With a new chandelier as motivation, we set out to prove that we empty-nesters don’t quite have the same amount of energy as we did when we were young. We’re living proof of it. Today. And we’re both wondering how did that happen?! We’re not quite sure, we still feel young at heart. In the joints, not so much.
The year after Mr. and I got married, we built our house. In order to save money, we let the general contractor and crew do the heavy stuff while we did all the painting and all the staining of the woodwork. Inside and outside.
We both worked full-time, so after work and on weekends, we’d stain and varnish. When the sheetrock and texturing was completed by the construction crew, we painted the entire house. In one weekend. We did have some family help to do it, thank goodness.
We also picked out all of the lighting and accessories. Our first chandelier was chosen with care and pride. But it was crooked, no matter how hard we tried to ‘be okay’ with it, it wasn’t okay.
So on one of my many thrift-sale shopping excursions back then, I found the one we’ve had hanging in our dining room since the late 1990s or early 2000s.
I have never loved it, but at least it wasn’t crooked. When the glass was clean, it did sparkle. I longed for the someday when we’d eventually find one we liked or be forced to make a change and it would be replaced.
We’ve been saving $ all these years to use to update parts of the house as we feel the urge to do so. When the windows went in, and the light came into the house, ugh…the chandelier just had to go.
Mr. picked a new one out online – we went to the store and bought it. Then Mr. mustered up the bravery to take down the old and put up the new.
We both thought the ceiling had to be at least 20 some feet high. We remember painting it originally, on scaffolding and ladders.
It’s really only 13′ high, so with age, guess both of our fears have exaggerated distance some. Mr. set out to replace the chandelier, while I witnessed in amazement with the camera in hand.
As I watched him, I, too, mustered up the bravery to get rid of something else that’s been bugging me since the windows brightened up the views in our kitchen. All it takes is one little pull on wallpaper for the bug to hit me.
I (we) have repainted almost every room in our house, multiple times. Especially our kitchen. The last time I did it though, I thought it was going to be the last time. We had purchased new blinds to ditch the curtains. That was back in 2006 or 2007, I think? I can’t remember.
I’m a fan of paint – it is a relatively inexpensive way to update a room. Smooshing has often been a fun technique to use. Our oldest helped me do the blue in our kitchen. I have fond memories of us working together to complete the painting.
Anyhoo…back then, in our kitchen I wanted two colors, blue and yellow, but not solid walls of those colors. So entered the lovely idea of a border. It took a long time to pick it out, I wanted to be sure. Wallpaper is a BIG commitment.
I actually still love the details of it and all the colors. I love birds and flowers and gardening, oh, my, sigh…
But it’s time to depart with it and move on into a new decade of colors. I don’t know about you, but right up there on the list of dreaded tasks when renovating or remodeling ranks removing wallpaper. It’s so damn messy.
Even if the task is incredibly rewarding to have completed, it is a pain in the ass to do it. Over the years, I’ve perfected the technique.
I use a scoring tool,
a bucket of water, a washcloth, a really hot iron, and a putty knife. And a lot of hot steamy elbow grease coupled with extreme patience.
And today – let me tell you – there are some heavy-duty moaning and groaning sounds filling the house. I can barely type on my keyboard, my hands are killing me. Mr.’s shoulder is sore from reaching above his head.
The chandelier is still hanging from the ceiling. But, the border removal is only a partial success, not completed yet – only 1/2 the room is done after 3 hours working on it…
In our Lil’ ol’ empty nest, we aren’t feeling like the spring chickens we were 29 years ago…this project may take longer than I had planned or estimated…but now I’m on to the fun part, what color scheme should I go with?!!
Post Inspiration – Empty nest fun
PS – How about you, do you like wallpaper and borders, or paint? Have you ever removed the wallpaper or a border or both!? Are you brave enough to replace lighting? How tall did you think the ceiling looked before I told you? What aches and pains do you feel that you didn’t when you were younger? What color is your favorite color for a kitchen?
Joining in and laughing with sympathy! Last weekend we moved exactally 1.5 blocks from a short term rental to our “last” move into a condo on the bay. Eventho we hired 99% of all the work, and move out, we had to soak in the hot tub to be able to move at all the last few days. Hands, feet, neck and backs can’t keep up with our 20 year old minds! And, yes who knew fingers don’t work as well without our thumb joints being in top shape. Hope you too are enjoying the results!
https://littleblackdomicile.com
Ah, yes, Laurel – you know the aches and pain feeling well. It’s a good thing we still think we can do things, otherwise, we wouldn’t try, right? Congrats on a successful move, now relax and enjoy!!
Hi Laurel,
I hope that your fingers are still nimble enough to play some musical instruments to entertain yourself and others.
We’re considerably older than you two, but have come to the same conclusion. Those high wire acts aren’t so simple anymore. We have an 18′ vaulted ceiling, and the last time we attempted to raise the “big” ladder, we almost swung it through a big window. Time for the younger folks to help out. LOL.
Your wallpaper adventures bring back (bad) memories and I won’t use wallpaper again in this lifetime. I had a ton of wallpaper to strip (full walls) in one of my previous homes, and I rented a steamer. The burns on my arms were memorable. What an awful job. Thank goodness it’s only a strip and not entire huge walls. 🙂
LOL – oh, my, glad you didn’t break anything in that adventure. I bet it was kind of fun to laugh at later though? We’re both afraid of heights. It’ll be interesting to get on the ladder to paint in the kitchen. ;-(
We had one apartment we renovated that had a kitchen full of floor to ceiling wall paper – then and there I convinced myself never to use wall paper again. I thought a border would be just enough and easy to remove when I changed my mind. Sigh – I only have one more room left with a border. I think it’ll stay forever. Yikes – a rented steamer, I didn’t think of that. My iron gets awfully darn close to burning me too. It’ll never function as a real iron once I’ve removed all the wallpaper. I’m very grateful it is only a border. 🙂
When we bought our first house together it was filled with wallpaper. The huge kitchen with 10’ ceilings, floor to ceiling. The worst was our guest bedroom. A child’s room with a red and blue train border. I decided to take on the guest room one weekend. I selected new paint and started to remove wallpaper. Everything below the border came off easily. The border? Not so much. I think they used superglue along the edges of the border. Four weeks later we finally finished the room. The upper wall was textured (orange peel) so we had to retexture the walls. Hubby said he should have replaced all the drywall. It would have been easier. We bought another house with wallpaper, but at least it came off easier. Our mantra. — no more houses with wallpaper. And yes, I can get sore sleeping the wrong way!
Wow – that sounds like a nightmare wallpaper removal story. Superglue has worked for keeping borders up 😉 Glad you survived to tell the story. I’m with you – no more wallpaper for us.
Sleeping, moving, weather changing…it’s all ache producing here in our world. Good thing we have a goofy side to make noises seem fun to those watching us, right?!
Hi Shelley and Maggie,
Personally, I don’t mind wallpapers as long as they are highly durable and stylish.
Shelley, when I first saw your wallpapers as depicted in your post, I thought that they are murals. They do look quite beautiful though.
It seems that you live in a big and tall house, the ceiling being so high.
The second photo is so beautifully framed … and what a beautiful room! Brave Mr. on that ladder. So last year I did my kitchen over with new cabinets and appliances and floor and countertops, but I couldn’t afford to pay for the wallpaper removal. The Zinzer tool sounds great … now all I need are a nephew and his pretty and handy partner to complete the task! Colors I like for a kitchen: pale yellow or pale blue, but both would have to be the right shade to avoid hospital comparisons.
Thank you, Ellen. Wow – that’s a big remodel. You’re wise to solicit help for the wallpaper removal. The tool works great. No matter what, it is a task requiring patience.
My kitchen has been those two colors for many years. 🙂
Kudos to you for taking on a project of this size. Wallpaper is a challenge. We had it in the kitchen at our former home, but hired someone to hang it after buying the rolls ourselves (at a discount). Fortunately we didn’t have the high ceilings, so replacing lights was not too bad.
I’ve painted many walls in many rooms, though. As well as staining woodwork. Much easier when we are younger. I’ve always liked blue in the kitchen.
Thanks, we’re happy to do DIY most of the time. It’s kind of fun to be doing this in our own home instead of one of our rental properties. I’ve had blue in our kitchen for the majority of our time in our home. I’m going to use it as an accent this round, instead of on the walls…I think…we’ll see after the border is down and the kilz has covered the blue.
Thank goodness for kilz! I remember that stuff. A lifesaver!
I’m gonna need a big bucket of it this time around!
Wallpaper seems very rare to me these days. I wouldn’t use it – your first paragraph says so much Shelley. My brain says yes, let’s do that but the body says no way buddy!
Yeah, you don’t strike me as the wallpaper type. It would distract from the clean lines you have in your home. LOL – trust me, we have many discussions about how we have to muster up the willpower to do things the body says no way to!
We have a wallpaper border in our bedroom but that’s the only place in the house. I totally agree with the age business. Good thing we haver our strong 30 year old son living with us right now to handle the tough stuff. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the kitchen now.
I was ambitious enough back in the day to stencil a 3 colored border in our bedroom. NEVER.AGAIN! I thought paper would be easier. Nope. Sigh. I’ve learned my lesson though. Good thing you’ve got help – great time to start the to-do list.
Thanks, I’m sure I’ll find some wild story to share during this adventure. 😉
I can imagine your aches and pains, Shelley, but I’m sure the end results are worth the effort. When we first moved in, we decided to remove wallpaper in one room. Three walls went well. The fourth wall turned out to be wallpaper over painted wallpaper. It was such a disaster that I ended up skim-coating the entire wall with joint-compound and saying very bad things about the previous homeowners (who we knew). Modern wallpaper goes up easy, stays in place and strips very easily. I don’t fear wallpaper, or paint, but neither job gets me excited.
Yikes – you know the challenges of wallpaper well. I must confess – as landlords, we’ve done the paint over wallpaper technique before…as the previous owners had done so too, we knew there was no way to get it off, so on went the next layer of paint.
Do you get roped into those type of projects by the Editor? I’ve yet to find a way to rope in the Mr. – they aren’t his favorite way to have fun in a DIY project.
Not roped in. We generally commit to stuff like that together, and I tend to be the “we can do this” person. We didn’t want to do a new kitchen, but we wanted a new look, while our daughter was in college, so the budget was very thin. We painted the cabinets, papered the kitchen, put up a border and freshened the floor.
That sounds like perfect teamwork. I’ve wanted to paint the cabinets, but we’re going to go with a new coat of stained varnish. We still love the original color. We’ve waited long enough, some of the look is coming back into fashion. I look forward to the day when you and Editor decide the paper and the border shall make an exit – that experience definitely requires the right tools.
When we did the kitchen, we replaced the wallpaper in a small family room. Several years later, I gutted that room for a major renovation. Although I was tearing the plasterboard down, I went around pulling the wallpaper off to see how well it worked. I was able to get about 90% off the wall without tools of any kind. We used pre-pasted paper and the special (gooey) activator that they sell with it. It’s gross to work with, but it works.
Ah, you were smart to do that!! I think my border had the gooey stuff on the back that was activated by water? All I know is I’ll never wall-paper again!
If you activate it with water, it’s harder to strip. If you use the “activator” it’s easier.
Ah…that’d be our mistake we’re paying for now! LOL!
hope your sore hands heal quickly – and it is so fun to hear about your house projects – and how nice to have lived in the same place for that long.
The new chandelier is nice – and I currently do not love the one in our dining room – it was clearance item grab to replace the stock one that the builders put in – so when i found the one we have now it was win win for the cost and what it would replace.
I did not replace it yet because it seems to fit the room – and I plan on changing out the entire dining room later – and will do it all in one swoop. Maybe…
the thing on my list right now is parting ways with an antique piano upright.
I am ready for it to leave – it works well and all – just done with it and need to make that exit happen
Thank you, Yvette, I took a day off, and hands are working again. I’ll be back at the border tonight to get more of it off.
You lucked out on the chandelier you found.
I have an old piano too – it was my grandmothers. There are days when I think it should go too – but it is way too heavy to move so it stays. Hope you find a moving crew to help you with your piano’s exit from the building.
Thanks, Shelley – keep you posted on the piano
and glad you are ready to get back at the projects –
and by the way – I agree the wallpaper had to go – but I did actually love what you had. There are some ugly borders out there – but that one had country kind of charm and the blue is warm and nice – I bet it was nice with those blue walls over the years.
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and crazy how life changes as an empty nester –
Thank you, Yvette – your feedback is appreciated. I did adore how the border went with the colors. I wanted to frame a piece of it, but I don’t think any of it will peel off nice enough. Oh, well, photos will have to do.
Yes, life sure changes. Enjoy your blogging break!!
yes – the photos will work and maybe later one of the adult children will print a piece out (or not)
LOL – they might – or they’ll just say, “Mom, NO – it’s okay to move on!” 😉 They’re in that stage of life, plus they don’t want tons of stuff to deal with like my mom had left for me to deal with. They learned the lessons well, right along side me. But that’s a whole different story.
Same here, Shelley – both of my boys can let things go with this open hand.
I have saved some of their items in the attic because maybe when they are 40 or older some of their early things will appeal.
But I do love to see the Possession release – and they also saw my FIL with his loads and loads and loads of stuff – and I bet it was hard to sort your mom’s stuff –
I love it when they rescue their old stuff and some of my old stuff. My oldest just bought her first home…I can’t wait to bless her with her bins I’ve been storing ;-)! Shame on me for cluttering her home?!
It was(is) a LONG project sorting through someone else’s belongings. I still have about 10 boxes that I sealed up and haven’t revisited for awhile. I just had to store them, I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m hoping they’ve lost their attractiveness by the time I get back to them and then I can part with them rapidly.
good idea to wait and go through stuff later – that is something that has worked for me a couple of times – amazing how time can help – well in some cases.
and smiling with you at bringing the bins to your daughter- and we have some for my step-caught but they are military and even tho they own their own home – they could move at any time and they are already pretty “full” – so not sure when I will offer her the handful of bins that have her name on it.
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oh and hope you have a wonderful rest of October
My sentimental side needs plenty of time inbetween viewings to part with items no longer needed. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. The bins, though – they must find their way to their proper home.
I hope you’re having a grand October!! The end of it seems to be approaching way too fast for me.
Hi Shelley – October ended well and now November is upon us! I am still tackling some “to-do” lists and I just joined in with the national novel writing month – first time after seeing it for years.
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also – guess what? four bags of stuff to the thrift store yesterday – I had some dresses – some purses that meant something (like one was a Fendi purse my mom gave me and it is valuable but not “me” = and so what I did to help with parting ways with this stuff – I drove far to a thrift store that “values” donations like those -they have a special section for dresses and purses and it made me feel good about dropping stuff there – and they support missions – so it was win-win…
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then I shopped at a different thrift store on ride home – did not mean to – lol – but that was fun browsing and just chatting with a few folks while there…
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Hi Yvette!! Wow – you’ve been busy and very productive. And now you’re going to write a novel?! I don’t know that I could ever take that on during the month of November – it’s such a busy time of year for me. I wish you well, and can’t wait to see how your novel turns out.
I have a pile of clothes that need to go to the donation center, I’m going to include them in my #minsgame month. You’ve found a great place to donate. I’m like you when I find a place that I know the item will find new value for someone else, it is easier to give it up. I love shopping at those places too – easier to not walk out with something for me. Happy November – thanks for stopping by to share an update on what you’ve been up to!!
Well the novel has sorta been in the works since 2017 – all my flash fiction entries were so I could practice fiction. And I have thought about it since 2006!! I really want to screen write and it always gets put on the shelf – like it is never a good time! And so last week – when NAnowrimo came up – I signed up with a bit of faith. I have a few more important things to do–/ and so have decided I will use it as a reward – I get to write when my big stuff is done – and then I just set aside one day a week this month to write as much as a I can. So fingers crossed but approaching it with balance – h and keep it on the downlow – I decided not to blog about it on my blog because it is so “winging it”
Keep you posted and cheers to getting our laundry put away – hahaha (I put four loads away last night…. ahhhhhh)
I feel like that after a garden session in the Spring – now I take it slow … very slow otherwise I feel like I was run over by a Mack truck. I used to be able to do those big grocery shoppings (multiple times in one day) or go to the outlet malls and be gone all day and come home and try everything on again … where did that young woman go?
LOL – that’s a great description. I feel the same way. I went shopping with a friend and we spent 3.5 hours in one store. We were exhausted!
What happened to us? Wait til you get my age (63)?
LOL – we haven’t crossed the 60’s yet, I need to make it to 55 first!! 😉
I wouldn’t mind going back a bit – sometimes it seems impossible to me that I am 63 … and a little scary as well. The last ten years have gone by pretty quickly.
I agree – where did the last decade go?!!