You Can’t Always Trust the Label

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Today I am hanging a wallpaper that looks like leather (made by York). It has a texture, but no pattern to be matched from strip to strip. Yet, on the label, it claims to have a drop match. In reality, this textured paper has a random match, which means there is nothing to match.

In fact, this pattern looked best when it was reverse-hung, meaning that you hang one strip right side-up, an the next strip upside-down, etc.

Incidentally, when you have a textured, random match paper like this, be aware that you will always see the seams a little. See the second photo (The little bumps and ridges will disappear as the paper dries.). On this particular paper, the seams looked really good, and were not very noticeable at all. I was pleased, as this is not always the case.

Wavy Laser Line – What’s Up?!

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Wow – the line from my laser level projected onto the wall is nowhere near straight! What’s up?

The wall is bowed – in many directions … horizontally, vertically, and in various spots, but particularly in the center. I suspect there might have been a door on this wall, that was removed and Sheetrocked over, and perhaps they didn’t get the new framing straight. It was hard to float the wall (to smooth it), too, because my flat trowel kept skipping over the dipped areas.

When I moved my laser line to the left edge of the strip, I was able to get a straight line, and the wallpaper hung nice and straight and true to plumb.

Interestingly, this is the third or fourth house with bowed walls I have worked in in two weeks. Some were new homes, some were remodeled homes, and this one is a ’60’s era one that has had many improvements done to it over the years.

Classic Pattern in Blue & Tan in a New Home’s Powder Room

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This elegant pattern in soft blue on a pebbly tan background is the perfect compliment to the marble backsplash over the sink. What’s even better is how this powder room pulls together the rest of the rooms in the new home … Most of the walls are either tan or soft blue, and the dining room just across the hall was papered in a similar wallpaper pattern in brown and tan.

The wallpaper in this room is the bridge that melds both color themes together.

This wallpaper was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Today’s Client Kept Me Well-Stocked With Snacks

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Another 3-D Wallpaper Book – You’ll Think the Paper is Three Inches Thick!

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I went to open the cover of this wallpaper selection book, and I swear, my hand was groping for something it thought was 3″ thick … The illusion is that deceiving!!

The book is called Venue, the designer is Kenneth James, and it’s made by Eijffinger. The book has many variations of patterns, and lots of photos of room sets – but my camera didn’t do them justice. If you want something to really bring a cutting edge to your contemporary style home, and dazzle your friends, (and totally befuddle that guest who’s unsteady from a little too much imbibing), you NEED to check out this book!

Contact my favorite wallpaper source, Dorota Hartwig, at Southwestern Paint near the Rice Village (Houston), (713) 520-6262.

“Almost” the Imperial Trellis Design

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This is a handsome (and more affordable) knock-off, of a classic wallpaper pattern called the Imperial Trellis, that has been around for, well, for maybe more than 100 years. I have hung it in a number of colors, but this is the first time to do it in such a dramatic and bold dark grey color. Unfortunately, my danged camera ate most of my photos, including shots of some tricky and impressive measures I had to take to keep the pattern matched while dealing with some very un-plumb walls.

Here is the one shot I have. It tells a lot. This perfectly centered first strip of wallpaper took me about 40 minutes to hang. I had to find the center point on the wall based on the faucet (a pic of the sink and faucet disappeared – thanks, cheapie camera!) and the light fixture (you can see a photo of that), and then calculate how that translated to the placement of the pattern on the bolt of wallpaper, and then where I should line up the edge of the first strip of paper, so that the center of the design aligned with the faucet and light fixture.

That’s the Cliff Notes version – a whole lot more math and engineering and planning went into that first strip. 🙂

I hung this in the powder room in a new home of a young family in the Woodland Heights section of the Heights neighborhood of Houston.

This wallpaper pattern is by Ronald Redding, for York Wallcoverings, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Sharp Looking Faux Grasscloth in a Master Bedroom

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I love it when my clients listen to me. When I first met with this young family, they were considering grasscloth in their master bedroom. I told them about the shading and paneling problems (difference in color between and within strips of paper), and also that a delicate, stainable and shredable material like grasscloth was not the best choice in a home with rowdy little boys.

I suggested they look at the immitation grasscloth products, which are made from vinyl and are water resistant and very durable, and which have none of the color problems. They did, and they loved it! I’ve hung this woven-look material in neutral colors many times, but this is my first time to hang the navy blue version.

This was an accent wall behind the bed in a new home in Oak Forest. It looks fantastic. And the material will hold up to just about anything those two boys can do to it. 🙂

This wallpaper pattern is by Thibaut Designs, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Metropolis – Home to Super Heroes!

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As I was hanging this wallpaper in a young boy’s bedroom, I thought to myself, “This looks like Metropolis. Superman would feel right at home.” Well, it turns out, that was the goal… The boy is crazy about super heroes, as you can see by artwork in his room. Look at the wallpaper, and you can almost see Spiderman working his way up one of the buildings.

Look at the last two close ups … Their crown molding in the room was off-level, and it was going to make it look like the paper was crooked, with the tops of the skyscrapers not all the same distance from the molding. In the 1st close up, you see what the pattern match is supposed to be. In the 2nd close up, you see how I lowered the pattern a little, so the motif at the top of the wall would be where I wanted it. To keep a uniform look, I kept the windows lined up. Even though the top of the light colored building is not lined up perfectly, you don’t notice the mismatch at all. Can’t do that with every pattern, but this one was a perfect candidate, and it really made the overall job look uniform and even.

This wallpaper pattern was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. The boy’s mom told Dorota she wanted something to coordinate with the blue walls, and to work with the son’s comic book artwork and love of super heroes. Dorota walked right to a selection book and opened it up to this pattern. She is sooo good at that! (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Paper for a Princess

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When I first visited with this client, her little girl’s room was very PINK. And filled with fantasy and princess-themed items. She had even painted a portrait of herself in a summer art class – wearing a crown. They wanted something to compliment the pink, and with a bit of an ethnic feel, and a little fantasy wouldn’t hurt, either.

I sent her to my favorite wallpaper sales person (below), and she helped them zero in on this. Once the mother saw it, she knew immediately it was The One. The teal color goes with the three pink walls, and the exotic feel of the pattern hints of lands far away. It’s a room fit for a princess!

This wallpaper pattern is by Exclusive Wallcoverings, pattern #FD21334, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Adventures With Lasers

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OK, so I bought a laser level, and have been loving it. You might notice several previous posts showing the red line on the wall, helping to keep the wallpaper plumb.

Well, this past Tuesday, I dropped it into a bucket of water. I was able to take it apart and dry it out, and it worked fine.

Two days later, on Thursday, it fell from my ladder. The self-leveling mechanism got jammed, and it would not work. I took it apart, but this time there was no saving it. So I went back to Lowe’s and bought another one.

Today, Saturday, I went to use it and – the self-leveling mechanism is jammed, and the laser line is no where near plumb nor level.

So, back to Lowe’s tomorrow. Sigh.