For many years whilst living with my parents, “Decorating” was a routine task.
A specific room would be emptied of its furniture, and I would be put to work peeling off wall paper. Wallpaper stripping was occasionally very satisfying when a small fingernail sized piece of wallpaper would become a person sized Trophy to be shown off t the family. This experience was always accompanied by a unique sound, as the bond between paper, paste and plaster was torn apart. Other times an entire wall would be turned into fingernail sized pieces of curly brown paper that took forever to shift.
When Jane and I bought a “Fixer Upper” I found myself stripping Wallpaper almost constantly for a couple of Months.
In a couple of the rooms I encountered something I had not experienced before. There were multiple layers of wall paper. It was a strange experience, ripping off a whole strip of paper, more or less intact, and then discovering another layer beneath.It began to feel like an archaeological process, carefully revealing the next layer, and then dating it, according to its style, colours and texture. It was obvious when I got to the 70’s. The Psychedelic swirls of Orange and Purple instantly transporting me back to a time I scarcely remembered, but could easily recognise.
I’m still peeling away layers, but now those layers are not decade old wallpaper, but subtle changes slowly stripping away all sorts of elements, to slowly reveal a person who hid for so long.
Sometimes progress is swift, and other times, like removing well applied wallpaper, its a painful inch by inch process, and it makes a terrible mess.
Decorating used to fill me with dread, it meant upheaval,drama, and wallpaper stripping. I didn’t enjoy it then, and I don’t enjoy it now.
But there was something else, something that made it all worth while. The decorating would finish. The furniture would go back into the room, and suddenly it became special. After the invariable yelling that came with decorating, calm would descend and the space became a joy to share.
I’m not sure how long my decorating is going to last, but if we can have some calm soon I’d be very grateful.
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