WALLPAPER REMOVAL

First of all, allow yourself plenty of time.  This can be a formidable task if you have never done it before and if the wall was not properly prepped before the paper was put on in the first place.  If the house is new to you, you have no way of know who or how the paper was put on so just brace yourself for the worst.

There are a number of products out there that are supposed to help, but it will still be a slow go.  Warm/hot water and vinegar works about as well as anything and it is natural.  Also, fabric softener in the water works too.  Many remodeling gurus recommend scoring the paper so that the product or water can get down behind the wallpaper.  I have had mixed results with that technique.  The key is to keep the paper wet. 

After you get the paper off, you will also need to get the excess glue off the wall before you paint.  Similiar scenario as before.  In addition to scraping the glue off, you may also have to resort to sanding.

After you get the glue off, you will need to wash the walls down with a bleach solution before priming.  At least if you have plaster walls you will.

Whatever the situation, be prepared for a long project especially if there is more than one layer of wallpaper.  This project probably will not be finished in a weekend.

Elaine

Tropical Bathroom Accessories Perk Up A Boring Bathroom

You're just back from a tropical vacation. Suddenly, the world seems a little grayer, a little duller. Your house and all its decorating seems blah compared to the lively, energetic colors of the tropics. You stumble from your bedroom to the bathroom first thing in the morning and suddenly it hits you-with a few well-chosen tropical bathroom accessories, you could make your bathroom into a tropical oasis.

Even if you aren't trying to recreate your most recent vacation, tropical bathroom accessories can give you a welcome taste of the southern latitudes. A tropical themed bathroom will lift your mood automatically and put a smile on your face the minute you walk through the door. With bright colors and imagery pulled from the ocean and tropical vegetation such as palm trees, tropical bathroom accessories help you to create a fun, contemporary bathroom. If you have multiple bathrooms in your home, using tropical bathroom accessories in the guest bathroom can be a fun way to get your taste of the tropics in. Or redo the children's bathroom with tropical bathroom accessories.

The wonderful thing is that tropical bathroom accessories come in a variety of styles and colors. To start with, there are tropical bathroom accessories that evoke the feeling of the sea. These might be quite muted, with pastel blues and greens and delicate imagery or overall patterns on shower curtains and other bathroom accessories. Or they can be bold, with bright colorful graphics of dolphins and sea creatures cavorting across an expanse of shower curtain, and bathroom accessories decorated with three-dimensional seashells and starfish to match.

Another popular tropical bathroom accessories design is palm trees. This might be a great choice for you if you would prefer your bathroom in more muted colors. You can find palm tree tropical bathroom accessories in beautiful tans and browns and greens. And of course, there are the ever-popular flamingoes. What could be more fun than the image of two giant flamingoes splashed across your shower curtain? Or consider an all-over design for your shower curtains.

The fun is only beginning-you still have more tropical bathroom accessories to consider. You'll want to buy a matching set of soap dish or dispenser, toothbrush holder, wastebasket, lotion dispenser and tumbler. These bathroom accessories can either match the shower curtains and towels you've chosen exactly or you can match color or one element of design. If you have a shower curtain with a design of various sea creatures, for instance, then you might want to choose dolphins for the rest of your tropical bathroom accessories.

Once you have your tropical bathroom accessories in place, get ready to have your mood lifted every day. Just think-it's a gray, cold winter morning. But the minute you switch on the light in your bathroom, the world is ablaze with color and energy. Your start to smile and you feel ready to greet the day. That's the power of redecorating your bathroom with tropical bathroom accessories.