Not So Turbulent Storm Clouds in a Newborn’s Nursery

I’ve hung this pattern before, but in the more typical black-on-white colorway (do a Search here to see pics). This version, with blue ebbing to red, is softer and nicely suited to a baby’s nursery accent wall. The little guy was born just two days before this mural went up!

The design has a sort of scratchy pen & ink look that you only notice when you get close.

This product is not wallpaper with the typical repeating pattern, but a mural. Each bolt contains four strips, which combine to 9′ wide x almost 10′ high.

In the last photo, you see how the manufacturer has provided a mock-up of how the strips look and how they should be placed, as well as a picture of the overall design.

This wall required one 9′ wide 4-panel set, as well as two additional strips from a second 4-panel set.

The wall height was less than 8′, so more than 2′ of the height had to be cut off and discarded. The mother wanted to see both blue and red colors. So the grandmother (Mom was still in the hospital) and I rolled everything out on the floor to accurately compare the height of the wall with the length of the panels, and then determine how much to cut off from the top and from the bottom.

I tweaked the placement a little more, because I wanted to include as much of the clouds on the top far right side as possible, while still keeping a good amount of red at the bottom.

The pattern is called NUVOLE AL TRAMONTO in DUSK/PINK, and is by Cole & Son, a British company. It is printed on a non-woven substrate, which has a high fiberglass content, and is designed to strip off the wall easily when it’s time to redecorate.

N-W’s also don’t expand when they get wet with paste, which allows for accurate measurements. Also, it requires no booking time, so it enables you to use the paste-the-wall method – which is what I did today. No need to drag in my big loppy pasting table. 🙂

This wallpaper 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 home is in the West University neighborhood of Houston.

Paint Problem

Hard to see, but the paint on this wall is crackling. This is most likely because there are unstable and incompatible layers of paint underneath.

In an old house like this (1940’s), there will have been many treatments to the walls over the years. Original oil-based paint, covered by latex paint, gloss paint, dust, more colors and layers of paint. And virtually never does the workman prep the walls properly.

Latex doesn’t like to stick to oil, and most paints don’t like to stick to gloss, plus other factors. So what happens is that all these disparate layers rebel, and sometimes you end up with flaking or peeling.

If wallpaper is applied on top of these unstable walls, when it dries and pulls taught and puts tension on the wall surface, there is the potential for these layers to give way, and you can end up with a curled seam, under which are layers of delaminated wall.

Fun Floral on a Tall Wall

The terra cotta color of the walls in this guest bedroom was cozy, but lacked pop. The homeowner added pizzazz with this fun, large-scaled floral wallpaper pattern. The colors are fairly mono-chromatic, so don’t overwhelm the space.

The paper is by York, one of my preferred brands, and is a non-woven material. I hung this using the paste-the-wall method, which saved me hauling my heavy pasting table up to the second floor of this home – which is located in the Rice Village neighborhood of Houston.

This wall vaulted to nearly 13′ high – higher than I usually like to work. But the homeowner set me up with his 8′ step ladder, so I was able to safely access the wall and hang the paper.

Cheerful, Colorful, Fun Finish to a Little Girls’ Bedroom

Maybe two months ago, I papered one accent wall (top photo) in this bedroom shared by two little girls. The mother kept thinking the room would look sweeter and more complete if all the walls were papered. I agree!

The wallpaper is by Caitlin Wilson, and is a pre-pasted material, and was quite nice to work with. The 2-story 1920 home is in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston, and has been nicely renovated and updated. The interior designer is Stacie Cokinos of Cokinos Design.

Wallpaper Patterns That Coordinate / Compliment One Another

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In the first photo, you are looking into a 2-room bathroom, through the sink room into the tub / potty room. The homeowner has chosen two coordinating wallpapers.

The floral went in the outer, sink room, because it had the largest mass of wall space, which would allow the large flower-and-basket pattern to play out.

The smaller, more chopped-up tub room was better suited to the smaller scale of the trellis pattern.

The patterns coordinate nicely, because they both incorporate the same colors, as well as share a classic design theme.

These papers are by Waverly, which is by York, and are in the Sure Strip line, which I like a lot. They were nice to work with, and will hold up nicely in these rooms.

These wallpaper patterns were bought at below retail price from 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.

Veronica Solomon / Casa Villora Interiors in Better Homes & Gardens

This beautiful bathroom, featured in the November 2019 issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine, was designed by Veronica Solomon of Casa Vilora Interiors, based out of Katy (Houston), Texas.

I have hung wallpaper for this gal, and can attest that she does stunning work. Congratulations for getting a full-page spread in this national magazine!

https://www.veronicasolomon.com/

Cute Tiny Gold Dots on Blood Red

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The first photo shows the original “cloud blue” wallpaper (along with some damage to the wall from when the pedestal sink was removed. I repaired that damage before hanging the new paper.) It was on a “satin” textured solid vinyl material, and both the pattern and the type of paper were very common back in the ’90’s.

Unfortunately, these paper-backed solid vinyl papers don’t hold up well, and have a tendency to curl at the seams and at baseboards, moldings, etc. Plus the shiny look is just … uh… a bit tacky.

Time for an update. The new paper is a complete 180* change – it’s dark and playful, with a small pattern that is more of a backdrop than a focal point in itself. The mirror and hand towel will help set off the paper.

In addition, this paper is on a non-woven substrate, which should not present the curling problems that the vinyl did. And the non-wovens are designed to strip off the wall easily when it’s time to redecorate.

This wallpaper pattern is by York, in their Sure Strip line, which I like a lot, and was bought at below retail price from 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.

Out of the Bayou and Onto the Wall – Crocodile Hide!

There is a lot going on in the second photo.

After determining the pattern match – which was no small feat on this very eye-crossing design – I am measuring and cutting my strips.

Those that have already been cut are rolled up and placed in the order they will be hung.
There is a piece of dark chalk I am using to color the edges of the paper, to prevent the white backing from peaking out at the seams.

And to keep the white primer from doing the same, you can see that I have plotted out where the seams will fall, and have striped black paint on the wall.

I don’t need my work table for this job, because it’s a paste-the-wall material, so no need for a table to paste on. And there are no corners to turn, so no need for a table to trim on.

The pattern has a crocodile hide look.

This Superfresco brand is by Graham & Brown. It is an embossed (textured) vinyl on a non-woven backing – which has a fibrous, fiber-glass composition, and is made to strip off the wall easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate.

This material was a lot more pliable than most non-wovens, so it was quite nice to work with. Although there was some stretching and warping. On a longer wall, that could have caused some panels to develop wrinkles.

I hung this wallpaper in a recessed headboard niche / accent wall in the master bedroom of a newish home in the Rice Village area of Houston.
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Rich, Multi-Hued Grasscloth in North Houston Powder Room

Iridescent interwoven hues of gold, red, rust, neon blue, green, navy, and more play tricks on the eye, because the colors change depending on the direction from which you are looking.

No matter the view point, this grasscloth by Scalamandre is gorgeous. And there was very little paneling (color difference between strips).

(Note the fourth photo shows a shadow, not a color difference or paneling.)

The third photo shows me rolling the material out on my work table.

The last photo is the best to show the true color and texture.

I hung this wallpaper in the powder room of a townhome in a new development in north Houston.

Bold Teal Color Wakes Up a Music Niche

This is a small niche that holds a stereo system and other music items. The homeowner wanted to bring some color to this corner of her living room, and fell in love with this “Helleborus” pattern by Farrow & Ball.

The bold teal color and large scaled pattern really demand your attention!

I have no idea why the two close-up shots are washed out. But you can see the detail of the design.

I papered over the box in the wall which had held a cable connection; look and you can see it’s ghost on the right side of the third photo.

The homeowner originally wanted to remove the electric outlet and paper over that, too. But electrical codes would not allow that. So I papered the plate cover, and that helps it blend into the wall. I hope she will take a dab of paint and disguise that white screw!

The wall originally had a heavy stipple texture, so I spent most of the day smoothing that – skim-floating over the texture, and then set my three fans to blast air – augmented by my great persuader / heat gun, to get it to dry. Sanded, primed, and then finally hung the three strips of paper.

Farrow & Ball is a British company that makes home goods. Instead of traditional inks, they use their paint on their wallpaper. I am not fond of this method (do a Search here to read previous experiences), but today’s install went nicely.

The home is in the Oak Forest / Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston.