The homeowners had this elegant wainscoting added to the bottom of their dining room when the house was built . But for seven years, the room was bland and boring . The new crystal chandelier adds glamor , but the room is still lacking .
Wallpaper to the rescue! Now there’s soft color and soft pattern . And a little gold shimmer !
I’m encouraging the homeowners to paint that band of wall under the tray ceiling a very soft aqua color, to meld with the misty feel of the wallpaper .
It’s a soft aqua color , but enough to stand out against the woodwork . Now you see the beautiful moldings and trim work . South wall beforeSouth wall doneI positioned the tree pattern to fall down the mid-point of this space between the two windows . This shot with the chandelier dimmer turned down allows you to see the pattern more fully.
This wallpaper pattern is called Luminous Branches and is by York , one of my favorite brands , in their Designer Series line. The material has a slight raised / embossed / textured effect. It’s a non-woven product, so is strong , durable , stain-resistant , and designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece and with no damage to the wall when you redecorate later. Non-wovens can be hung by the paste the wall method , but I generally prefer to paste the paper . NW requires no booking / soaking time , so they install a little faster , with no worries about shrinking or gaps at the seams . In fact, the seams are near-invisible . The home is in the Braes Heights area of Houston
Dining room focal wall before. Same wall done, with dominant tree figure positioned down center of the wall. How was this achieved? Laying the paper out on my work table, to see the pattern. Determine this tree is more vertical and visible than the more spreading trees on either side.
It helps to access the pattern on-line, to see a full-scale , room-set photo. And also to roll the paper out on the floor.
Finding the center point of this tree.
The center of the pattern is 20 1/8″ from the left edge of the paper . Since the wallpaper is 27″ wide, this places the center at 6 7/8″ from the right edge of the strip. Hold on to that / those figures!
It helps to access the pattern on-line, to see a full-scale room-set photo. And also to roll the paper out on the floor.
Now we’re looking at the wall, and the calculations I’ve drawn on it.
At the left, I’ve marked the mid-point of the wall. The mid-point is 27″ from either side. Since the center of the tree is 6 7/8″ from the right side of the wallpaper, to the right I have marked 6 7/8″ over, which is where the right edge of the wallpaper should be placed. This will land the center of the tree motif at the center point of the wall. This also works out to 20 1/8″ from the left edge of the subsequent wallpaper strip.
6 7/8″ from the right edge of the strip on the left works out to 20 1/8″ from the left edge of the strip to be placed on the right.
Confused yet? We paperhanger s aren’t just slapping paper on the wall . There is a lot of math and plotting and engineering that goes into all this.
At least the way I do it. You can call me the Queen of Overthinking . đ
Trimming right-hand strip to 20 1/8″ wide.
Instead of placing the left-hand strip along a plumb line at the 20 1/8″ point on the wall, and then placing the next strip to the right of it, and having to trim against that window molding, I found it simpler to pre-trim the right-hand strip to 20 1/8 ” wide, and then I could simply butt this strip up against the window molding, eliminating the need to wipe paste off the molding, and also keeping the pattern straight along the molding. But there is also that 2″ high bit of space over the window. That’s why I’ve left that little tab of wallpaper you see at the upper right of this photo.
Here is that first strip in place. Maybe now if finally all makes sense. When I put that second strip next to it, the mid-point of that tree is going to be 6 7/8″ from the edge, and will fall right at the mid-point of the wall. Remember, that was at 27″ from both the right and the left window moldings. And here we are! Measured from the right.Measured from the left. Spot on!All that math and calculating for one 54″ wide x 5′ high wall!
But look at how nice it looks with that tree down the center of the wall. Especially with the brand new chandelier hung in the middle of the room. This will be the focal point of the room, as people walk into the home’s entry .
The pattern is called Luminous Branches , and is by York.
Note that this calculating and plotting could be achieved because this product is a non-woven / paste the wall material. This stuff does not expand when wet with paste . That means that you can take measurements and trim your wallpaper , without fear of it stretching beyond where you plotted for it to land on the wall.
My helper for today. This has got to be the biggest Black Lab I’ve ever seen – easily way over 100 lbs.For size comparison, that’s my foot, bottom center. And a 1-gallon bucket by his head.
And, yes – he eats sponges , paper towels , dropcloths , phone totes , and shoes .
Hall bathroom before . The walls had this super-heavy ” Tuscan ” texture that I spend a day and a half smoothing out . Finished Looks so good with the orange painted cabinetry . Also note the really fun tile on the shower to the left. Colorful and lively ! I had ’60’s & ’70’s music on all day while installing , to compliment the mood .
And poppies – well, ya know … that whole psychedelic thing from back then …
Swedish manufacturer . Lina II , Design midbec , tapeter
This is a pretty nice non-woven material, water and stain-resistant , fairly easy to install , can paste the wall or paste the paper , seams are near invisible . It will be easy to strip off the wall when you redecorate . Affordable price .
Sold by the on-line company wallpaperfromthe70s.com , based out of Germany . Really nice folks. Here’s a picture of the brand new shower , to show the whole room is colorful and retro vibe .
Previous installer broke just about all the rules, but the paper has held up wonderfully for nearly 25 years.
I’m going to hang new wallpaper in this hall bathroom, and first must remove the existing paper. But – surprise! When I removed the outlet cover, I discovered that the previous guy hung this floral paper on top of the original paper. Ouch!
Here’s a better view. You can clearly see that other paper underneath there.
An interesting side note … the original paper looks a whole lot like the pattern I had in my powder room for many years. I loved it.
Anyway, both these papers are solid vinyl material, which is, essentially, plastic , and has a slick surface. Wallpaper paste won’t adhere well to this shiny surface. Even without taking the time to strip off the original paper, a primer should have been applied over that vinyl. Yet, as you see, this paper has hung on well for two decades.
He used regular paste, too – not something formulated to stick to a slick surface (which we call VOV or vinyl over vinyl ). Again – amazing that it stuck. And very glad that he didn’t use VOV – be cause that stuff is near impossible to get off!
Another problem with hanging wallpaper over old paper is that the seams of the bottom paper will show through the new paper.
1990’s paperhanger didn’t prime the wall , either.
To remove this wallpaper, I stripped off the top vinyl layer of both layers of wallpaper. That left the paper backing of the original wallpaper still adhered to the wall. Here I’ve soaked that backing with water , using a sponge and bucket of warm water, applied over and over again, until it soaked in and reactivated the paste. 30 year old paste!
Here I am gently scraping it off the drywall . As you can see, no primer was applied to the drywall. Gee, folks! A primer formulated for use under wallpaper should always be applied, to any surface, before hanging new paper. I like Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime . Besides providing an appropriate surface for the wallpaper paste to bite into , easing installation by allowing slip , and withstanding the tension caused when wallpaper paste dries and the paper shrinks and tugs at the wall (which could cause seams to come loose ), a primer will seal the drywall and ease removal of the wallpaper when you redecorate down the road.
Without a primer, it’s common for wallpapers to “bond” to uncoated drywall , which makes removal nearly impossible. Like I said, I got really lucky with this one, because the original paper did come off relatively easily and with no damage to the wall surface .
Just above my finger, you can see a bit of a green line. A previous installer must have used ink to mark his plumb line . Problem with this is, as you can see, ink will work its way through many substances, including wallpaper , and leave a stain on the surface. In this case, I removed the old wallpaper and then skim-floated the wall to smooth it. As you can see, the ink, which is decades old (original wallpaper dates to the early â90âs ) is still active and has bled through the smoothing compound / joint compound . If I were to prime and then hang wallpaper over this, it would work its way through both my primer and the homeownerâs new wallpaper. So Iâm sealing it off. Above the green line you can see a strip of stain blocker brushed (actually daubed on with my finger) over the stain. I like to use KILZ Original oil-based stain blocker. BIN shellac-based is another good product. Donât believe the claims on cans of water-based alternatives â nothing works as well to block stains as KILZ or BIN. The fumes can be strong, and KILZ can make you high, so ventilate the room and/or wear a respirator when you apply this stuff. Other substances / stains that can bleed through paint and wallpaper are tobacco , water , rust , marker , crayon , blood , oil , grease , food , hand prints , cosmetics , hair products , and so forth.
An angled trim brush like this helps apply my wallpaper primer in tight areas the roller wonât reach , such as along crown molding and baseboards , and in corners. This is called cutting in . These brushes with the stubby handles are kinda new, and Iâm liking them a lot.
Original wallcovering was a dark , rustic , textured (and outdated) torn and overlapped paper . Smoothed , prepped , primed , and ready for wallpaper . Done! Bright , fresh , and with visual movement from the swirly leaf pattern .Opposite side of vanity / countertop . Mirror shot showing wall behind the vanity / sink . Wall opposite the vanity / mirror . The pattern is called Priano .
The color is called Dusty Pink – it’s a very livable pink. This is very popular pattern , and I’ve hung it a bunch of times, in every colorway . It’s one of my favorites, too. I love the soft swirling foliage , and the simple two-color scheme . This makes it a very easy pattern to live with , whether it be one accent wall or a whole room . In fact, the pattern is so soft and un-intrusive that it makes a wonderful choice for papering all the walls in even a large room such as a bedroom or dining room (Search here to see the dining room I did in the soft blue version .)
Made by Serena & Lily
I like the quality of just about everything from this company. This is a paper wallpaper , and goes up nicely . Like most traditional wallpapers , this is installed by pasting the paper . The home is in the Champions Forest area of northwest Houston . installer paperhanger
The homeowner wanted the look of grasscloth, but didnât want the stains that can happen when splashed with water or toiletries. Another displeasing feature of real grasscloth is the very visible seams , and the likelihood of color differences between panels (called paneling or shading ). So she opted for this textured vinyl version. She loves the look. It is a handsome room!Original 1990âs paper has been stripped off, Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime wallpaper primer has been applied, and weâre now ready for paper!This material has a pattern that matches from strip to strip, so you donât get the eye-jarring look of broken fibers at the seams , like with real grasscloth or other natural materials. Hereâs a close-up, detailing the texture. About Âź from the right is a seam â itâs barely noticeable . Opposite wall. For balance, I plotted that the seams fall at the same point on each wall â 18â from the mirror frameIâm getting ready to hang a strip that will knock against that mirror frame. To keep paste from slopping onto the molding , Iâve applied this thin, flexible blue plastic tape along the edge. This will keep paste off the molding while I trim that strip to fit against the molding. Once that trimming is done, Iâll remove the blue tape and then smooth the wallpaper back into place.Since this is a dark wallpaper, I worry about the light colored primer peeking out at the seams. This can happen because sometimes the factory hasnât trimmed the edges perfectly straight , or the wall may have uneven areas or bows , or some papers shrink a tad when they dry . So here Iâve plotted where the seams will fall and have striped the area with diluted paint .I use bottles of craft paint from the hobby store (good old Texas Art Supply !), and apply with a scrap of sponge . And my trusty Gatorade bottle cap with water, to dip the sponge into to dilute the paint ⌠you donât want full strength paint under there. Wallpaper wants to adhere to a primer made for wallpaper â not paint designed to color Christmas ornaments. Another and probably more important trick is to color the edges of the wallpaper. This navy blue wallpaper was printed on a white stock / substrate , and itâs highly likely that the edges of that substrate will show at the seams . So, again back to Texas Art Supply (or a good hobby store) for chalk or pastel , which I run lightly along the edge from the back so as not to get any color onto the surface of the wallpaper . That little dark nub you see is my chalk⌠the stuff breaks easily. Itâs important that you not get oil pastels or use any kind of ink marker, as these will leech into the wallpaper and stain it, leaving you with a nasty dark line down the seam . I really liked this product. It was flexible enough to wrap around a rounded / bull-nosed corner , but stiff enough to not warp . Itâs on a non-woven substrate , which contains polyester , which makes it less likely to shrink . This stuff is also designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece with no damage to your wall when you redecorate . Another advantage of non-wovens is that they can be pasted and hung immediately, with no booking or wait time. Although I generally prefer to paste the paper , you also have the option to paste the wall with this material. The non-woven backing wonât be sucking up humidity like the paper backings used years ago (or in modern lower-end products), so greatly reduced chance of seams coming loose if your teenager spends an hour steaming up the bathroom . The vinyl surface means that it will be resistant to stains from water , toothpaste , and little (and big!) hands . In addition, I liked that the material has a realistic grasscloth look, and a realistic texture , as well as a pattern that could be matched, which helps disguise the seams. I didnât match the pattern in the corners, though, to avoid having the horizontal bands running around every wall of the room at the same height. Looks better to break it up a bit. Also gave me more flexibility in placement of seams.  The brand is A Street Prints and is in their Scott Living line  (as in the Scott Brothers of HGTV fame). The home is in the Champions Forest area of Houston .  installer paperhanger
Considering that this previous installer broke just about all the rules of hanging wallpaper , his job looks good, seams are tight , and itâs held up for 20 years . This is one of the typical materials we were hanging back then, a pre-pasted , paper-backed , solid-vinyl wallcovering . Not my favorite material at all (often curling at seams , especially in bathrooms and/or when installed without proper wall prep ). Thankfully, theyâre not very prevalent today, outside of the lower-end market.  Anyway, these are usually fairly easy to strip off the wall . All you need is water , a putty knife , and patience .But hereâs a wrench in the works â the previous installer hung this vinyl paper over existing wallpaper . A big no-no! You can see the original stuff peeking out around the light switch.   That original wallpaper was installed by the builder in the â90âs , and almost always you can bet itâs been hung directly on un-primed / un-sealed Sheetrock . This can be very difficult to get off, without tearing up the surface of the drywall. If that original paper is paper instead of vinyl ( plastic ), sometimes itâs OK to leave it on the wall , prep it correctly, and hang the new wallpaper over it. So that was my original plan. Strip off the vinyl and its paper backing, and then prep the bottom layer and hang new paper over it. But, as you can see if you look closely at the edges of the bottom wallpaper, that fuzzy manilla paper backing is telling us that it, too, is a solid vinyl material. No matter how  you might prep it, we donât want this thick , slick , plastic stuff under our new wallpaper.Back to the topic of stripping wallpaper .  Done properly , itâs not a horror show. All you need is water and patience . The theory is to reactivate the old paste with water , and it will let go and the paper will come off the wall. But water wonât penetrate the vinyl / plastic layer (and it wonât penetrate the thin acrylic coating on other types of wallpaper, either ). So, the first thing you need to do  is remove that top layer. These solid vinyl materials are pretty cooperative. Simply get under the vinyl with a 3â stiff putty knife and then use your hands to pull it away from its paper backing . It usually separates and comes off in fairly large pieces. The same process works for thinner paper wallpapers , too, but it helps a lot if you sponge the surface first with water , as this seems to strengthen the fibers somehow, and youâll get that top layer off in larger chunks (instead of 1â bits). Sometimes works better pulling from bottom to top, or from right to left…. experiment and see what works best.Next use a sponge and a bucket of warm water …… to wet that paper backing . Youâll want to go over each area several times , to be sure itâs thoroughly saturated . The idea is to get it wet enough that it will reactivate the wallpaper paste underneath . Be sure to cover and protect your floor and vanity countertop .Once that paste has softened , you should be able to use your 3â stiff putty knife to gently scrape the paper backing off the underlying surface . If youâre really lucky , it will release easily and cleanly and all youâll have to do is pull with your hands.Here you can see the original layer of wallpaper underneath. Since this turned out to be another paper-backed solid vinyl material, it also had to be removed , following the same process outlined above. Once that top decorative vinyl layer was removed , the paper backing was left stuck to the wall. I wetted it , let it soak until the paste was soft, and then gently scraped it off the wall. Doing so revealed that â what did I tell you?! – yes, the builderâs wallpaper hanger didnât prime or seal the wall before hanging the paper. This is usually disasterous, because the wallpaper will often actually bond with the drywall surface and be nearly impossible to get off. So  I was really surprised that I was able to scrape this off with absolute no damage to the drywall . No peeling surface , no gouges , not even much paste residue (I did sponge off what I could). Once all that water evaporated and the Sheetrock dried , I did some minor prep touch-ups , sanded lightly , and then applied my wallpaper primer .  I like Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime .
The Wallpaper Lady's Blog 