Uncovering the Past

Just when you think you’ve found the original layer, you find another. As I’ve said, all the walls and ceiling were constructed with a 3/4 inch shiplap in 1925 [the year our cottage was completed]. They didn’t have sheetrock. The finished surface is a cheesecloth material tacked up with upholstery-like tacks, then wallpaper with paste is smoothed over it. Incredibly, you don’t see the lines of the shiplap at all. This first picture is a wallpaper that was on the ceiling.

Moving into the kitchen while removing the sheetrock off the walls that they eventually put over the wallpaper, we came across many layers of wallpaper. We found the original wallpaper behind the stove and the hood vent layout. It is an Art-Deco area design with a silver metallic stripe, teapots, and wine glasses.

If you look closely at the kitchen photo with the window wall, you can see a strange short wall halfway down the countertop. We are sure this area was a breakfast nook and a half wall that separated the kitchen from the nook. We took down the sheetrock and found that wall’s outline. [yes, we’re doing something different with that funny wall].