Kid's Room Redo

When we first moved into the house there were some rooms appropriately painted pink and blue, with gender matching wall paper trim.  However, the wallpaper was very beat up.  And was not applied very well.  Like large chunks just missing because they ran out, and probably didn't want to get more for the remaining 4 feet.

Notice that it doesn't completely go to the door, and the whole right side wall didn't ever have wall paper.

The corners weren't tucked in well, making it tear easily.

A 2-3 year old apparently loves to pick at any loose snags.

Now that there's a baby on the way, we're starting to room shuffle and get ready.  Ellie will move into Dexter's, and the baby will have Ellie's old one.  So before officially swapping them, I wanted to fix up the rooms.

First up...Dexter's!  It is going from a dark blue with car trim, to a space/Star Wars themed one.  Both kids love Star Wars, and knowing their Dad, I think this love of it will last a long time.

Grabbing all the supplies at Home Depot

The first step was removing the wallpaper.  I was worried that it would take forever, since wallpaper can be evil sometimes.  However, I found that steam and vinegar worked amazingly and it was off in 2 hours.  Note that this was a 2 hour block filled with getting kids snacks, changing diapers and having "helpers."

Starting to tear off the paper

This steamer saved me a lot of time & work

Ellie "helping"

Dexter got to apply the vinegar solution to the paper part.

Coming right along

All the wallpaper gone!

Kyle had a four day weekend, and we used this as paint day.

Most articles I read said that prep is very important. There are other not-so-good paint jobs in our house from the previous owner, and it drives me crazy. I wanted/needed this to be a great paint.

First day - sand, clean and tape up

Sanding

Taping and plastic wrapping items that could get bumped

Day 2 - White Paint Day for the ceiling, trim and stripe

The kids were always trying to get in and play on the ladder

Can you see the different whites between the ceiling, wall and stripe?

Day 3 - Sunday/Rest Day

Day 4 - Black and Gray Paint Day

The room is all taped off again

Edging the bottom late at night

 All finished!!! Just need to clean up.

I think this was at 11:30 pm Monday night

 Here's a before and after picture

It was pretty hard to get it done.  Not the actual painting itself, although that does wear you out.  Just finding the time to do it.  The kids would be happy the first hour or so of watching shows, but then we would have to stop and take care of them.  Leaving the short nap times, and after bedtime for the most productive times.

It was hard work, but I love how it turned out! The kids are loving it too.

Running around like little hooligans

Stripe goes all the way around

 The white is a beautiful bright one, that really is great in the room.  We didn't have time to paint the doors to match it.  The more I look at the difference (hard to see in the pictures), the more this is becoming more of a priority.

These two whites just don't match.