Progress on alcove, or how to remove wallpaper

I took Wednesday off and actually got some work on the apartment done. I am so unmotivated now, it is a struggle which I can't stand more, the mess of things unfinished or the labor involved to finish. Right now, I'm "working" on the little alcove area next to the living room. I dread even thinking about painting the hallway and doors (more funky colors to cover up!).

On Wednesday, I had some help with the sanding (which I detest more than the painting) and then I painted the first coat. Now I have just one coat left (after another light sanding of course, grrr)! Here is the progression:

BEFORE: flowery, paisley-like wallpaper and yes, the baseboard moulding really was painted yellow and green.

A few moons ago, I tested a small area to see whether fabric softener really would loosen the paper and it did! Then I stopped working in this area to finish the bedroom, which we would need so that we could sleep comfortably.

Here's another view of this area, where you can see the confluence of colors that the previous tenant lived with. I am too embarassed to show the other side right now, where there are even more colors.

So the first order of business, after struggling to remove the somewhat plasticky paper was to score it. I got this round thingy with rolling wheels underneath that pierced the paper with lots of little holes without damaging the wall behind the paper. Then I sprayed a whole lot of fabric softener, letting it soak in.

And the sheets became easy to pull down. I think the tiny holes really helped.

Sometimes a few bits and pieces were left behind because I didn't let that area fully soak. I just re-sprayed, waited a few minutes, and then scraped with a scraper.

Dear helped by removing the picture hooks with a pair of pliers.

The last piece!

The holes in the wall, patched up and sanded.

After all the wallpaper was removed, I washed all the walls with TSP, a blue liquid that really cleans your walls and leaves it feeling slightly rough, ready to primed. I thought it necessary to use TSP to make sure all the glue from the paper was completely gone. After washing with TSP, it is necessary to rinse it off thoroughly.

The walls finally primed!

I took the extra step of priming with an oil-based primer so that if there were any glue residue (wallpaper glue is water-based) the oil would block it (since oil and water don't mix).

On a sidenote, I think it will be OK to keep the light fixture here (just need to straighten it out a little). At first, with the busy twirls of the wallpaper matching the curves on the fixture, I thought it was just too much going on in such a small space. Now, I think the curves are a good complement to the plain walls.

Today, I proceeded to lightly sand the walls and then apply the second coat. Unfortunately, I ran out of paint so I only finished a wall. When will this ever be done? I can't wait to roll up the dropcloth in this area because we keep tripping on it and it is so ugly!