A lot of my clients are choosing designs that harken back to the turn of the (last) century, particularly by William Morris. A lot of those are made by higher-end companies, and the material can be hard to work with. So I was thrilled when my favorite wallpaper sales person, Dorota, showed me these new books at her Sherwin-Williams store in the Rice Village. British Heritage is by Wallquest , a brand I like a lot. Below are room-set photos from those books.This is the very popular Strawberry Thief by William Morris. I’ve hung it before, and have it coming up again soon in the Heights ( Houston ). Arts & Crafts designs are very rhythmic and stylized. Some, like this, have a lot of color and impact.Others, with muted or tone-on-tone color pallets, are more subdued.Revival is another wallpaper selection book with designs of the same theme. A Street Prints is by Brewster, another great company. Most A Street Prints are on a non-woven , paste-the-wall substrate, which makes them quite user-friendly and affordable. CFA Voysey was a designer of the same period. I would say he was far ahead of his time, with some patterns reminiscent of MC Escher, and others bordering on … well, sort of psychedelic. Very progressive for the 1880’s! He continued to design through the Art Nouveau ( 1920’s ) and Art Deco ( 1930’s ) periods. I have his Bat & Poppy in my powder room. Search here to see photos. The fluidity here speaks of the Art Nouveau style. Alphonse Mucha was a European artist known for his elaborate theater and advertising posters in this style. I was lucky enough to have seen a fabulous exhibit at the Taft Museum when I was in Cincinnati for a Wallcovering Installers Association annual convention.
Not all Sherwin-Williams stores have wallpaper books, so call before you head over. Dorota isat the 2525 University store. This store has more wallpaper books than any other in Houston. Her hours vary, and someone may have checked the books out, so call before you head over. (713) 529-6515
Dating to 1946, this small bungalow is not as “vintage” as most homes in its Riverside neighborhood of Houston. The homeowner opened up the public areas and completely renovated the kitchen, bringing the home to a fresh, contemporary feel. Adding stylish wallpaper to the small, boxy entry was the finishing touch.
This modern pattern is by Carl Robinson, a British designer. It is a traditional paper, instead of the non-woven material that many European brands are printing on. It was nice to work with, i thin and hugs the wall tightly, and will adhere well for years to come.
The entry is visible from the living room, so this small room makes an impact on the rest of the house. The homeowner positively squealed with delight when she came home and saw the finished room!
Moving from the entry to the adjoining dining room of the historic home in Houston mentioned in my two previous posts. This pattern by William Morris is called “Fruit,” and is true to the period in which the home was built.
I love the way the colors work with the wainscoting and also the picture rail around the top.
This pattern is less repetitive and the color is softer than the option used in the entry (see yesterday’s post), making it an easy-to-live-with choice for this large dining room.
The material is a traditional British pulp which you don’t see much these days, as most European manufacturers have moved to the newer non-woven substrates. I do like the pulps for their matt finish and tight adhesion to the wall. Although, they are brittle and tend to drag and tear when being cut, so they require some special handling.
This one also has a raised ink feature, which adds just a tad of texture. Look closely at the close-up shot.
This was purchased from FinestWallpaper.com, who has a large selection of Morris and also Voysey (another designer from that Arts & Crafts period) patterns. The home is in the Old Sixth Ward neighborhood in central inner-loop Houston.
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.
Many bathroom fixtures (towel bars, etc.) are removed by the use of an allen wrench (also called a hex key). My American (inch) set on the left works most of the time.
But it helps to have a metric set (right) on hand, too, for the occasional fixture calibrated to European measurements.
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