I'm redoing a bedroom where a member of the immediate family painted, long ago as a child, a mural in bright acrylic paints directly on the wallboard. The mural was covered over with wallpaper at one time, but the homeowner took care not to glue the paper all over the mural (just pasting it around the edges).
The artist has grown up to suffer, from all impartial observation, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Untreated. The artist will not permit the chipped, half-wallpapered mural to be primed and painted. The homeowner, now elderly, wants to sell the home but will not allow me to "disrespect" the nutjob's wishes.
So after using quality primer and paint on every other d*!m surface in the room, I papered over the masterpiece with plain white paper...that needless to say, did not stick because I was permitted to only paste it at the edges.
Aside from making me half insane myself, this situation made me think of the white lattice from That 70's Show. I proposed as a compromise to the insane family members that the masterpiece could be preserved, and the house possibly still sold at a profit (it's in a very desirable location), if I secured the flapping-in-the-breeze wallpaper with lattice. I suggested they take a look at the kitchen on That
70's Show to see how nice it would look.The only problem (!) is that this wall is over the room's electric baseboard heater. Clamshell-style molding surrounds the heater along the floor on either side and (of course) has never caught fire, but I'm wondering if lattice is fire or heat-resistant. If anyone could either reassure me as to placing the lattice around the heater, or tell me how to make flimsy wood fireproof--or tell me I have nothing to worry about!--I'd appreciate it.
My next DIY job will be at the state home for the criminally insane...