Tammy’s Tot’s Thibaut’s Dots

Mamma-to-be (name has been changed slightly, for privacy of my clients) wants a scheme of black and white with pink accents for the nursery. She looked at a LOT of options, and finally settled on this one.

I like it a lot. Unlike most “dot” patterns, these look a bit like little paw prints. They also are a charcoal color rather than stark black, with some touches of brown and tan, plus the background is ever so slightly off-white, which makes the whole look easy on the eye.

This wallpaper pattern is by Thibaut Designs, one of my favorite brands, and, as are most of their papers, it was nice to work with. 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.

Diamonds Brighten a Bellaire Bathroom

Originally, this home in the Bellaire neighborhood of Houston was rife with the “Tuscan” look, and this under-the-stairs powder room shows just that … The gold overlaid with a red glaze was a good look, but the new homeowners wanted a brighter, more modern look.

Just look at how the diamond pattern on a white background changed the room! The heavy darkness is gone, and the feeling is totally modern. The black and white scheme goes beautifully with the new black countertop and white sink.

One not-so-great thing is that somehow we got two different run numbers. Different run numbers were printed at different times, and can be slightly different in shade, so cannot be used on the same wall. Luckily, we had enough paper that I was able to plot out which bolts to use on which walls, and the room turned out looking great.

This paper is by A-Street Prints, which is made by Brewster, a good company. It is a non-woven product with a high fiberglass content that is designed to strip off the walls easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate. The material is dimensionally-stable and will not shrink as it dries.

It can be hung by the paste-the-wall method, but I preferred to paste the paper. In a bathroom with choppy areas, this ensures that paste will get to every surface, and it also makes the paper more pliable and malleable, which is essential in a room like this with crooked corners and a curved wall (not shown).

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.

Leopard Spots “Tanzania” for Baby’s Nursery

This little baby is on the way! Mom wanted something “jungle” looking, but not cutesy, so it would serve the child beyond the baby years. Dad is from South Africa. What could be better than this leopard spot print, called “Tanzania” ?!

I’ve done this pattern a number of times (do a Search in the upper right corner), but this is the first time in this brown-on-tan color. (I know, the photos make it look black on white.) Interestingly, this time, the brown and tan colorway weighed a lot, and seemed to have a vinyl surface, whereas the previous colorways were lighter and felt like plain printed paper.

Whatever it’s made of, it was wonderful to work with, and it will hold up on the wall until the child is old enough to want something different.

In the photo with the toothbrush – see all those little minute shards of paper on the floor? The edges of one side of the bolts of paper had loose shavings attached, caused by some trimming misfunction at the factory. I used the toothbrush to scrub them off.

This is a large, very contemporary home just north of West University, in Houston. I hung the paper on one accent / feature wall in the nursery.  I like this pattern a lot, because it doesn’t have a strong secondary pattern that might distract the eye.  It will be a good background for the crib and for any artwork the parents decide to hang.

This wallpaper pattern is by Thibaut Designs, one of my favorite brands, 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.

Wild, Wonderful Chintz Wallpaper in a Montrose Entry

This newish townhome in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston is fairly traditional in style. But the new owner loves color, and she’s not afraid to be a bit daring! She had the ho-hum tan travertine tile floor taken out and replaced with this large, vibrant black & white checkerboard.

Next she woke up the walls with this vivid chintz floral wallpaper pattern. Chintz is an old and classic design – but there is nothing stuffy or old fashioned about these wild colors!

I love the “in progress” shots (2nd photo) because they show the stark contrast between the original white walls and the drama starting to transform them.

This wallpaper is by Eijffinger, a European manufacturer. It is a non-woven material, and is intended to be a hung using the paste-the-wall method – but I prefer the results when I paste the paper.

The Perfect Pattern for a Lady’s Bathroom

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I love this artist’s-swath-of-ink-hand-drawn-design of lovely ladies for a single gal’s private bathroom. It goes nicely with the white and minimalist theme of this contemporary style townhome in the Midtown area just south of downtown Houston.

Even though the design has lots of movement, it does not feel busy, because the palette is limited to black and white.

This pattern is by York, in their Sure Strip line, which is designed to strip off the wall easily and with no damage to the wall when its time to redecorate. But don’t worry – it will stick nice and tight in the interim.

The wallpaper was bought at below retail price from Dorota Hartwig at the Sherwin Williams on University in the Rice Village near 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.

naked ladies wallpaper installer houston

More Geometrics in a West U Bath

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This is the same house in West U. where I hung a black & white geometric yesterday in a Hollywood bathroom. Today the black & white theme is moving across the hall to the guest bathroom. This is sort of diamond pattern, with strong lines in black on white, and interspersed with tiny silver dots inside the diamond shapes. To me, these dots resemble the pixels used in comic book artwork, and while I worked, I could not stop thinking about super heroes. 🙂 Another cool thing is that the upward-moving “V” shaped legs of the “X” motifs look to me like the searchlights used by 20th Century Fox to promote their movies.

This wallpaper was lovely to work with. It is a thin paper product, it clings tightly to the wall, and is pliable and easy to manipulate. Although the label is pictured, it’s not clear who the manufacturer is. But it was bought 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.

This home is contemporary in style, and has some small (1/2″) returns that fold into the doorways, that needed to be wrapped with wallpaper. See the 4th and 5th photos. Features like these are quick and easy to look at, but time consuming to put wallpaper on – especially on the edges that held the door hinges – four per door. Between the three rooms I papered in this home, there were 21 of these narrow returns that had to be covered with wallpaper.

Other challenges in this room were unplumb walls and an unlevel ceiling line, coupled with a strictly regimented wallpaper pattern. I used a few tricks to make the pattern look straight, even thought it went off-kilter in some places.

The finished room looks fantastic. Personally, I’m more of a traditionalist. But I have to say that I really like this bathroom – super heroes and all. 🙂