Day Two - Foyer

We started in the front of the house. The dining room and foyer are the first things you see when walking in, so we tackled those first. First things first - get rid of that wallpaper! It just wasn't our style.

While looking at paint colors, we struck up a conversation with a employee at the home improvement store who gave us some really helpful tips on how to take down wallpaper:

1. Score the paper using a wallpaper scorer. The one we used was effective but squeaked - next time, buy earplugs!
2. Grab a spray bottle and create a mix of liquid dish detergent (like Dawn) and water. You really only need about a tablespoon of detergent, the rest water
3. Saturate the walls. We sprayed them three to four times letting it dry each time in-between
4. Saturate again then peel off the wallpaper (hopefully!). Overall we had pretty good success taking off the paper, which was awesome

Here are a few before and after (in progress) shots of the foyer:

 

 

 

 

It was a great start! Here are next steps:

1. Decide how to finish the walls. We're thinking use joint compound to apply a texture
2. Prime and paint the walls

Eventually I'd like to replace the light fixture and do something with the tile, but those are future, after we move-in projects.