Lily left the valley wrote:That wallpaper is delightfully bold up close. Yet in the stepped back shots, it smooths itself out and doesn't have that visually vibrating feeling some bold patterned wallpapers have. What a great find. I hope you save a bit if you're doing a house history book.
And good luck on the mantel! From your progress photos, it seems your perseverance will bear the fruit you are laboring towards. The tile tableau on it is lovely as well.
Thanks for the updates!
That wallpaper was a bit much at first look but it did grow on me as I let it set there for the last year, I did save some to keep for future reference. I have to get around to getting a binder to throw that sort of thing in.
1918ColonialRevival wrote:If you are unable to get the scorch marks out of the wood, you could finish the mantel in either a dark walnut or ebony finish to get it to blend a little better. It looks like you were successful in getting much of the damage out, so going with a darker finish will be more forgiving with the permanent scars.
Although the plaster is a little rough in places, I'm not seeing anything that isn't repairable. Just make sure to secure the "old" plaster around any holes or cracks before filling it in. I must say, that was an interesting choice of wallpaper someone had for that bedroom. I almost wonder if it may have been a kid's room or a nursery at one point and the parents let the little one choose their own wallpaper from the samples. Hard to say for sure exactly how old it is, but I've seen similar styled wallpaper in catalogs from the mid '30s to the early '40s.
Sorry to hear the radiator heat has been disconnected. I think most people here will agree with me when I say it's the most comfortable form of heating in the winter months. Much more comfortable than forced air. Some people tend to shy away from it because a boiler system requires a little more maintenance than a forced air unit, but once you've done it a couple of times, it's not too bad. When they are properly maintained, most oil or gas boilers have a higher efficiency than electric forced air units. Something your electric company doesn't want you to know.
I've been on so much of a "natural finish" kick that I had sort of forgot about the possibility of staining that mantel dark to better hide the scorching, as much as I want to get all the charred areas clear I think staining is a good option to keep in my back pocket.
Yeah, the plaster seems fine. It's mostly solid and the finish is intact under the wallpaper for the most part. I've already got my first round of "Plaster Magic" curing as I type this. Soon I'm going to be taking my first crack at real plastering. I'm now having an internal debate as to whether to attempt the 2 part lime/gauging plaster or just do veneer coat. I bought both to experiment with.
I do love the feel of radiative heat, but I'm not a fan of the extra maintenance, expensive boilers nor do I like the clutter created by the radiators themselves. That being said if the system were currently working I'd keep it and if it were original to my house I would keep the radiators in place for aesthetics working or not. My grandmother had radiators in her house and the boiler was a nightmare, she had one replaced at considerable cost (maybe $10-$15k in the 90's) and it lasted less than 10 years, that story doesn't seem uncommon. I sort of assume that the modern manufacturers of residential boilers do subpar work to be kind. I do love underfloor radiative heating and I would consider that someday, though I don't want to rip up the floors in this house.
