Steam, baby!

Since yesterday was my day off, I decided that it was time to start tackling the wallpaper that surrounds the kitchen and adjoining wall. This is what we were dealing with: 

Not a fan.

 It’s not exactly the theme I’m going for in the house. So, I rented the Wallpaper Steamer from work (you can call your local True Value and find out if they rent one as well, they are decently priced for a twenty-four hour rental) and got to it. In order for the wallpaper steamer to do its job, it needs to be filled with water. So I got a funnel and filled it up with two liters. I highly suggest filling it up all of the way. I thought because I was only doing a small part of the kitchen, two liters would be enough — I was wrong. I had to then wait halfway through the project for the steamer to cool down enough for me to remove the cap and refill it, then wait again for the water to boil. So be more patient than I was and fill it all the way! 

Remember to place cap back on once filled.

Depending on how your wallpaper was put on, it may help to have more than one person doing this project. My mom offered her help when we realized the wallpaper was going to come off in layers. The birdhouse layer came off smoothly, but the glue did not. I had to leave the steamer on the sections much longer, and with a spreader the glue finally came off. 

Conquering the wallpaper glue!

Once it finally all came off, we went over the top with a sponge to wipe off any sticky residue and then sanded it. The wallpaper had been on there so longer the layers of paint from below the border was much thicker than the wall underneath the wallpaper. What I found was interesting was the color underneath the wallpaper ended up being very similar to the color we chose to paint the wall entirely! But the finished project is for another post.

Has anyone ever removed wallpaper before using a rental steamer? Any horror stories? I would love to see pictures of any wallpaper that’s more hideous than we had!

Ready for painting!