The Fairfield: Wallpapering Begins

Despite my apprehension about mucking it up, I held my breath and glued my first piece of wallpaper on!


I need to do the hallway first on the central wall, as I won't be able to access the stairwell once it is in. I wanted to use the black damask but as I said in an earlier post, it came as 1:12 size sheets not 1:24.  I deliberated about using it, but decided to go for it, primarily because I can do the whole section with one sheet so there is no need for patching :-)

I then deliberated and researched about the best paste to use, but in the end I went with my Old Faithful, Mod Podge; a) because I have stacks of it so there is no need for me to buy paste, and b) I am probably going to use it to seal the paper anyway.

So, I applied an even layer of paste and applied the paper to the wall, then weighed it down flat just in case it felt like warping while it dried.  As you can see, I had my first - and probably one of many! - brain fade when I did it, and papered the exterior wall of the house too. Sigh. I peeled it off, but now I will have to sand it back properly before I do the cladding.

My first mistake, but fortunately it isn't a big one!

As you can see, the size of the damask is pretty big, but I think I can get away with it because it's in
the hallways, not a main room. Also, I didn't realise that the wallpaper is quite shiny. I don't like it, it's not in keeping with it being an old house. Maybe when I seal it the matte finish will dull it some. Otherwise, I guess a dirty paint wash would help too.

While I was waiting for the glue to dry, I started on the front wall of the house, which will be the next piece to be glued on.  It needed two new holes cut for the replacement kit windows.  I am really pleased with how the cut-down Gothic window looks in the attic, although I've just noticed looking at the photo, that it is slightly pushed to one side! I must do a little more sanding.

Half window in place, with the hole also cut for the French doors in the bedroom.

The French doors will lead out onto a Juliet balcony on top of the bay window downstairs. I will put a little fancy "iron" rail around it.  Now I have to spackle and sand the door surrounds where those little pieces are about to pop out!

I have also seen a couple of Fairfields made where the builders have removed the whole porch roof from the house to work on the porch as a separate module. I LOVE this idea, it not only helps me with the porch and balcony, but it also means that I will no longer have to slide the tower walls through the gap during construction, so I can wallpaper and paint those sections with more precision.

Anyway, I can't decide whether to wallpaper the reverse side of the wall just yet. If I do, I will likely end up with a visible gap where the walls meet in those rooms, which is pretty ugly. Hmn.

I also had a go a weathering the stair runner, with not much success unfortunately. Once the sealer had dried, I went at it with a wire brush, sandpaper and a metal file to wear away the runner in the middle of the treads.  It sort of worked, but you can't see the effect very well, it just looks like I've made a mess gluing it on! Ah well, you live and learn.