Armchair Decorators I Need Some Advice for Mobile Home!

15 years ago

Hi All.

I recently purchased a SW from my parents. I'm not sure if I'm going to get rid of it and build, or keep it as a vacation place, but either way, it needs some definte help for the time being.

In reading this forum as well as other websites I decided to try and paint the smaller of the 2 bedrooms. I only used paint and the small bedroom has taken 1 1/2gallons of paint, and I still have the closet doors and inside of the closet to do and one wall was not painted. No, I didn't prime, but you can be assured that I cleaned those walls, while all the while being disgusted on what came off with the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers I was using. All but 1 wall is the same fake paneling wallboard, the one wall that's different seems to be more of a paper, not as resilient as the other walls. When I took off the painters tape I had used, the design of this one wall came off as well, so now I have to figure out what to do with the one wall I wasn't going to paint.

I decided after painting the other walls to take off the strips of wood on the unpainted wall that now needs to be taken care of. The "gaps" are very thin in almost all the areas, just a tad larger towards the bottom of one. Do you think I can just fill it with spackling and be okay with it. Walls are mostly level, just a tad higher in one area it seems. Was trying to come up with an alternative to painting this one wall and thought of wallpaper - does anyone have any alternate ideas?? I can't think of much else to do with this one wall that's only 9'6" wide. It's the wall where the bed will be.

The walls have been painted an off white / cream color and the carpet is beige. The bed is maple I think. I'm going for more of a vintage shabby type of look in there - I have a dresser that needs to be redone that's probably maple as well.

I'm worried about the painted walls peeling. A few times when I was taking off the painters tape, paint came along with it, or if I hit the wall it got a scratch on it - granted, they weren't "cured" just yet, so I hope when I go back up next month it will be better.

The room is carpeted so I can only go so far down on the wall before I start painting the carpet (did this enough times as I was painting!) I thought about buying some of the strips and just going across the bottom of the wall to make it look like thin baseboard. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I have more to ask, but for now, this will have to do.

Thanks for any advice!

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Comment (1)

sharon_fl
15 years ago
I am SO an armchair decorator, but first of all-you need to always prime walls (after a good cleaning), let it cure for a day or so, then paint. Any plastic moldings on the edges of your walls? Use Rustoleum paint-it is much harder when it dries & won't chip like regular paint.
My favorite prime is from Home Depot-its called 'Gripper'. Awesome stuff! I have even primed my mobile home's formica furniture with it, then a semi gloss paint-looks like real wood!
As my home has more of a 'cottage feel', I had no problems with the paneling's cracks showing.
One idea for your headwall is to consider using material! YEP. If you use thin cotton material, you simply cut it as you would wallpaper, place each strip in a pail (about 1/3 full) of Niagara liquid starch! Saturate it well, lightly wring out the excess by pulling it thru your fingers-NOT actually wringing it. Place on your wall, secure at the top w/push pins while you finish smoothing out each piece-working from the center out to the edges. Let dry overnight, then remove push pins. You could make/buy a bedruffle or valences to go w/the cloth wallpaper. Nice thing is-it's inexpensive, can be removed, lightly washed, re-starched & put up again, if you ever need to. OR...how about the white 4x8 sheets of wainscott for the bottom half of your wall & then paper the top half?
In my master bath-I painted my walls above the counters in a deep mauve then added the vinyl lattice over it-looks really cool & opens up all kinds of ways to hang decor items behind your bed.
The other wallboard you're speaking of is really just a paper covered masonite board. Again-the primer I mentioned, is a bit thick-a couple of xtra coats of that, in the torn areas before you paint, may hide that portion. My smaller bath was lt beige w/taupe vines on it. I primed it & painted it in a sage green w/cream woodwork.
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Armchair Decorators I Need Some Advice for Mobile Home!

Comment (1)

sharon_fl

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