The entry way is a huge space.  It is really a room itself, measuring 16 by 24 feet.  It has beautiful quarter sawn oak molding, beams and paneling.  The pillars that frame the living room are stunning.  We are told the ceiling is original gold leaf.  The first floor has a very open floor plan for a home built in 1901.  Most of the rooms and the grand staircase here open off this stunning entry.  The wallpaper however was scary.  Large scary birds. That seem to watch you.

The birds needed to go.  We decided to continue the stairwell paint into this space.  It makes it feel brighter and we need all of that we can get.  Our previous home had a ton of natural light.  The front of this house has a huge enclosed front porch that prevents a lot of the natural light from coming in.

The wallpaper came off easily.  I give credit to whoever put it up.  The paper pulled down in complete strips without any spraying or scraping. I was surprised to see the original plaster walls underneath.  This space has never had paint, only wallpaper.  We found remnants of two other papers under this one.  We scraped off  the wallpaper paste and skim coated all the walls.  The original plaster had some cracks as you would expect and some were fairly large.  With the help of a friend Matt took care of the walls and they came out great.

You might also notice that the runner in this space is gone.

I am fairly sure it arrived about the same time as the pink paint, early 80’s.  It was threadbare, stained and falling apart at the seams.  I took it out on move in day.  I couldn’t clean it and hated the feel of it on my feet.  The same runner is on the stairs.  Oldest son and I took off one section but Matt says I need to figure out what to put on there before I take it off.  I am still considering leaving the steps bare but the last time they were refinished the centers were left unvarnished.