Change (of wall paper) is good

New season, new look & a spiffing event!

Kim Druker Stockwell

Jun 29, 2025

First…THIS MONDAY NIGHT June 30th, 7-9 PM LoveStruck Books

Click here to register

If in the Boston area I hope you’ll come meet me and help support my great friends

Heather Bartos, MD

and

Alisa Kennedy Jones

and the launch of their book Quickies!

It’s Saturday morning…

and we had a friend over last night to toast our newly wallpapered living room. It’s amazing what a change of wall color does to a room. Before, the room was a very sultry tobacco color with a gold filigree pattern. The wall paper had been put up in the 1930s by someone who did a lot of changes to our home that was built in 1823.

The wall paper had probably been cream colored, originally. After decades of smoking, living, fires in the fireplace it became tobacco colored, water stained, sort of blotchy, aristo-cool (remember Shabby Chic?). But fifteen years living with the paper made me realize one thing: I only liked the room at night and never sat in it during the day. I got a bee in my bonnet about changing the walls about a year ago.

Living in the city, every space is dear. To have a large room that isn’t used, which is the connector between the entry hall to the kitchen, is a bummer. I side eyed my furniture for quite a while. Is it their fault I don’t like this room? Or, is it that I don’t have curtains to warm it up? That it’s like a wind tunnel in the winter? What is it??? My mom spoke the truth I did not want to hear:

“It’s the gross, ratty old wall paper. Ditch it.”

Mom, a gentle ray of sunshine, was right. Thank you, mom. It was the wall paper. It has been ditched. Happy birthday, by the way. Next we need to deal with that stained, worn spring green velvet couch….

The wallpaper…

Here is what each looks like…want to see photos of the room? Drop me a note in the comments!

Meet me in the comments….

Have you done any empty nest redecorating? Do tell! I love decorating.

ICYMI…last week

For my long suffering premium readers

Kim Druker Stockwell

Jun 26

I was advised to drop the paid category by a substack guru. I see her point, I do. I don’t have tens of thousands of readers (would like that, though) and the idea of putting a pay wall to block anyone from seeing what I’m doing here seems unwise.

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