very long time.  The walls are now stained yellow from the old wallpaper paste that was used somewhere in the 1890's.  Now before I can get to the fun part of painting the entryway and livingroom I have to spend time repairing the cracks and holes in the plaster walls.  Some of the holes you can see the lathwork behind the hole. 

I have never done this before.  But, in saying that, I  had never tuckpointed bricks before this summer either.  Here is what I know.  If you believe you can do something, that is 75% of the battle.  Second, this is my house.  I want it to look nice, but I also don't mind it not being a perfect house.

I took these pictures this afternoon.  I didn't pick up so you will see a little clutter.  We begin our picture journey in the entryway and at the front door.

The door needs to have the finish repaired


Front door is to the left.  Original stained glass window.

To the right of the entryway, note the bookshelf.

The bookshelve on the left is the same one in the prior picture.
 
The bookshelf in this picture is the one on the right in the prior picture.
 


The doorway on the left goes to the bathroom at the end of the hall and
two bedrooms on the left.
The doorway on the right goes to the diningroom and kitchen.


The door to the diningroom is to the left.
The window on the right is a curved window.

 
We are now back to the entryway - the curved window is on the left.
Ignor the gold blotch of paint on the wall
 Here are a few of the holes I have to patch



This is near the ceiling in the entryway.
The stain is from the yellow wall paper paste.

In the entryway also.

You can see the lathwork behind this hole.




Some more cracks

A little bit more wallpaper to scrape away.

The ceiling needs some work also.  It was papered with white wall paper years ago and there are several long cracks in the paper.  But I am not going to remove it as it could bring trouble and instead I plan to paint it a color other than white - perhaps I will sponge it with a couple of shades of a beige to hide those cracks.  I haven't decided.

So, that gives you a visual of what I am up against.  I'm ready to start working on it and will begin this Saturday.  Wish me luck and I will post pictures as I go.  Not as many as I did today - I don't want to overwhelm anyone.

2 comments:

Elizabeth said...

That does look like a lot of work! We have almost all plaster walls as well so I know the work involved in trying to repair cracks. With that said, I LOVE the details in your home...the curved window, the wood moldings, the complete setup! I can't wait to see the finished project! And old houses look awesome with some "not so perfect" things...think "distressed chic"!

Maureen said...

I love old houses they have much more character than their newer relatives, having said that they are also more work to maintain, but so worthwhile when finished.
Looking forward to seeing your project unfold.
Love your stainglass window.