Posts Tagged ‘bold’

Wallpaper in Better Homes & Gardens Magazine , May 2023 Issue

April 29, 2023
I always love to see wallpaper featured in a national publication . BH&G often does. This particular issue is also full of color and pattern – a nice shift away from the all-white or all-grey , minimalist look popular these days. Not all the articles included brand / pattern number , but similar designs can be found easily enough, especially if you visit my favorite source Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village .
Delightfully bold and dark works wonderfully in a small powder room .
A little calmer .
More Bohemian / Indian / Middle East vibe.
Just please don’t get peel & stick . Ever. Read my info page link to the right.
Reminds me of postage stamps .
Beautiful Art Nouveau inspired design . Spoonflower makes lovely paper – as long as you get their pre-pasted smooth and not any other of their options. They have really innovative , fun patterns, too.
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Moody, Murky, Overscaled Artemesia in Master Bath Potty Room

April 8, 2023
The homeowner bought this townhouse in central Houston 12 years ago and has always wanted to get rid of this really blah, ditsy small print in the commode room of her master bathroom . I know the design trend for the last several years has been white , grey , grayeige , minimalist , serene , clean , sparse ,,,, but there is nothing in this gal’s home that is remotely any of that … Her home is all about color , pattern , meaningful items prominently displayed – and lots of them! (Example: notice the fancy doorknob and the tassle hanging from it.) I really enjoyed working here, because that’s pretty much my decorating style , too.
So here’s continuing that ” moody maximalism ” theme into the potty room. Note the cabinet and ceiling have been painted a coordinating color .
Opposite corner . The room is REALLY tiny , and the door opens inward , so it was quite a bit of a challenge squeezing myself, my tools, and my ladder all in there.
Close-up.
The pattern is called Artemesia Absinthium , and is by Klaus Haapaniemi & Co in Finland . I don’t know who this Klaus guy is, and have never worked with his wallpaper before, but he must be half-high on psychedelics ,,, I would highly recommend a visit to his website and checking out the various fabric and wallpaper options . If you’re into maximalism and bold drama , that is!
The material was a quite nice non-woven , and was easy to work with . I did stripe dark paint under where the seams would fall, in case of slight gaps showing the wall beneath . I was a little disappointed that there was some slight paneling / shading / difference in depth of color between some of the strips – but not too noticeable . Non-woven papers are designed to strip off the wall quickly and easily and with no / minimal damage to the wall when you redecorate .
I do find it interesting that this pattern is so very similar in design and name to the very popular Artemis by House of Hackney , another good wallpaper manufacturer . Like I say, for every company making a cool pattern, there are others making their own versions / knock-offs .

Rifle Paper Peacock on Master Bedroom Accent Wall

April 5, 2023
The entire bedroom is to be wallpapered . Originally, all the walls were a soft sage green . The homeowner wants the room to be a sort of retreat . Here the walls are primed and ready for wallpaper .
Done! What a fun pattern . Peacock is very popular. At first the homeowner wanted this on all four walls. But I mentioned that the circular movement of the design could be overwhelming all the way around the room. So she opted to put the bold pattern on just this feature wall, and chose something quieter for the remaing three walls.
IPositioning the first strip . I plotted to have the peacock fall down the center of the wall, so it will be balanced nicely behind the headboard . Note that the center of the peacock isn’t perfectly in the center of the wallpaper, so I had to position the strip a little off-center on the wall, so the peacock’s body would hit the center point .
Because this is a dark paper and sometimes the wall peeks out from between the seams , I’ve striped black paint under where the seams will fall. Not too heavy, though, because you want the wallpaper primer to still be able to do its job, part of which is to be grabbing and holding the seams down. I use a heat gun to get the paint to dry quickly.
I just use acrylic craft paint from the hobby store ( Texas Art Supply , which is close to me). I daub some paint on a scrap of sponge , dip it in a small amount of water (in the Gatorade bottlecap) to dilute it a bit, and then run it down the wall, using the light beam from my laser level as a guide.
I also use pastel chalk to color the white edges of the wallpaper, so they are not visible . Be sure that what you use is chalk and has no oil … oil will stain wallpaper and other surfaces (think potato chips on a paper napkin). This Rembrandt brand is oil-free. Apply from the back, getting color on the edges only, and not on the surface.
This is a non-woven / paste the wall material. It’s strong and durable and stain-resistant . In addition, it will strip off the wall easily and in one piece when you redecorate, leaving no damage to the wall.
installer Houston

Pastel Hot Air Balloons for Toddler Girl ‘s Nursery Accent Wall

March 12, 2023
Accent wall before, textured wall has been smoothed , primed , and is ready for wallpaper .
Hot air balloons , pastel colors , works for boy or girl , and will grow with the child as he/she ages . 
Here is the bold white child’s headboard that will be placed against the wall . 
Coordinates beautifully with the other three walls , which are painted a dusky pink . 
The wallpaper is by Caitlin Wilson , and is made by York .  It’s in the Sure Strip line, which is a thin , pre-pasted material that is water-activated and easy to hang / install .  It’s also designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece when you redecorate .  I like this stuff a lot.
The home is in the West U area of Houston .

Going Bold With Greys And Tans

February 10, 2023
The living areas in this new home in the Oak Forest area of Houston are cloaked in grey , black , brown , tan , wood tones , textures – subdued , but a little warmer than the current trend toward all white and minimalist .
The homeowner wanted to add a little pow factor in the hall bath .
The stripes of dark paint on the wall are to keep the white primer from peeking out at the seams if the paper shrinks a bit as it dries . Do a Search here to learn more.
The large scale of this foliage and floral pattern adds the pow , while the 2- color scheme keeps things in character with the rest of the home .
I centered the large flower on the vanity faucet and the light fixture , and the mirror will sit nicely in between the flower motifs .
Detail looks like an artist’s painting .
Made by Wallquest . It’s a very nice paper -type wallpaper . It’s thin and breathable and should hold up to humid conditions in a bathroom , although not extremely stain resistant . I like this brand and material a lot.

Light Bright Trellis Geometric Updates Red Dining Room

January 27, 2023
For more than a decade, the dining room was bold red from head to toe. In this photo, I’m applying drywall joint compound to smooth the textured wall .
Here’s the wall sanded smooth , primed , and ready for wallpaper .
Done. The next question is – what color to paint the bottom 1/3 of the wall ? What do you think?
Using the red beam from my laser level to center the design on the wall, and directly under the decorative corbel which the wood-worker homeowner husband installed as a feature to the crown molding .
Close-up. I also balanced the pattern between the ceiling and chair rail / wainscoting .
The wallpaper design is by Candice Olson , of HGTV fame, and is made by York , a company that I like a lot. It was purchased at a discount through Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams on University in the Rice Village . Call before heading over (713) 529-6515 . The homeowner had originally chosen something else, but it was unavailable. Dorota dug through her large library of selection books and found this, which is very similar, but more open and airy . We all three agree that this is the better option.
It is a non-woven material , and can be hung via the paste-the-wall method , or the paste-the-material method – which is what I usually prefer to do. This NW stuff is durable , stain-resistant , humidity -resistant , and easy to strip off the wall when you decorate down the road.
Cute in his bandana . But not very helpful at all! 🙂
The home is in the Candlelight Plaza / Shephard Park Plaza / Oak Forest / Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston .

Bold But Muted Floral Brightens Guest Bedroom Accent Wall

August 16, 2022
Before. Primed and ready for wallpaper .
Done. This is an interesting colorway, because it’s a bold pattern but relatively muted colors.
Looks almost like a cartoon or anime .
Close up, the paper had a noticeable texture embossed into the vinyl surface .
The texture transferred to the back, so I used extra paste to be sure to reach the recessed areas .
Starting in the middle to position the pink flowers (most dominant visual feature ) down the vertical center of the wall .
This also evens out any off-tracking due to un-level ceiling line .
Mfgr is Missoni Home , which is made by York , one of my favorite brands .
This is a textured vinyl material and was VERY heavy. It is on a non-woven backing , so required no booking time , and could be hung by the paste-the-wall method. I preferred to paste the paper .
This is a new contemporary home in the Braes Heights area of Houston .

Geometric Grasscloth in Home Gathering Area

June 29, 2022
No, this large room with sink and counters isn’t a kitchen. The family loves to entertain both family and friends, so included this “bonus” room in their new home’s plans. It’s used for both entertaining and crafting.
The wall facing you was originally painted a semi-gloss navy blue. In the photo, I’ve applied my wallpaper primer.
It will adhere to the glossy paint, and provide a matt finish for the wallpaper paste to grab ahold of.
Taking measurements and plotting the layout.
This paper has a selvedge edge , which has to be trimmed off by hand with a straightedge and razor blade. The manufacturer has not provided trim guide marks , so I am using a ruler and my eye.
The new look is so dramatically different I couldn’t resist taking a photo mid-hang. As you can see, I’ve used dark paint to stripe under where the seams will fall, to prevent any of my primer from showing through at the seams.
You can see the ceiling line starting to track upward on the right portion. More on that below.
Finished. Perfectly centered.
This is the mounting hardware for the big screen TV . I asked them to remove the TV, but we left the mounts in place. In order to support the heavy TV, they are placed quite securely into the wall , and I feel it’s best not to jimmy around with that.
Rather than have the first strip straddle the TV mount, I plotted to have my first seam fall down the middle of the wall, placing a seam in the mid point of the mount. This meant I had to hang four strips instead of three, but it made it a whole lot easier to work around the TV mount, as well as to keep the left and right edges of the grasscloth straight and plumb.
Close up showing the texture of this grasscloth material. It’s atypical to have grass cloth printed with a pattern , and I rather like the way the ink looks somewhat scratchy against the rough background.
Because it’s Schumacher, you can expect printing defects . The slight pattern match doesn’t bother me, as there were many more places along each strip that matched up perfectly. Nor do I mind the different intensity of ink on the two strips. That’s all part of the look of grasscloth.
But I wasn’t pleased with the white ink out in the middle of nowhere, as seen about 1//3 down the center of the picture. This isn’t considered a defect , and from a distance it’s not really noticeable. But it bugged me.
So I used some water-based paint and a very small brush from the craft store and lightly touched up the spots.
I also softened the mis-matched edges a bit. There’s a fine line between covering the white spots and staining the material, so use a light hand. And never permanent ink or oil-based markers or pastels.
Likewise, the ceiling line was not level, so as I moved from the mid-point out to the right, the ceiling rose above the geometric motif’s top edge, and a white line began to be visible, but only to the right of the centerpoint.
So I used the black paint to cover up that extra bit of white. This increases the width of that horizontal navy blue line from 1/4″ to about 1/2″. But from down on the floor you can’t tell, and it looks a whole lot better than having white on the right side and none on the left.
The brand is Schumacher and the home is in the Garden Oaks / Oak Forest area of Houston.
The interior designer who came up with this bold and lively look is Clayton Brooks .

Popular Rifle Paper Peacock Pattern in Houston Heights Powder Room

June 11, 2022
In this townhome, the powder room is at the top of the stairs. The homeowner wanted something lively and dramatic to catch your eye as you walk from the garage up the stairs.
The bold and bright colors against a very dark green background, and fun flower and peacock design really answer the call!
Simply called Peacock Wallpaper , this very popular design is by Rifle Paper , which is manufactured by York , one of the oldest wallpaper manufacturers in the U.S.
It’s a non-woven , paste-the-wall material, and will hold up and resist stains very nicely for years to come.
N-W ‘s are also designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece , with no damage to the wall , when it’s time to redecorate

Moody and Dramatic Backdrop to a Home Bar

May 27, 2022
I hung this deeply textured, striped wallpaper in murky blues and golds about three years ago, and am back to do two more rooms, so took the opportunity to snap a coupla photos.
The homeowner loves to entertain, and he says that guests always comment on this bold and unusual look.
The brand is Scalamandre, and the material had a selvedge edge that had to be trimmed off by hand. It’s a thick vinyl material, and was hard to cut through.
The finished look is show-stopping!
The home is in the Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston.