Questionable Electrical Connection

Usually, according to code, a metal electrical junction box should be in or on the wall before a light fixture can go up. All wire connections should be enclosed inside this box.

In the photo, some light sconces were added to an existing wall. Maybe because of stud placement inside the wall, or maybe laziness, or maybe ingenuity, the electrician fished a wire through the wall and out a hole, and then hooked up the sconces. All without benefit of a junction box.

I do believe this is perfectly safe. The wire connections are all tight and secured with wire nuts, and enclosed inside the housing of the light sconce.

However, while I don’t know electrical codes, I doubt that this is up to code. From what I understand, most such connections should be made inside a metal junction box.

I do have to say, I have seen this sort of thing many times – including in cities like Bellaire, Texas (Houston), where the building code inspectors are really tough.

Hiding an Unused Opening in the Wall

Beneath this light switch is an equal-sized hole cut in the wall, with cable wires running behind it, intended probably for a sound or alarm system. The homeowners were not using it, and it had a blank wall plate over it.

Instead of having a white plate of plastic that was not serving any purpose visually clog up the wall, I removed the plate and just let the wallpaper cover the opening.

Right now, you can see a little warped area where the paper is spanning the void. But as the paper dries, it should pull taught and disguise the opening nicely. The mottley color of the wallpaper will further help to obscure the area.

First Strip = Plumb and Level

Here I am, using my laser level to make sure the center of this wallpaper design hits smack in the middle of the wall, and that the strip is hanging nice and plumb.

Scandinavian-Feel Botanical Mural in a Guest Bathroom

The plants in this wallpaper pattern are native to Scandinavia, and are a nod to the homeowner husband’s Norwegian heritage. The bright colors and white background really brightened up the bathroom.

This product was atypical, as it was 36″ wide (instead of the typical 20.5″ or 27″). Additionally, it came as a 2-panel set mural, with an “A” and a “B” panel. It took three sets to paper this bathroom.

This was a thicker non-woven material. It could be hung by pasting the wall, or by pasting the paper. I chose to paste the paper – which makes more sense when going around pedestal sinks and behind toilets.

Even though non-wovens are virtually impossible to tear, I had to work very gently with this material, because the surface could be creased or marred quite easily, simply by folding or unfolding it.

This wallpaper pattern is called Brita. It is in the A-Street Prints line, by Brewster, and 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.

The Atomic Age Comes to a Small Master Bathroom

This small master bath in a newly-renovated 1935 home across from Rice University (Houston) has a black & white checkered floor and a shiny black tiled shower (no pic). The homeowner wanted to move up a couple of decades in decorating theme, and so chose this fun space-age pattern. Now the room is ready for the George Jetson family to move right in! (All the Baby Boomers know whom I’m talking about.)

The wallpaper is by Spoonflower, comes pre-pasted (water-activated), and was pretty easy to work with. The hard part was keeping all those horizontal dashes lined up, in a house with mega wonky walls due to foundation issues and to just plain old Father Time.

Adjoining Hall Bathroom Gets Complimentary Wallpaper

Right next to the bedroom of my previous post is this hall bath. The homeowner chose a wallpaper with a pattern and color that compliment not just the tile and granite countertop in the bathroom, but also coordinates with the paper in the bedroom.

The paper was equally nice to work with. In addition, because it is paper (and not vinyl), it will stay nice and flat even if this bathroom sees bouts of humidity. It, like most papers, is not particularly stain-resistant. But the homeowners have already received my care “lecture,” and I’m sure they will keep fingers and glass cleaners and air fresheners away from the wallpaper.

This wallpaper pattern is by Designer Wallpapers, and 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.

A Few “Finished” Pics of Yesterday’s Install

This beautiful burlwood furniture belonged to the homeowner’s grandmother, and to another woman before that – it dates back to 1901!

The trellis damask wallpaper pattern is a classic that is true to the period, and will never go out of style. The golden color is a perfect compliment to the bedroom furniture.

I love the crocheted pillow shams. Talk about an authentic period touch!

Vintage Home, Antique Furniture, Classic Wallpaper

This week I have the pleasure of working in a charming 1930’s house that is right across the street from Rice University (Houston). The owners are super lovely people. I have hung paper for them in two other homes, over nearly 25 years.

The house has been kept pretty much in its original condition. The homeowners love the look and are accentuating that with their collection of antique furniture. The history of this burlwood bedroom suit dates back to 1900.

The trellis damask pattern is a classic that is true to the period, and will never go out of style. The color is a super perfect compliment to the bedroom furniture.

This wallpaper pattern is by Designer Wallpapers, and was a joy to work with. Nice and flat, held tightly to the wall, no shrinking at the seams as it dried, malleable when I needed it to be.

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.

Smoothing Knock-Down Textured Wall

This newish home in Kingwood (northeast Houston) had a typical suburban tract home knock-down texture. This would look horrible under the new wallpaper, as well as interfere with complete adhesion.

So I skim-floated the wall by troweling on joint compound (like plaster), and then sanded smooth. After wiping sanding dust off the wall with a damp sponge, I primed with Gardz, a penetrating sealer / primer by Zinsser. Sorry, no “during” photos. 😦

The last photo shows the smoothed surface, primed and ready for wallpaper. (The dark spots are where the original texture was thick and therefore peeking out from under the smoothing compound.)

Recent Magazines With Wallpaper

December 2019 issues of:

Victoria –

First two photos, bold color and classic jardiniere in a very traditional dining room setting.

Southern Living –

3rd photo. Mural on dining room walls. I believe this is the Etched Arcadia pattern that I have hung (and loved) several times. (Do a Search here to see previous posts with this pattern.)

4th photo. A “man cave” done with dark wall treatment and a lighter, tight textured pattern on the ceiling.

5th photo. Large honeycomb wooden lattice on ceiling, small print on walls. The wallpaper is by Iksel, a high-end British company, and one that I visited when the Wallcovering Installers Association took a Tech Trip to England in 2017 (do a Search here). This paper is expensive and the design is well-suited to the room. Yet the pattern is, well, nothing really special about it. If someone were looking to recreate this look on a budget, it would be very possible to find something similar at a more pocketbook-friendly price.

6th photo. Boy’s room, showing interesting use of color between walls and wood.

7th photo. More adventurous use of color, on ceiling and walls. The paper is by Quadrille, which is notorious for being difficult to hang. (Do a Search here to read my experiences and comments.) Again – for every cool pattern by a high-fallutin’ designer brand that hasn’t researched how to make compatible inks and substrates and good quality paper, there are other main-stream companies making similar designs, that will perform better and hit your wallet more easily.