Accent wall below staircase in a sitting area of a living room in a Meyerland ( Houston ) home that was flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. It took five years for the homeowners to raise and restore the home, and settle in. They are waiting for the wallpaper before choosing furnishings for this room. But the colors of the wallpaper meld beautifully with decor in other areas, such as the family room on the other side of this wall , which has colors of cream , tan , and dark grey in furniture , flooring , and accessories .The pattern is called Bird and Blossom Chinoiserie (a term that refers to Chinese / Asian style decorating ). Its in the Ronald Redding line by York. It’s a non-woven material that can be installed by either paste the wall or paste the paper methods. It will strip off the wall easily when you want to redecorate later.
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 .
It’s been a few years since I’ve visited this place, but today I was working right around the corner, and finished early enough to stop in. And I wanted to check up on my friend Ron Dillon , who’s been selling wallpaper for about 30 years – and I’ve known him just about that long, too!Calico (formerly Calico Corners ) sells mostly fabrics , drapes , and upholstery . But they do have wallpaper , too. OK, only a couple of books right now, but all good brands . York and A Street Prints (which is under the Brewster umbrella.) And the corporate office has plans to issue more books. Please note that if you find something you like, even if Calico doesn’t have the selection book in-house, if it’s a brand they sell (like York ), they can most surely order it for you. Calico has many vignettes displaying furniture with their upholstery . And racks and racks of fabrics .There is a current trend toward grey and/or white rooms. So I was thrilled to see that Calico offers plenty of options with color , too.As well as grey , of course. (Decorated up for Valentine’s Day in this photo.)Area where you can sit and work with a designer for your fabric decorating. Oh – and don’t forget about wallpaper!Faux suede fabric samples .Photoboard display.I love this Check List. Especially “Make an Appointment.” This ensures you’ll have the designer’s full attention. And especially “Wallpaper Guest Bedroom.” 🙂 In fact, I think you should paper every room! 🙂Lorena Sosa is the store manager , and a skilled designer. Ron has a degree in Interior Design , as well as decades of experience selling (and installing !) wallpaper. He also has a knack for “seeing” the client’s room in his ” mind’s eye ” and knowing intuitively and immediately what fabrics and papers and paint colors will work to pull everything together. Also a kind and upbeat person. My clients who work with him always rave about their experience.
My client wasn’t home when I got there, so she made sure I put wallpaper on the right wall. Furniture was moved 3′ away from the wall, box of rolled goods was leaning against the wall, and the yellow sticky note – no question of where the decorating is to happen!
Before. Walls painted with a deep, murky teal blue. I’ve measured the width of the border and then applied my wallpaper primer 1/4″ narrower than the border. That’s the white you see around the top of the room. I love the way the teal / blue walls coordinate with the green in the border (a tall , vintage border like this is called a frieze ). Painting the walls the same color as the border would have been too much, IMO. Plus, you can never get the color exactly perfectly the same – so it looks like what I call a “near-miss.” Better to opt for complimentary colors , as this homeowner did. The color in some of the leaf detail also coordinates with the avocado green in the adjoining living room – you can see a snatch of this color at the far left of this photo. The camera is making this color brighter and greener than it actually is, but you get an idea of the design . Once the Victorian era faded away, the Arts & Crafts movement came to be in the very early 1900’s , with less fru-fru and more nature , clean lines , whimsy , and stylized designs . The home also has furniture and decor that hark back to this time period . The pattern is called Apple Tree Frieze , and comes in several colorways . The manufacturer is Bradbury & Bradbury , in California. They are the go-to company for 19th & 20th century historic patterns . Delicious stuff on their website! Bradbury can be tricky to install, so not for novices . Different colorways can call for different adhesives / pastes , so be sure to read the instructions before starting . The bungalow home in the Houston Heights dates to 1920 (possibly earlier) which is just smack in the middle of the Arts & Crafts decorating style . I hung another period-correct border in this room for this family 10 years ago. Now they’ve done some updating with new colors and, of course – a new wallpaper border frieze . It was a pleasure to be back and help bring new life to the place!
Before. Most of this home is in the white / beige / neutral decorating scheme. The homeowner wanted something with pizzazz to snazz up the powder room. Textured walls have been smoothed, primed, and are ready for wallpaper.Definite WOW! factor!Toilet corner before.Toilet corner done.Another viewClose up.Closer up. The textured background you see is the non-woven material this is printed on. It has a 20% polyester content, and is thus somewhat similar to fiberglass. Very hard to tear, resistant to stains , and designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece , with no damage to the wall , when you redecorate . It can be hung by pasting the wall , or by pasting the paper . I generally prefer to paste the paper . Rolling it out on the floor , to see the overall pattern , and to decide what element I want to place at the center of the focal wall as well as at the top of the wall . This pattern is so wild and crazy and over-all, that it ultimately doesn’t matter about pattern placement . That’s pretty rare . The pattern is called Central Park and is made by Thibaut . The home is in the Galleria / Tanglewood area of Houston . What’s very cool is that the homeowner had ordered large samples of three colorways , but couldn’t decide which she wanted to go with. So she taped them to the wall, threw a dinner party , and asked her guests to vote for their favorite. This bright and colorful one won, hands down! Now she’ll have to invite them all back again, to see the finished room! I think the color and the design go super nicely with the weathered-white , deeply carved front of the vanity . installer installation
Including right here on the cover! And a real coup! … A magazine that’s pretty much dedicated to the all-white or all-grey trend in decorating, as well as minimalism … it’s so exciting to see some pattern and color in the ” farmhouse ” themed homes. Let’s take a look …Textured grasscloth behind bookshelves in a living room .Two-tone classic toile on one wall as a background to a stairwell . It warms up the space, without hitting you in the face. Soft , cloud – like feel behind this credenza . Look carefully right above the baskets , and you’ll see an overlapped seam. Some commercial murals are hung like this, as well as the very popular patterns by Spoonflower , which is a budget-friendly and DIY – able , good quality material and brand . (But ONLY their ” prepasted smooth ” option. Do NOT get the ” traditional pebble ” nor their ” peel and stick . “More of the toile pattern , in the entry , with batten board wainscoting and a chair rail , in a mud room . Also called rear back door entry . : )Floral pattern in the laundry room . I’m getting lots of queries for wallpaper in laundries … must be trending right now!Soft two-tone floral in small bathroom .Textured grasscloth behind desk in home office .Apologies for the sideways image … WordPress used to be easy to use, and I could correct this. But they “upgraded” their program and made many, many features much more difficult to work with. I tried tutorials on how to fix this, but after reading and watching tons of info and videos, I gave up. It used to be just one click ! Anyway, note the cheery breakfast room. Colorful without being overwhelming . Closer picture. Very innovative use of floral pattern with subdued color around the archway / entry to another breakfast nook . Note that the back of the nook also wears a textured wallpaper . Sorry for the out-of-order picture … another frustration from the “upgraded” WordPress Editor . This gives an idea of what the afore-mentioned breakfast area looked like pre-wallpaper. The magazine didn’t mention a brand, but this sure looks like one of Serena & Lily ‘s designs . Of course, when one company makes a popular pattern , many other companies make their own versions . These days, usually you see pattern on the accent wall behind the headboard . So it’s a little unusual to see wallpaper on all four walls of this master bedroom . But it works, because the pattern is simple and the colors are kept to only two , so the overall feel is calming , rather than busy . Fooled me! I thought this headboard accent wall was done in tile – but it’s wallpaper !The same paper on a kitchen cabinet .
Re my previous post, here is a more Victorian decorating style, particularly the intricate work on the ceiling. My camera didn’t capture much of the ceiling , but there are decorative borders and other fancy elements. I believe this wallpaper is made by Bradbury & Bradbury , who specializes in reproductions of past eras . The home is also called the Tower Grove House , and was built in 1849 .
Always cool to see wallpaper featured in a decorating magazine, to nudge homeowners toward using paper in their own homes. This dark jungle pattern is a dramatic transition from entry to living room. No boring all-white walls here! Bold color and a pattern full of visual movement make this powder room a fun and energizing space. As I like to say – you can get away with a lot of drama in a small space like a powder room!
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