apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

who would do that??? at least they had good handwriting!

I think a steamer would work if you could direct the heat only to the covered areas as steam is used to remove wallpaper. maybe you could lightly score the area first so it would seep in.

AT should make special send-in posts on previous owners decorations and other weird ideas ...
Those foil appliques look like razor blades ....

I think the cover-up solution is the simplest idea.

This may be a job for Goo Gone:
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod3791613&CATID=100757&skuid=sku3790462&V=G&ec=frgl_538535&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku3790462

HahaI agree with Daniel... why isn't there weekly BAD design post? I think it would be a great Friday afternoon post. There are a few things that have to go in my new place that would be a good laugh.

Sanding, razor blade, heat gun and spackle knife, those are a few that come to mind.

LBhirise, you're roght about mentioning using a razor, I hadn't thought about it but that's it !!!
It's a code !

The previous owner is showing you in the design the razor tool you need to take it off !

They did this to add some excitement for the following tenants I guess! talk about great art! :-)

I hope you didn't rent the place! The landlord should take care of it, I'm sure the professional painters they hire would know of something? I'm sure you've tried a sponge and water.

The most tedious idea I had would be to take a thin string like a guitar string or some sort of fishing wire and run it behind the foil. It would take forever.

Good luck! Sounds like a stressful task!

The squares look like they might be the foil layer of the lining of cigarette packs... I remember peeling it off and sticking it on stuff as a teenager.

I haven't smoked in a couple of decades - do they still have paper-backed foil in packs of smokes?

Why isn't priming and painting an option?

what the??
the landlord should definitely be responsible for getting rid of that - especially those bizarre square snowflakes/razorblades.

I second the razor blade comment. My first thought was that the previous tenants were junkies with really bad design taste! haha

Maybe you could sand the foil off? If it isn't too thick... and then just fill in whatever holes you have with putty, and sand again.

I second the Good Gone recommendation; it gets everything.

I was also going to suggest Goo Gone, but it might soak into the paint (it's a little oily) and require some TSP/sanding/repainting love, so I don't know. Test a tiny spot first. Have you tried just TSP/sanding?

ALSO WHO WOULD DO THAT???? It is insane. If you are renting, it's definitely something the landlord should handle.

Definitely talk to the landlord. You want to make sure that you don't end up getting dinged on your security deposit trying to fix the damage that a previous tenant did!

It reminds me of the makeovers created on those home improvement TV shows in Australia... the neighbours have secretly organised it in your absence... you come home after a weekend away and voila! The moment is caught on TV. And isn't the bathroom beautiful? The kids helped out with the design? Can you believe it? And all for under $20!

I second the idea of terrible makeovers/design ideas for our amusement. The worst TV makeover I ever saw involved a theme (already a bad start) a nautical theme. They had painted the walls blue and hung rope (scalloped) on the walls, they had striped blue and white curtains and round donut shaped accents that were meant to look like life-saving devices... it was horrific... but I couldn't look away.

On the other hand there is something touching when you think of the hours they must have spent on this decoration.....

I totally thought those were actual razors glued to the wall...wow. And amen to the comments about the design shows. I still think of one that I saw where they glued pink feathers to the wall and then all laughed because "at least the designer didn't glue hay like she did last time." It was horrible.

This is an example of why landlords don't let you alter your space with significant wall damage, or paint, even if it might be tasteful, at least you think so, not everyone agrees.

As much as I want to say this is the landlord's problem, I'd suggest that they would just paint over it and you would still be able to see the foil. Management companies typically like to cut corners and make things almost as nice as they would be if you had it done right, but far enough away to still bother you.

You might try using an iron to gently heat up the glue under foil, and then a really thin spatula to "peel" off the metal... There is a kind of heat-to-transfer foil that they sell in fabric stores which might be what was used...Just a thought

I seem to recall one of those design-switch shows where they put effing ASTROTURF on the walls. With a glue gun. The horror!

I recently stayed in a beach condo with shells and fishing net glued in a drapey fashion around the bathroom mirror. The glue was attached to both mirror and vanity. I'm sure it seemed cute and clever at the time, but if I was buying that place, I'd insist it be removed prior to move-out.

hey guys, that's not aluminum foil like you're thinking. It's probably "silver" leaf. (which is actually an aluminum, but not like foil. There is a real silver leaf, but it probably would have tarnished by now, and the end result is the same anyway...)
Unfortunately, if they actually did use the proper sizing to apply it, it's there forever. You are really stuck just going over it. Sand it down (wear a mask!!) then prime it with 2 coats of Kilz, then do whatever you want.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. =(

I think lorigami is right. If it's stuck down with modpodge or even Elmer's, sanding and Kilz. Or you could wall paper over it with something else less horrible, which is just about everything.

Thanks for the suggestions. This was on the walls when we bought our house. I tried sanding, iron, hair dryer, wd40-pretty much everything. Basically, I'm running into 2 problems. 1st-nothing is going to penetrate through the foil (goo-gone,water...), 2nd-if and when I ever get the foil off the wall the next challenge is getting off the glue. Actually, my biggest problm and most challenging is just getting off the foil, i've had success getting the glue off. If I were to just paint, spackle, it won't stick to the foil. Hopefully, I can wallpaper without it showing through or not adhearing to the foil. I have an inclining that while they were ruining the walls they were saying to themselves "I feel sorry for whoever tries to get this off, because it's never coming off!" This is so frustrating. Thanks for all of your suggestions! Wish me luck with the wallpaper:)