SECRET WEAPON: Wallpaper
Karen patiently peeled off old Victorian wallpaper until she had a blank slate for her more primitive decorating style. Once that hard work was complete, she re-papered walls in prim colors and patterns throughout the house—including her mudroom. “Wallpaper covers a lot,” she says. “It can really dress up your home.” She offers the following key points to consider when deciding between wallpaper and paint:
Cover with Care: Pristine walls take paint beautifully, but pigment can highlight the flaws in walls that aren’t perfectly smooth. Like many older homes, Karen and Neil’s house has irregular walls and other imperfections. Wallpaper can help disguise problem areas with patterns that graciously hide shortcomings.
Fool the Eye: Current wallpaper styles range from artsy to architectural, with many available that mimic other materials. Karen’s wallpaper selections include brick and beadboard divided by a chair rail in the mudroom, punched tin in the dining room and another variation of beadboard in the master bedroom. “You can even find some that looks like old barnwood,” she says. “The selection is just amazing!”
Handle with Ease: Today’s wallpaper is much thicker than that of past years. This makes it less cumbersome to apply.
Commit for the Short Term: Hesitant about traditional paper-hanging techniques? Consider peel-and-stick options. Search online or at a home improvement store for products made to be easily removed if you’re not certain of your commitment—or your skill level.
The Skivers enclosed the original wraparound porch with screen to make it more private. “We live out there in the summer,” Karen says. The room overlooks the street and her nearby gardens, so she chose nature-inspired reds, browns and tans to blend the transition to the outdoors.
“I saw the potential. I’VE ALWAYS LIVED IN OLD HOUSES AND HAD TO REDO THEM ALL.”
A dedicated gardener, Karen is always on the hunt for items that she can repurpose to add life to the outdoor landscape, which was barren when she and Neil moved in. “We bought the house in January, and I was out in the garden in March putting in flowers,” she says with a laugh. She stenciled the vintage wheelbarrow herself.