The House We Remodeled With Paint 
HOW AN OLD HOUSE WAS MADE HABITABLE BY THE JUDICIOUS USE OF PAINTS INSTEAD OF WALL PAPERS 
—AN EXPERIENCE THAT GIVES VITAL ASSISTANCE TO THE AMATEUR IN APPLYING PAINT FINISH TO ALL 
PARTS OF THE INTERIOR 
BY B. K. Carde 
Photographs by Mary H. Northend and Others 
W HEN we came into possession of the little brown house on 
the hill — the house surrounded by all the wild beauty of 
brook, meadows and woods, unfolded through Nature alone, but 
itself in a deplorable condition — we did not once hesitate to make 
it our home in every sense of the word. We little dreamed that 
the plans, hurriedly made during the first enthusiastic days of our 
new outlook, would materialize as they did and would produce 
what we now call our home. Indeed, impossible as it may seem, 
its sunny living-room, 
warm gray and rose 
dining-room, cozy li¬ 
brary retreat, its sun 
porch and other nooks 
a n d crannies were 
evolved out of a one- 
story building, stained 
brown inside and out 
and with walls and 
ceilings hideously pa¬ 
pered. 
How we did it is 
still somewhat of a 
surprise, even to our¬ 
selves. Only the fact 
that we had at first 
stoutly and later stub¬ 
bornly declared we 
would do all the in¬ 
side work ourselves 
spurred us on. Our 
timid appeals for help, 
sent in response to 
many of the adver¬ 
tisements we devoured 
just at that time, 
brought back a flood 
of booklets, samples of wood, materials, color cards and such, 
that kept us busy for several days. Even attractive circulars 
showing every type of available doors assailed us, for the manu¬ 
facturers seemed to think we were in need of nothing but doors. 
And pergolas ready to set up were displayed before our be¬ 
wildered eyes, an addition we had never dreamed of. After two 
days of earnest work, for the material was just what we wanted, 
our desk looked much like a spice cabinet, for the various pigeon¬ 
holes were pompously labeled, Building Materials, Fixtures, 
Fireplaces, Woodwork, Floors, Walls and Furnishings, and all 
the booklets pertaining to one subject safely filed beneath their 
respective titles. 
After spending all our spare time of several weeks with the 
architect, who was planning the necessary addition, we were only 
too glad to get back to our part of the work. We studied, dif¬ 
fered, agreed and disagreed, but all with a purpose. What there 
was of the house we meant to retain, but decorate so that it would 
conform to the new. The walls and ceilings were the big prob¬ 
lem. We found, however, through oft-repeated consultation with 
the “Wall Pigeonhole,” that walls of rough or smooth plaster, 
finished with flat oil paints, against which the furnishings and 
decorations of the room found an excellent setting, were the most 
modern, and helped to make the home sanitary, a fact that had 
not been overlooked even by the booklet on kitchen and bath 
fixtures which we found would be speedily delivered. 
Getting back to walls, we were fascinated with the rough-plaster 
idea, and our architect, to our great astonishment, specified its 
use without a murmur, in the new portion of the house, advising 
that this surface be painted with the dull oil finish. But the old 
part! That awful 
paper! What could 
we do? Take it off. 
How ? Hot water. 
Yes — and we now 
add, patience and long 
suffering. What af¬ 
ter the hot water? we 
asked. Why, paint, 
paint like the rough 
walls? Fine. Just 
what we wanted, and 
we proceeded at once 
to remove that paper. 
Perhaps we would 
have removed it from 
the ceiling — I do not 
know—but while we 
were pushing that 
task off farther away 
from us each day, we 
discovered that the 
finish we were plan¬ 
ning for the walls 
could be applied over 
a surface already pa¬ 
pered if the same had 
not become loosened 
— that settled it. The paper was not removed. We further 
learned that the colors of the paints did not fade, that the material 
became a part of the wall and therefore did not chalk or peel off, 
that it rendered the wall surface washable and also that hand- 
painted borders and decorations could be applied to the same, 
by means of stencils — but more of that later. 
Right then and there we came down to good hard work. How 
were the paints used? Could we, as amateurs, really produce 
satisfactory results? We found complete directions on color- 
cards, as well as the covering capacity of the paint for two-coat 
work. “To prepare the plaster walls for the paint, either a pre¬ 
pared wall size or a mixture of equal parts of the wall paint and 
a size must be first applied. When this is thoroughly dry, apply 
a coat of the paint as it comes from the can. The paint should 
be brushed on with a large clean brush and the second coat of 
paint applied after the first is thoroughly dry.” These directions 
were followed with results far beyond our expectations. The new 
and old plaster were treated in the same way, although the rough 
texture of the former gave greater depth to the wall tint. The 
appearance of the room as a whole was, however, just as effective. 
The two ceilings that were papered we painted with two coats of 
The floors were renewed with paint and varnish as was the woodwork 
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