Think You Know What You’re Looking At? – Think Again!

From a distance, this looks like a geometric pattern. But look closer – the clever design is made of lanterns worked together.

This wallpaper pattern is Questex # ET 30200, sold by Seabrook, and was hung on one accent wall in a guest bedroom.

Seams Show on Thick Non-Woven Backed Wallpapers

These days, as part of the “green” movement, and to easy removal down the road, many manufacturers are backing their wallcoverings with “non-woven” substrates.

These generally are thicker than traditional backings. That thickness, along with the thickness of this somewhat textured surface, mean that sometimes the seams will be a little more visible than on a thinner paper.

Once you step back a little bit, you don’t really notice it that much.

This pattern is #DL30440 by Decorline, and was in the HGTV book by Sherwin Williams.

Map Mural Install Today

I hung this same West Indies map last year! This install was interesting because, instead of going wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor, the map was centered between a window and another wall, hugging the ceiling line. This way, it lined up with the bed, and the bottom of the map fell right about at the height of the headboard.

Like last time, the map gave a little trouble keeping it straight. I started at the center, hanging against a plumb line. But since the crown molding was not perfectly level, the top of the map started to go crooked, and would have had to be cut off. The top of the map is a narrow border, and was important to the design, so could not be cut off.

So I used some wallpaper hanging tricks to fool the eye. What I did was to cut off the border, let the crown molding encroach down a little, and then I pasted the border back on top of the map, keeping it even with the bottom of the crown molding. The eye doesn’t notice that some of the top of the map is hidden, but it does notice that the border along the top is intact and nice and straight.

That solved the problem of the unlevel crown molding, but I had stretching and twisting issues, too. Even though I started in the center and worked outward toward the sides, and there were only three panels on each side, the paper got a little off-plumb on the right side. Since it was not running right into the window on the right, that meant that there would be a distance of 14.5″ from the map to the window at the top and 14″ at the bottom. The eye would notice that. So I had to figure a way to get rid of that extra half inch.

What I did you see in the bottom two photos. This was an easy fix, since the map had vertical lines as part of the pattern. I moved the right edge of the map so it was straight and equidistant from the window. This created a wrinkle in one of the panels, larger at the bottom and tapering to nothing at the top.

So I simply cut a slit along one of the lines, and let the pieces overlap, eliminating the wrinkle and keeping the right edge straight and plumb.

This map was purchased through Pottery Barn.

Protecting the Ends of Wallpaper – With Another Brand Name

I frequently complain about edges of wallpaper that get banged up during shipping, and can look bad on the wall. On May 12, 2013, I blogged about how one company took measures to prevent this. https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/finally-someone-did-something-to-prevent-banged-edges/

What’s odd is, these are exactly the same papers (slight color difference), and exactly the same cardboard end-protectors… but the brand names are completely different.

So here’s your proof that the “manufacturer” is getting his product from the same place as other manufacturers, and simply puts his own brand label on the material.

Classic Wallpaper Pattern in a Dining Room Today

Here’s an updated take on a traditional pattern that I hung in a dining room in the new development “Aliana” in far west Houston today. I call it “updated” because the weathered looking background adds a new twist to a traditional damask pattern.

Like most new construction in the ‘burbs today, this home had rounded outside corners (bull-nosed edges) and arches with the same bull-nosed treatment. These are much more difficult to trim around than standard straight 90* edges. This room had the one you see in the photo, plus a much wider arch leading into the entryway. I spent a lot of time – a couple hours – trimming around the rounded corners and the arches with rounded corners.

I think they turned out pretty darned well!

The homeowner plans to paint the bottom of the wall in a darkish grey paint, and will use brush strokes to mimic wood, which will make the bottom look like it’s made of fancy wood paneling (my suggestion!).

This wallpaper is EcoChic #DV40210, and comes in other colors

Dorota is a Genious Paint, Wallpaper, and Color Coordinator

I wish this photo showed more of the whole room. The client was ecstatic with how well the gal I sent them to coordinated their wall paint, molding paint, and wallpaper. In fact, the couple had originally chosen a different wallpaper, but ended up buying this one which Dorota suggested, and they are happier because this pattern will grow with their son better than their previous more juvenile choice.

In addition, the room for their little girl was perfectly coordinated with pink walls and a smokey blue grey color on the trim.

I love sending clients to this gal. She is always so on-target, for finding just the right wallpaper pattern, or coordinating paint colors. She is Dorota Hartwig, of Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet just west of Kirby in Houston, (713) 520-6262, dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com

Reaching a Stairway Art Niche

This isn’t as dangerous as it looks… the niche is quite deep, and there’s plenty of room for my ladder. And it’s pretty easy access from the stairway, too, so no real fears of falling.

This is going in the new home of a young family in a new development in west Houston called Aliana. The couple wasn’t even considering wallpapering the niches, but when I saw the empty spaces, I pulled out my samples and showed them how cool they would look.

They chose a silver metallic cork material. Very classy and just a little flashy. Now they are more excited about the niches than the other rooms they’re having papered!

Here’s how it turned out.  The clients loved it.  Now they are looking for something to put in the niche – something 3-dimensional, perhaps architectural, or a sculpture.

The pattern is Thibaut 839-T-7047