Before that, there was a repair, all weekend and evening. It was made on my own, I didn’t do it alone, but with my beloved. If I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t even make repairs, I would paint the walls on top of the wallpaper in white, and that’s it. In short, since I am not at all an expert in the matter of repair, my friend was in the “assistants”. Only the kitchen and the bathroom have not yet been affected by the repair, it was just running out of time (for some time it was necessary to pay for two apartments), it was necessary to move more quickly, and money.

How to tear off old structural wallpapers (raufazer) that do not want to be removed

It took a particularly long time to peel off the old structural "raufaser" wallpaper with sawdust inside, covered with many layers of paint. They did not want to rip off, at all. We soaked them with water and dishwashing detergent, as some advise, and scratched them beforehand, but they stubbornly did not want to get wet - too thick a layer of paint was on top. Since it was winter (not the best time for repairs), the moisture evaporated, the windows fogged up, water began to flow down and drip... onto the parquet floor.

By trial and error, we came to this method - first, the upper dense layer of paint is peeled off with a spatula dry, then the residues are urinated and removed again with a spatula. Sawdust from these wallpapers was everywhere, still remained in the batteries. They just gave these wallpapers structurality. Here such wallpapers are not uncommon, but commonplace, in almost all rented apartments they are, and not only in rented apartments.

The choice of color for painting walls in the apartment

I have been living with white walls for many years. In Germany, always. About 20 years, even more, but to be precise... it is already 23 years old. I can’t say that I’m tired - not at all. If something gets dirty somewhere, then for this case I always had a glass jar with white paint and a brush, and smeared it. Slammed a mosquito or a fly on the wall - anointed. And in the basement were the remains of old white paint, from where my jar was replenished.

But (not without the participation of my friend) it was decided to try something new. I was not ready for the dark color, even of one accent wall, I did not dare. The interior should be bright. So now I have a living room with smooth walls, painted with the most “inconspicuous” shade from the color palette for standard gray tones. In the picture, this is Dust 55.080.

The palette of the standard (base) gray color scheme for painting

The paint is good, if something gets dirty, then you can wash it with a damp cloth or sponge. Already tried, even a little dishwashing liquid dripped, wet a sponge, rubbed. After drying, nothing is visible.

Color Dust 55.080

By the way, the entrance hall is painted with exactly the same light gray paint. Gray paint looks better there than in other places. Such a nice light gray shade. In the living room, the color does not look gray, it has some shades, bluish. I think that this is due to lighting. Or with the size of the room... In short, for a small hallway without windows this is a great color!

In the photo below, the right side is painted in gray, followed by white.

Light gray in the hallway (right) bordered by white

Skirting boards are white. The floor is not changed; it remains as it was. From time to time it probably turned yellow, or darkened, because where something stood, it is lighter. I read that over time the parquet floor darkens, probably not the floor itself, but the varnish on top of it. Although the sun should, in theory, fade. The apartment is bright, the windows to the floor, so in the apartment on sunny days the light falls on the floor.

Hallway in the evening

Furniture took the old, I will replace gradually. Therefore, such a careful color scheme of the walls. It turned out kind of like a basic interior, which can easily be changed with the help of pillows, textiles, etc. I’ll think about curtains when I change at least the sofa.