Office/Guest Room

This is a room of many names, but I envision that it will soon primarily be used as an office, and occasional guest room. Part of that vision includes removing the wallpaper, repairing the plaster, removing an extra doorway and repainting the room. Easily enough work for two people for a couple weeks.

But while I had the house to myself for a few days, inspiration struck. I decided I would see how far I could get on that room, working solo. I set a goal to do all the dusty work while I was home alone- stripping paint and wallpaper, tackling the doorway and repairing the plaster. That way, the room would be paint-able by the time my week was done. I picked up a lot of momentum removing the wallpaper.

As in the dining room, there were staples holding the wallpaper up in a few places:

Under the wallpaper, I found some caulk in the plaster... uh-oh...

What the in the world happened here??

We have several very nice neighbors, and one such neighbor helped remove the extra doorway. He, David, did almost all of the labor and advised me on what I would need to buy to complete the job. David is working on his house right now, and shared some of his tools. His house is a few years older than ours, and has some great features. He's also finishing the basement which will be attractive, comfortable and totally "Portland." His place is going to be very cool when he's done.

Here are some pictures of David in action:

I kept telling David "You're an animal!" but he wasn't sure it was a compliment. I assure you, it was. It was impressive to see how quickly and easily he could handle removing and closing a doorway.

I started stripping paint, and was about 30% through, while still working solo. I removed the hardware, in order to strip the paint. Here is a close up of the back of one of the hinges.

Have you seem this mark before? I haven't figured out what manufacturer it is yet. Do you have any cool stamps on your hardware?

Though I didn't reach my goal by the time my week living solo was done, I was glad to have my husband home and (fortunately) he was excited by my surprise project. Working together, we stripped a bit more paint, but now it's time for me to regroup, finish stripping paint and get on that plaster repair.

I am so excited to paint this room, and have it "complete." If you click that link, you'll see some colors I was playing with. What do you think of the greens? Let me know!! If you have a favorite wall color, we'd love to hear about it!