Daughter Has Moved Out / Her Bath Gets an Update

Before. The turquoise isn’t working with the new blue wall tile.

Brighter, airier, and in better sync with the blue tile.

There is wonderful “movement” in this design.

“Priano” by Serena & Lily – one of my favorite brands.

This wallpaper was hung in the Briarpark (Galleria / Tanglewood) area of Houston.

(Mostly) Nice Faux Grasscloth

Even though it’s quite popular right now, I am not fond of real grasscloth, for many reasons. See my page to the right. Or click here https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/grasscloth-a-general-info-pack/

So I’m always happy when clients take my advice to consider other options. These homeowners chose a faux grasscloth with an embossed texture (that mimics the tactile appeal of the real stuff), a pattern that can be matched (eliminating jarringly visible seams), on a non-woven substrate (easier install / easier removal when it’s time to redecorate), with a surface that is resistant to stains (as opposed to real grass, which can be stained easily by toiletries, cleaning agents, or even plain water), and, because it’s man-made, greater assurance of homogeneous color – effectively eliminating the woes of paneling and shading and other color variations between and even within strips.

I was pleased with most aspects of this product. For some reason, my camera made the texture look zig-zaggy, but in real life, it really did mimic real grasscloth. The close-up photo gives you a good idea.

One thing that surprised me – and disappointed me – is that, even though this is a man-made material controlled by factory standards, there ended up being a slight color difference between the right and left side of each strip. Look at the fifth photo, particularly the top, and you will see what I’m talking about.

Since this is made in a factory using inks that are mixed at the same time, poured into the printer at the same time, and applied to the wallpaper at the same time, I really don’t understand how the material can have this color variation. Especially since virtually all of the products I have hung by Brewster have been very consistent in color.

In this case, the color variation was fairly minor, was less noticeable when I removed my 100 watt work light, and pretty much reflects what real grasscloth looks like, anyway. The homeowners were fine with it.

The wallpaper is by Exclusive Wallcoverings, which is made by Brewster. It is on a non-woven substrate, and can be hung via the paste-the-wall or paste-the-paper methods. The home is in the Memorial / Beltway 8 / Briarpark area of west Houston. I hung this in a guest bathroom.

I would call the home’s style as contemporary / industrial. This faux grasscloth really softened the room. The horizontal lines in the wallpaper complimented the lines in the shower’s tile. The overall look went from cold and commercial to soft, inviting, and almost spa-like.

3-D “Rivet” Squares on Grasscloth in a Home Office

Phillip Jeffries’s “Rivets” pattern is popular and trendy. The wallpaper I hung today is Thibaut’s response to it.

Thibaut’s version offers the same texture and appeal of real natural fiber grasscloth, as well as three-dimensional squares that unite to form larger squares.

Thibaut’s version Union Square is better because:

1.) Less expensive

2.) Better color consistency (fewer paneling and shading issues)

3.) Squares form a more muted secondary pattern, so it’s much easier to live with (the pattern doesn’t hit you in the eye every time you look at a wall)

4.) Squares are positioned on the strips so the installer can easily manipulate the pattern to accommodate un-plumb walls and un-level ceilings.

5.) For similar reasons, the installer can “tweak” the design a bit to ensure favorable placement of the squares (to eliminate having to cut through any of the squares, or bend them around a corner). Read below.

6.) When it’s unavoidable to have to cut through the squares, the Thibaut 3-D material is much easier to get through with a blade or scissors than the PJ or the Schumacher products.

7.) The bolts are marked in the order they came off the printing press (see photo), so you can hang strips sequentially, to minimize shading and paneling (do a search here on those terms).

8.) Thibaut provides clear tips on how to work with natural materials and what to expect with the finished outcome.

9.) Thibaut offers to replace material lost to working around defects, and they will also reimburse an installer for (part) of his labor, if a product is defective.

10.) Other points which are escaping me right now. But suffice it to say, despite its grand reputation, Phillip Jeffries products are often extremely difficult to install, and disappointing in appearance, and customer service is basically, “We never had this problem before – it must be the installer’s fault.”

Thibaut, on the other hand, researches what it takes to make a good product, does test hangs, and, if there is a problem, Thibaut actually listens to feedback from us installers.

In the window photo, I did some tweaking to get the rivets to line up exactly over the middle of the window. It took some further tweaking to position the squares so they would march down either side of the window at the same distance from the edge.

How did I accomplish that? After much measuring and plotting and a few practice strips, I widened the distance between two sets of squares over the center of the window – by a full inch. 4.5″ instead of 3.5″ is a big difference, yet it is barely noticeable. What is more important is that the squares going down either side of the window are all 3/4″ from the edge.

This home is in the Briar Park neighborhood of Houston – interestingly enough, right next door to another home I papered a year or so ago, and a block away from another home I where I hung paper in the powder room and have more bathrooms to paper coming up … In fact, I have put wallpaper in a whole lot of homes in this one tiny neighborhood. Near Beltway 8 / Sam Houston Tollway and Briar Forest.

The interior designer is Layne Ogden of Layne Torsch Interiors.

Textured Woven Grasscloth in Home Bar Area

This new home in the Briarpark neighborhood of west Houston is spacious and light, with floor-to-ceiling windows, white walls and neutral-colored floors and furnishings.

Like many young families, the homeowners were looking for texture, rather than pattern, to warm up their home bar area. Layne Ogden, of Layne Torsch Interiors, found them this 2-tone, basket-weave sort of grasscloth pattern by Thibaut.

Seams are a little less noticeable on this woven grasscloth, but buyers should still be aware that ANY “natural” product presents the possibility of mis-matched seams, shading and paneling, as well as being easily stained, or even targeted by cats or dogs who want something to dig into.

To help reduce the instances of paneling, Thibaut has labeled their bolts in the order they came off the manufacturing line. The idea is that if you place strips that were dyed at the same time next to one another, it will minimize any possible color differences as you move through the printing batch numbers.

The only weird thing for today’s project is … how did it happen that there are TWO bolts numbered #12? ?? AND … what’s up with that one bolt that has no label or wrapper of its own?

The two bolts of #12 I can deal with. But the unwrapped bolt I am afraid to work with. It is undoubtedly a return from gawd-knows-whom-or-when, and it’s impossible to know what run or batch it’s in.

So I’m ahopin’ that I will be able to pull enough tricks out of my hat to paper the room without having to use this bolt.

Jungle Dreams in a West Houston Powder Room

This home in the Briarpark neighborhood of West Houston was damaged in the flood from Hurricane Harvey. During the rebuild, the young homeowners did a major update, and now you would never guess the house dates to the ’70’s.

The powder room wasn’t very groovy, though. It had high ceilings and bare drywall walls. The woodwork was painted a chocolate brown, and the vanity was a muddy charcoal grey. The room was just screaming for some personality.

This “Jungle Dream” pattern by Aimée Wilder fills those tall walls perfectly. It’s a really cute pattern with a lot of animals and plants – the more you look, the more you discover.

The super-long 44″ pattern repeat eats up (and wastes) a lot of paper, but it ensures that you don’t keep seeing the same design element over and over.

The dark brown ink on a light tan background coordinates beautifully with the paint on the room’s trim.

Upward Movement Geometric in a Briarpark Entry Way

This beautifully updated 1971 Tudor-style ranch-style home in the Briarpark area of Houston was pretty much white and grey, from outside throughout the inside. The homeowner wanted some warmth and life, and some personality for the interior.

This scratchy black on white pattern does all of that. It is a combination of geometric, trellis, and medallion, and it has a strong vertical influence, too.

Notice how the design motif has been centered on the two walls pictured.

This wallpaper is from A Street Prints, by Brewster. It is a non-woven material and is intended to be a paste-the-wall installation. But I had better results by pasting-the-paper. The paper 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.

Boldly Whimsical

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“Bold” and “whimsical” don’t typically go together, but that’s what this homeowner wanted for her large powder room in the Briarpark neighborhood of Houston. I’d say that this animal-filled, fun foresty pattern in a smudgy charcoal colorway fills the bill! Look close to see the stylized animals frolicking across the paper!

The second photo shows the first strip going up. I love the stripe of dark, bold color against the boring white walls.

The pattern is called “Wonderland,” and it is by Boras Tapeter, a Scandinavian company. It is on a non-woven substrate, and I hung it using both the paste-the-paper and the paste-the-wall methods.

Classic Geometric in a Breakfast Area

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Geometric patterns are all the rage these days, but this one is less trendy and much more classic. Indeed, it is by Farrow & Ball, a British company, and who can be more traditional and classic than the Brits? 🙂

The kitchen in this 1960’s home in the Briarpark neighborhood of Houston has been very nicely remodeled. But the wife knew that plain paint in the breakfast nook wasn’t the vision she had for her home … Mixing modern and traditional, she chose this sculpted trellis by Farrow & Ball, in a grey-on-grey color scheme that coordinates really nicely with the paint on the kitchen cabinets, and with the décor in the rest of the house.

F&B also makes paint, and the company is known for using paint, instead of the more expected ink, on it’s wallpaper. The paint has a beautiful matt finish, and the printed areas display a lovely “raised ink” texture. I have also seen these painted wallpapers change color over time. And, the F&B papers are known for their seams that show “gaps and overlaps.” I didn’t get a picture, but today was no exception.

Water Color Flowers for a Little Girl’s Room

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This is my second time to hang this mural wallpaper – and both times were for a little girl!

This mural is sweet, with subdued hues and watercolory transparancy, so it does not overwhelm the room. I hung it on one wall in a little girl’s room in the Briarpark neighborhood of Houston.

I said I hung this before, but, to be honest, I am not sure. I’ve been told that all you need to do is tweak a design a little – the tilt of a leaf, the shading on a petal – and you can get around copyright laws and call the design your own. I think that’s what is going on here.
Here is the one I did previously: https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/water-color-ful-wall-for-a-baby-girl/ If you look really closely, the flowers appear to be ever so slightly different. That tells me that one of them is a knock-off.

In fact, the one I did a few months ago was very expensive, and was on a non-woven substrate, and was a paste-the-wall product. I didn’t have any particular problems with the installation.

The one I hung today was less expensive, was printed on a thin paper substrate, and was a pre-pasted product. I had issues with seams that “gapped and overlapped” (butted perfectly in some places but overlapped in others), pattern mis-matched at the seams, paper twisting off-plumb, and the pattern not being printed at the right height at the top of each panel.

This almost caused a huge problem, as I was about to come up with a strip that was unexpectedly 2″ short at the top of the wall – but I was able to pull some tricks and rectify that.

Whichever is the “real” design and which is the knock-off, the pattern and colors are perfectly suited for this little girl’s room – in fact, she was toddling around the house in a matching pink top!

This wallpaper is described as a mural, and it came in a set of seven panels. It was custom ordered and sized to fit the wall. In the last photo, I have separated each panel and laid them out on the floor, to be sure the pattern matches, and to ensure the proper sequence for installation.