Finished wall. Note the pattern is nicely centered in the middle of the space, and also aligns with the chandelier – although this photo angle is off-center . The family has a console / credenza that will sit smack in the middle of this wall, so that’s why I measured and plotted to fit the pattern in the center. The credenza is clear Lucite , and not much sits on top of it, so it will pretty much float away and disappear , leaving the wallpaper to take center stage.
Here I’ve measured and found the center of the wall, and am positioning the first strip of wallpaper . Look closely and you’ll see the red line from my laser level running vertically in between the birds .
Here’s a close-up
My Bosch laser level , purchased from Lowe’s Finished wall
The brand is Spoonflower , and this is their Pre-Pasted Smooth option. I don’t like their Traditional Pebble vinyl material, nor their Peel & Stick. But their pre-pasted, this I like a lot. One down side is that, it does like to bubble. No matter how nice and smooth it was when you applied it to the wall, turn around 10 minutes later and it often will have developed bubbles . This is due to what we call off-gassing , which is air created as the paste dries, and then trying to escape, but being trapped between the paper and the wall surface . Not sure why it happens with this brand, and not many others. (Note: It happens more with vinyl materials, which are not breathable, but pretty rare with paper like I’m install ing here.) Can’t see clearly in this photo, but here’s a bit of a bubble. Small bubbles or blisters will flatten out and disappear as the wallpaper paste dries and the paper shrinks tight to the wall. But larger bubbles (size of a quarter or larger) are worrisome, and you can’t count on them drying flat. So I always go over the walls and double check for bubbles / blisters . This needs to be done several times, because they continue to develop over time.
One solution is to take a razor or other blade and poke a hole in the paper. I do this in a design element, which is less noticeable than in the middle of a blank area. It’s important to poke just a small hole. And to cut through just the top layer of paper, and not into the primer or wall surface below. Cutting into the wall surface can cause the various surfaces to pull apart, and end up with a delaminated surface. Do a search here to learn more.
Once there’s a hole in the top layer of wallpaper, you’ve got an escape hatch for the air to slip out of. Here I’m using a plastic smoother to mush the air toward the hole and out. Because the hole is small, and because the wall might not be perfectly smooth and flat, you might need to do this several times. Be careful not to burnish the wallpaper, nor to overwork it. Overworking – pressing too hard, chasing out tiny bubbles – can stretch the wallpaper, and can actually lead to more bubbling . For most small bubbles, it’s hard, but – trust me – just give it dry time (in cases of solid vinyl goods, a couple of days) and most of the time these bubbles / blisters will disappear .
Here is the entry wall before wallpaper , as viewed from the family room .
Close-up
The manufacturer is Spoonflower . They offer their wallpaper s in three substrates. I don’t care for their Traditional Pebble vinyl , and, like most other professional installer s, I won’t work with the Peel & Stick / Self-Adhesive option. But this is their Pre-Pasted Smooth , and I do like it a lot. One thing that’s different from other brands is that it’s meant to be overlapped at the seams and not butted . This does leave a vertical ridge running the length of the seam . Depending on where you’re standing, where the light is coming from, and how busy the pattern is, you many not even notice this. Overlapping does have advantages, too, because it eliminates the worry of wallpaper shrinking as the paste dries and then leaving small gaps at the seams. It also minimizes stress put on the wall surface from that same drying and tugging paper. This is the same house in the Energy Corridor area of west Houston as my previous post about the dog pattern in the home laundry room . The two rooms are somewhat within view of each other, and the homeowner did a wonderful job of coordinating the colors between both areas.
Large laundry room / mud room after skim-floating , sanding the walls smooth , priming , and now waiting for wallpaper .
Whoa! Doing laundry has become fun! The family’s two large dogs do spend time in here, with crating and food / water bowls .
Paint color on the coat / shoe / school supply nook is spot-on. The mass of the wooden unit helps break up the busy wallpaper design , as do the two doors and the bank of washer / dryer / countertop .
Recognize anyone?
There was a bit of a pattern mis-match between some of the rolls. This is printed to order, so all rolls were printed at the same time. Still, it looks like the printing rollers, or possibly the trimming rollers, got off-track , or out of register . With such a busy pattern, from a distance of 2′, this was hardly noticeable. Still, I sorted through the rolls to find those that matched each other best , and also tried to use strips on one wall all from the same bolt , when possible. This example above is a strip that had to come from a fresh roll . And, yes, the artist ensured that the dogs displayed as anatomically-correct .
The brand is Creative Journey .
Pattern is called Dapper Dogs . This is a nice, non-woven / paste the wall material , and was nice to work with. It’s pretty stain-resistant , and is designed to strip off the wall easily and with no damage when it’s time to redecorate . The home is in the Beltway 8 / Briar Forest / Memorial area of far west Houston .
Whoops! Apparently the Wallpaper Lady Mobile has a leak in the oil pan. Look what it did to these homeowners’ driveway. And wouldn’t you know it? – it’s a brand new house with a brand new driveway that was spankin’ sparklin’ white. Arrgh.
They hadn’t even noticed the spots, but I ‘fessed up. The guy at AutoZone said this Oil Eater will remove the stains . If that doesn’t work adequately, I told my clients to get someone with a pressure washer and the correct solvent , and I’d pay the bill. I had to get my oil changed anyway, so I went to Take 5 and the guy changed the plug and gasket. But I’m testing with a puppy pad on my driveway under the van, and it seems to still be dripping. So I guess a trip to the auto shop is in the works. And parking at the curb in the interim. Just a note … some neighborhoods (looking at you, Rice Military!) in Houston are notoriously difficult for parking, with limited curb space, narrow streets, dangerous deep ditches, and No Parking zones. So parking in a driveway is often the only option.
Look at the white woodwork along the door . See the difference in sheen from areas near the corner, and other areas? This is what painters call flashing . It results from the way the paint topcoat absorbs into the surface under it.
To me, it looks like the corner of this door molding has had some filler applied , or perhaps sanding that scuffed the original surface . This can leave the area with a different or more porous surface than the adjoining molding. So the top coat of paint will soak in differently , and can leave a different sheen when the paint dries . I’m not a painter, so I can’t say any more than that. But I do believe that there are primers developed that will even out over these irregularities, and then allow the finish coat to glide on smoothly and with an even sheen .
See the subtle light blue color in the top, right, and bottom of this photo? It’s hard to see my white wallpaper primer on white walls, so I have my paint store add a little blue tint to the can. It’s just enough to help me see where I’ve applied the primer .
For priming over gloss or flat paint , I like Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime . Applied with a roller and cut in to the edges and corners with an angled trim brush . It’s a water-based acrylic primer . More about features in other posts .
These homeowners will be out of the house most of the time I’m working there today and tomorrow. So she gave me a key so I can let myself in, and then lock up when I leave. Nothing like seeing that your client is a fan of your hometown baseball sports team, the St. Louis Cardinals !
Whoops! When this wallpaper strip met up with the wooden trim on the wall , the bird’s head got cut off. Not really a big deal, because it’s in the corner near the floor and no one’s going to see it anyway. But I wanted to play with it and make it look better.
I collected the head from the right section of the wallpaper strip that had been cut off. I cut out around the head , but left the side on the right with the background intact, because that will be needed to cover the bird’s body on the right (see top photo).
Since this patch will be appliquéd on top of the existing paper, it will stick out a little bit – the thickness of the paper. The backing and edges of the paper are white, which could show along the edges of the patch .
So I used a scrap of artist’s chalk pastel to color that white edge , applying from the back. See previous post for more information. Just so you know, this stuff is really fragile and crumbles apart easily. That’s why I’m using that little bitty chunk.
Cut and colored …
… now we’re ready to paste and put into position
It’s not a perfect match , but it’s sure better than having no head at all.
From above, it looks pretty darned good!
Here’s what the full mural looks like. Read previous post for more information .
Before. Note the slightly dropped ceiling line, as described in previous post.
Wow! Just wow! There is also a classic straight-backed wooden chair that will be recovered with a pink-ish cushion. The remaining three walls will be painted a coordinating color. I’d go with a soft murky blue. Or, even better, a brownish mossy green. Dorota at Sherwin-Williams can help pull all that together (more on her below).
Here’s what the bottom area looks like. The mural is a very affordable alternative to the $$$ silk murals hand-painted in China .
The homeowner liked that the birds had a folk-art type feel, like the ones painted in China .
This product comes as a 3-panel set . One set can be placed next to another, with Panel 1 matching up to Panel 3 as you move left to right .
The three panels come rolled in one long strip / bolt / roll . Here I am cutting No 1 and No 2 apart. This is a non-woven material , and does not expand when wet with paste , so it can be hung with the paste the wall method, or, as I usually prefer, by pasting the paper . The substrate is kind of stiff , and likes to retain its curled-up shape, but will relax and become flat if gently rolled backward and secured with a clip or elastic hairband for 10 minutes or so. See my previous posts about another mural I did earlier this week, for photos.
Because this mural was a little too high to fit the wall , the additional wooden trim at the top of the wall (see previous post) shortens the height of the wall and allows the mural to fit. This wallpaper is somewhat dark in tone . As I mentioned above, I don’t expect this material to shrink as it dries – but some papers do. So, as a precaution, I’ve striped some diluted dark paint on the wall under where the seams will fall. So, if there are any gaps , you won’t see the white wall peeking out .
I use normal acrylic (not latex ) craft paint like you get at a hobby store or Texas Art Supply . Diluted, because I don’t want a heavy coat to cover my wallpaper primer and prevent the primer from doing its job ( holding the seams tight ). I apply it with a little scrap of sponge .
I measure the width of each strip to plot where each seam will fall, and then my laser level shoots a vertical line onto the wall, which I use as a guide for swiping on the diluted paint .
Also with dark papers, I’ll often use chalk pastel (never oil pastel!) also from the art supply store, to lightly color the white edges of the paper . This has to be applied gently and from the back, to avoid getting any color onto the surface of the paper . As the install went along, I thought this color was too dark, so I switched to a medium-tone blue instead. Note that you should test before doing this. This particular brand / material , it was possible to wipe any excess chalk off the surface with a damp microfiber rag . But the mural brand I blogged about on Dec. 1 was very porous , and was easily stained by the chalk .
This room is right at the entry to the house. I think they ought to dub it a reception room .
Directly across the hall is the dining room . This large mirror is going to hang over the buffet , opposite the mural and sofa in the above photo. So the mirror is going to reflect , and will carry the color and image into the next room. What a cool idea! But, the homeowner worried that all that pattern and color would be overwhelming for the scale of the dining room and its furnishings. BUT … not to worry … Because the mirror is divided into all these little rectangles, and each of those rectangles is bordered on all sides by beveled edges . So the reflected image is going to be broken into small pieces, and will be scattered in all directions by the bevels. Plus, the brown “aged” areas of the mirror obscure some of the mural image, too. Ingenious!
The brand is Thibaut , one of my favorites. Pattern is called Jardin Bloom . This wallpaper pattern is by Thibaut Designs, and was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and discounted price – Dorota Hartwig at Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village off Kirby. (713) 529-6515. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her. Call first, as her hours fluctuate. My client loved working with her! The home is in the far northeast area of Houston called Humble / Fall Creek .
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