Spotting A Little Fun In A Hidden Closet

A 3′ x 1.5′ soffit visible when the door of this closet is opened really bugged the homeowners. The closet is in a playroom where I had just papered an accent wall. (See previous post.)

The homeowners thought that putting wallpaper on this soffit would make it less offensive. They were thinking of using the same paper that was on the adjoining wall (see previous post).

But they had a little paper left over from when I did their powder room in a previous house back in 2011 (yes, the wife saved the left over paper and transported it to the new house!). Once I saw the fun spotted pattern, which just so happened to be in a grey/brown color that coordinated beautifully with the accent wall, I insisted they use the dots instead of the “Fantasia” pattern.

Now when the closet door is open, your eye is drawn to this playful spotty block of funness.

The dotty pattern is called “Tanzania” and is by Thibaut.

“Fantasia” in a West U Playroom

“Fantasia” is a fanciful – yet soft – pattern for this toddlers’ playroom in the West University neighborhood of Houston. The homeowners decided to have this put on just one wall, but the tone-on-tone hue is soft enough that it would work well on all four walls without being overwhelming.

This wallpaper pattern is by Boras Tapeter, a Scandinavian company that features a lot of whimsical designs. It was a non-woven material, and I hung it using the paste-the-wall method … although I think it would have worked a bit better if I had pasted the material.

It was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Powder Room ReDo SameDo

I hung this same paper in this same under-the-stairs powder room in a Galleria-area townhome (Houston) in April 2014. A few months ago, the toilet seal sprang a leak, and water ruined the floors, drywall, and wallpaper.

We were able to save the wallpaper on two walls, but the drywall in the remaining three walls had to be cut out and replaced. So the wallpaper on those walls had to be replaced, too.

Here are a few pics of how the new paper looks. I would call this design fluid, swoopy, and looking like flames, in a silver metallic finish.

The manufacturer is York, and it was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Fun Powder Room Morphs to Family Friendly Style

The original black-and-white, tree-and-bird wallpaper in this under-the-stairs West University Place powder room was plenty playful and fun. But the homeowners (who have three very young children) wanted something a little more playful, and a bit more subdued – especially after the interior designer had the bleached-wood vanity and the matching light fixture installed.

This “Dashes” pattern in orange by Rebecca Atwood meets both those qualifications. It’s colorful and fun, reminding you of raindrops or strokes of watercolor. And the softness of the colors meld beautifully with the subdued wood tones of the vanity (not shown).

The interior designer is Layne Ogden, of Layne Torsche Interiors.

Bright and Fun Powder Room in West U.

Originally, this under-the-stairs powder room in a home in West University Place was papered in a very dark, very traditional pattern. The homeowner lived with it for 18 years, and finally made the change yesterday to this bright pattern with lots of movement and cheer. The countertop is also new, and adds to the lightness and modern feel of the room.

The wallpaper is by Baker Lifestyle, and is a non-woven material, which is designed to strip off the wall easily when it’s time to redecorate. It is also a little more resistant to water splashes and stains than a paper. Non-wovens can be hung using the paste-the-wall method, but I prefer to paste the paper, which gives more pliability and also ensures that there will be paste holding the paper to the wall in that narrow space behind the toilet!

The interior designer for this job is Gisette Leathers, of http://www.theleathers.com/

Lucky Little Girl’s Bedroom

Before and after shots. The pink room looks good – but the room with wallpaper looks fantastic.

The green lamps really pump up the room.

I hung this a while ago, but I’m thinking it’s from Anthropologie.

The interior designer is Gisette Leathers, from theleathers.com here in Houston.

Disguising a Utility Box

Look closely – VERY closely, and in the upper half of the photo, you’ll see a metal utility box that has been covered with wallpaper.

This is a box for a defunct and un-used security alarm system, about 18″ square. The homeowners tried to get the box off the wall – but, despite the use of various screwdriver bits and power tools, the box would not come off.

So they were going to be stuck with a grey metal blob in the middle of their beautiful wallpaper.

Well, I thought I could do something with it. I could make it fade into the background of the wallpaper pattern.

Wallpaper won’t stick to painted metal, because it’s glossy. So I took a bit of sandpaper to knock off the gloss, and my primer Roman’s 977 Ultra Prime and coated the service box.

Then I matched the wallpaper pattern to the paper already on the wall, and covered the box with corresponding wallpaper.

This is more tricky than it sounds, because the box is 5″ deep, which created discrepancies in the pattern match, depending on from which angle you are looking. I opted to keep the pattern matched at the corner junctions rather than matching it as it would be view from a distance on the wall. That all gets too complicated to try to explain here.

The box had been primed, so it provided a good base for the wallpaper paste to stick to. But on some areas, like the edges after an outside corner, I smeared on a bit of clear adhesive caulk, to be sure the paper would hold, even under conditions of stress such as wrapping around a corner.

This whole thing took me 45-60 minutes. I am pleased with the way it turned out. From the floor, you sure would never know there is a large box sticking out of the wall.

Longing for the Big Apple

Originally living in the heart of New York City, these homeowners “got a better offer” and moved to Houston. In a nicely updated 1925 bungalow in the Woodland Heights, life for these two has changed for the better – but the wife still reminisces over the view she had out her skyscraper office window back in NYC.

She found this really cool wallpaper design, which depicts hundreds and hundreds of New York buildings, from tall to gigantic, from the 1800’s to the 2000’s, with many styles of architecture tossed into the mix.

Where did this cool and sentimental wallpaper go? … In the laundry alcove. But it’s not tucked away in the rear of the house … this laundry room is in the main hall leading through the house – which means that this fun and sentimental wallpaper is on view every time anyone walks through the house.

This wallpaper is by York, in their Sure Strip line. It is a thin, easy to manipulate non-woven material, and is designed to strip off the wall easily and with minimal damage, when it’s time to redecorate. This is one of my favorite brands, because it’s easy to work with, doesn’t tear or crease, it doesn’t shrink and gap at the seams, it’s easy to remove, and it will stand up to humidity, such as will exist in a laundry room.

White “Woods” Wallpaper Wakes Up A Dark, Dated Powder Room

OK, so my original whole-room photo of the “before” powder room didn’t take. But in the top photo here, at least you can see the dark color that the windowless room was covered with. Actually, this faux-finish pattern and dark color was a good look for back in the ’90’s when this townhome in the Briargrove / Tanglewood neighborhood of Houston was built.

But the homeowner now wanted a brighter room; she was leaning heavily toward black & white, with some hits of red tossed in.

I stripped off the old vinyl wallpaper (those photos didn’t turn out, either! 😦 ), then patched areas where the old paper had pulled paint off the wall, sanded smooth, and then primed all surfaces with Gardz.

The homeowner is completely in love with the new paper and the new, bright powder room. She will accent with a mirror in a wide black frame, and with some custom-painted artwork that will incorporate touches of black, white, and red.

This wallpaper is by Cole & Son, a British company. It is a very popular pattern called “Woods.” It’s on a non-woven substrate, which has a fiberglass component to strengthen it; it is designed to strip off the wall easily and with minimal damage to the wall, when it’s time to redecorate It is a little more cleanable than a paper-wallpaper.

It was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Rolling Roiling Waves on a Heights Dining Room Wall

This pen & ink-like drawing of rolling waves is obviously a knock-off of the very popular (and very expensive) “Nuvolette” in the Fornasetti collection by Cole & Son.

I have to say – I think I like this one better. The pattern is more homogeneous and less overpowering. Yet you still get the same feel of movement from the rolling waves. And it has the same scratchy pen-and-ink feel as the other, plus a few seagulls tossed in, too.

This design is by Eijffinger. I hung it in a newly-remodeled and expanded home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston. It is a non-woven material, and is designed to be hung via the paste-the-wall method. I did use this method this time, as it was one accent wall in a dining room, with no intricate cuts nor difficult spaces to access. It went up beautifully, with near-invisible seams.