Wallpaper 101

So last week was our first dive into the wonderful world of home improvement. After all of our mishaps, we finally started removing wallpaper around 4pm on Sunday afternoon. Seven hours later when we finally left the house, we had only finished half of the kitchen, and we still had the two bathrooms to do. Obviously, we had no idea what we were actually getting into when we first decided to take on that task. It's one of those things that really sucks when you are doing it, but soon after it is all over, it will become quite funny. Anyway, here are a few things we learned:

• Wallpaper is ugly and it sucks. Never, ever put it in your house...ever. You will miserably regret it if you ever decide to take it down. Here are two prime examples (The top one was in the kitchen and the bottom one was in the master bathroom):
• Having a wallpaper steamer helps quite a bit. However, do not expect the wallpaper to just slide off like magic. You also need a really good scraper with a sharp edge. Meet the wallpaper steamer we rented from Home Depot (I named him McSteamy).
  
• Patience is key! The best analogy I can come up with is that it is kind of like eating crab legs. It is hard work to break through the shell, but once you figure out a good technique, it's not so bad. Sometimes the meat comes out in little tiny shreds and you wonder why you are going through all of the trouble. Other times, huge long pieces of meat come out all at once, and that is when it is so satifying and worth it!
• Go ahead and plan on taking about three times as long as you originally planned.
• Don't be surprised if you find out that there are other layers under the top layer. Usually they will be even uglier and harder to remove than the top layer!

• Be prepared for dust, wetness, and a big old mess!