Let’s talk about what we hope to accomplish before our second baby arrives. When we prepared for Clara’s arrival in our first house, we spent those nine months finishing a few remaining rooms—mainly the full bathroom and the nursery—because much of the house was already complete. This time we’re expecting again, but this house is farther from finished, so our goals before baby are about getting rooms to a clean, neutral starting point rather than creating fully finished spaces.
I’m on a mission to remove all the old wallpaper, dated carpeting, and blue trim before the baby comes. Over the next six months I’ll be chipping away at seven spaces:
- Remove the blue trim and wallpaper in the dining room
- Finish removing the graph-paper wallpaper in the kitchen
- Strip the blue wallpaper around the sink and tub in the bathroom
- Pull up the old carpet runner on the stairs (our new runners finally arrived after a long backorder)
- Paint the blue trim in the office
- Remove the worn carpeting on the steps that lead from the garage into the kitchen
We also have other projects on the radar—adding built-ins to the bedroom, updating the office, doing a few guest room touch-ups, and, of course, creating a nursery. For now I’ll be perfectly happy to slowly send the blue trim, peeling wallpaper, and old stair runners packing. Out with the old, and in with the new—both the house and the baby!
We’ve already crossed off the kitchen graph-paper wallpaper thanks to a few days of serious wallpaper work. Seeing that clean, wallpaper-free wall felt amazing.
Every time I tackle wallpaper I test a different removal method to see what works best. I’ve tried boiling water and a steamer before, and this time I used warm tap water mixed with Dr. Bronner’s soap. Soap can help cut through adhesive better than plain water, and because strong scents worsen my pregnancy-related nausea, I chose a milder soap that still breaks down grease and tackiness.
I added about seven squirts of Dr. Bronner’s to a spray bottle and filled the rest with hot tap water (not boiling). I sprayed the entire wall, let it soak for about three minutes, and then peeled the paper off. Large sheets came down easily in many areas, so I skipped a scoring tool; using one can create many small pieces and add time if big sheets are coming off already.
Wallpaper removal depends on many factors: the type of wallpaper, the adhesive used, wall preparation beneath the paper, the wall’s age, and how many layers exist. My recommendation is to try peeling without scoring first. If the paper won’t budge, then try scoring. In our case the wallpaper was likely applied around thirty years ago over a primed wall, which probably helped it come off in larger sheets.
After clearing the big wall next to the table, I moved around the room, spraying, waiting the three-minute soak, and peeling. Some large sections came off quickly, but there were smaller, stubborn bits that required more patience. I avoided using a spackle knife because it can dent drywall; I preferred to take my time peeling to keep the walls pristine and avoid extra spackling later.
About three hours into the job I’d reached the desk area of the kitchen and needed a break. A few days later I had another burst of energy and returned to finish the other side of the kitchen. That area had more adhesive, so I ended up with more paper backing clinging to the walls—those white, striped-looking remnants that can be annoying.
When I ran into those stubborn paper-backing sections, I switched tactics and had great success. Fill a bowl with the hottest tap water you can get and add a few pumps of Dr. Bronner’s. Dip a paper towel or rag into the solution and dab it onto the remaining backing. This method saturates the backing more thoroughly than a spray bottle and prevents hand fatigue, and in many cases those glued-on backings peeled off in large pieces afterwards.
In some parts it felt like removing wallpaper twice: first peeling the printed paper, then working off the backing. When the job was done, though, we had a wallpaper-free kitchen. It’s still dark with faux-brick linoleum and an industrial ceiling light, but those blank walls feel like a major step forward. All told, I estimate roughly eight hours of work to complete both phases of removal.
Next steps are to wipe the walls down with a vinegar-and-water solution to remove any lingering adhesive residue, then prime and paint. The steamer remains the easiest and fastest method in my experience, but hot tap water with soap and boiling water are solid, low-cost backup options to try first.
My immediate plan is to tackle the bathroom wallpaper next—smaller spaces give my arms a break—and then remove the stair runner. I’m motivated to finish these checklist items quickly so we can focus on the fun parts, like the nursery. Any other parents-to-be out there racing a deadline to get house projects done? I’m excited and a little frantic, but mostly excited.
Psst — Clara’s talking again, and like always, she’s keeping us entertained.