That wood has got to go!

The picture says it all. When we viewed the house, the first thing we decided to do was take out this god awful wood paneling. Although we did complete other projects first, painting the office and bedroom mostly, this kitchen was in the back of our minds.

We asked many people what to do. After all, we are first time homeowners and hadn’t the slightest idea of what we were doing. Some family members said keep it! Others said paint it. But some said tear it down! We even called in a professional painter to get their opinion. Even he said to take that awful wood down.

Once we finished the bedroom paint, we were warmed up and ready to start the biggest project. As soon as the painter left, we popped a trim piece off and started taking it off. It was like a weight lifting off our shoulders. The room was lightening up, there was dimensions, the cabinets looked different but most importantly, it was too late to turn back.

And then I seen our biggest obstacle yet. Wallpaper. I knew from past experience that wallpaper can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Once all the panelling was off, we hit the local hardware store to gather some supplies and we tackled the beast head on.

The wall with the pink wallpaper was awful. We tore half the drywall off while trying to get the paper off. We used scrapers, product for wallpaper removal, let it soak in and it still wouldn’t come off. The other wall down the stairs had a different kind of wallpaper. This stuff came off like warm butter.

Next step was to repair the walls. We used simple crack and drywall filler. Applied thin coats and sanded between. We spent many hours getting them to where it has to be. The picture below was the worst wall we had. It was almost to the point of taking the drywall off and replacing it. But with a lot of love and patience, it turned out ok.

That is all for this post. The next one will be about the finishing and painting!