Two weeks before a job is to start, I send my clients a “check list” so they know how to prepare for Install Day. It includes things like check to be sure it’s the right wallpaper pattern, how I can get into the house if the homeowner is away, how much space I need for my set-up, etc.
It also says quite clearly that all construction work has to be completed, and there needs to be electricity, light, nearby running water, and no workmen coming in while I’m working, and no workmen coming in later who might mess up the paper.
This ensures that I will have optimum working conditions (I need lights so I can see what I’m doing. I need water so I can keep your paper clean.) And you don’t want Bubba coming to hook up a light fixture and put his sweaty hands all over the new wallpaper in the process. Or a painter coming to touch up, who decides to “protect” the new wallpaper by putting blue tape on it. Of course, when he removes the tape, the surface ink or the wallpaper itself will come along with it.
Yet you would not believe how many people – innocently or desperately – tell me they are “ready” when they really are not. Here is an example of a house that is not ready for wallpaper. It is very likely that the paper will be damaged by tradesmen who come to “finish up.”
Baseboard is not in place. When positioning the baseboard, it’s likely the carpenter will bang into the wallpaper. When painting, you can bet the painter will get paint onto the new wallpaper. Or, as mentioned above, he will use tape that, when he goes to remove it, will pull the inked surface and / or the paper itself off the wall.
Door molding is not in place. Same issues as above.
No electrical outlet in the room. What if I need to use a fan or heat gun? And wallpaper will sit tighter to the wall if I can put the plate cover in place immediately.
The electrician is not finished. This switch sticking out of the wall is just plain dangerous. In addition, when he time comes to finish whatever it is he’s working on, he will probably put his greasy hands on the wallpaper, or lean his scratchy tool belt against the paper.
My checklist says I need clean, running water in the immediate area. It specifically says NOT a hose in the yard. Yet look where I had to get my water. (I was working on the THIRD floor.) This house had no faucets, no drains, and not even a working toilet.
Walls have been skim-floated and sanded smooth, primed, and are ready for wallpaper.Done. The dark woodwork really accentuates the wallpaper; the room would not be nearly as dramatic and fun without the dark woodwork. Eeek! Another console sink to squeeze under and behind. Just this area took more than an hour. Some tricks I’ve learned is that you don’t have to wrestle full-length and -width strips. Here I cut the two strips behind the sink horizontally at the point where the vanity hits the wall. I hung the upper strips. Then, moving to the right, I hung the strips to the right. After I ended in the corner to the right (not pictured), I came back and hung the two short strips under the sink. So I was only wielding strips 2′ high, instead of 9′. I also sliced one strip vertically at the point where it intersected the drain pipe under the sink. This was much easier than trying to wrangle an 18″ wide strip around the drain, two faucets, and the metal support pipes. What are these cwitters up to??!Close-up. The homeowner said that the family has a sense of humor , and wanted something wild and fun . Detail.Many House of Hackney wallpapers come as a mural , or 4-roll set. This diagram shows the layout of the four panels. You can take a second set of four panels and place it to the right (or to the left – just keep track of the sequence order of the panels) and the pattern will continue. Each panel is about 18″ wide, so a 4-panel set gives you about 6′ of width. Panels are about 9.5′ high. This is called Hackney Empire and is in the Midnight colorway. This is a non-woven material , also called paste the wall . I did paste the material rather than the wall, though, as it makes the paper more supple, and enables me to get paste into difficult-to-access areas – such as under and behind that console sink! Non-wovens are designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece without damage to the wall when it’s time to redecorate. This HofH material was lovely to work with.
This couple in the West University neighborhood of Houston loves color and avant garde – unexpected and fun! I hung this Honshu wallpaper by Thibaut in their small hallway at the beginning of the pandemic – April 2020. Since then, they decided to change the faucets and showerhead in the bathroom on the other side of this wall. To access the pipes, the plumber had to cut a hole in the drywall. The ‘guy’ that this couple uses did a fantastic job of cutting the drywall, preserving the wallpaper, and then patching the hole. You can even see that his cuts are perfectly level and plumb! Slapping wallpaper patches over the two holes would have probably sufficed. But I wanted to make it better, so I stripped off and replaced the old wallpaper. This meant patching the guy’s drywall repairs. I didn’t get a photo, but I used drywall tape and joint compound to even out the areas. A heavy duty floor fan plus a heat gun helped get the smoothing compound to dry in a few hours. I sanded smooth and applied wallpaper primer, and ended up with what you see in the photo.To conserve paper, instead of replacing the entire two strips from ceiling to floor, which could have caused some problems with matching the pattern on the left side, I patched in about one foot down from the ceiling line. To disguise the appliqued area, I used a scissors and trimmed around the wallpaper design, as you see here. This is less visible than a straight horizontal cut. In this photo, the two strips have been put into place. You could never tell there was a hole (or two) !
Before – new drywall has ben skim-floated and is clean, but, gee, it’s boring … and lends nothing to the room. After. Now the room has color, movement, and feels more spacious.This beautiful, sculpted mirror was found at Ballard Designs new brick & mortar store on W. Gray in the River Oaks Shopping Center. Ballard also has a wallpaper section, and experienced designers to help you. Call first, because they stay pretty booked.The colors in the wallpaper coordinate beautifully with the granite countertop, and the brushed copper fixtures (faucets, hand towel rings, etc.)Close-up shows the water color-y appearance of this pattern, as well as the cool shadow effect. This wallpaper is by York, one of my favorite d brands, and is in the Candice Olson (of HGTV fame) line. It was a joy to work with, and will hold up nicely in this powder room. It is made of the classic paper material, nice and thin, clings tightly to the wall, and easy enough to remove when it’s time to redecorate.
This home experienced severe damage during the February 2021 freeze here in Houston. Just about everything had to be replaced, including floors, walls, cabinets, and tons more. The homeowners took advantage of the tragedy to update as they made repairs.
You couldn’t possibly find a better wallpaper pattern for this room … the colors meld perfectly with the floor, paint, granite countertop, and metal fixtures. The limited pallet keeps the paper from being too busy. The scale covers the walls nicely without feeling crowed or too busy.
Ron Dillon of Calico (a.k.a. Calico Corners) at 1845 W. Alabama in Montrose helped these homeowners pull everything together. Calico has a good selection of wallpaper brands. Ron has been handling wallpaper for decades, so is one of the best in town to help you track down just the right pattern.
This home is in the Old Braeswood / Boulevard Oaks / Medical Center / Rice University neighborhood of Houston.
BeforeHeadboard wallKeeping the pattern match in corners is trickyMetallic gold lines
Yhe home is a classic ’50’s / ’60’s ranch in the Spring Branch area of Houston, that has been nicely updated. It now has an open-concept living area, with contemporary finishes and fixtures (flooring, faucets, etc.). The kitchen and bathrooms have been given a sleek new look, as well.
Instead of papering just one accent wall in the master bedroom, the homeowners opted to put the wallpaper all the way around the room. The simple pattern and soft two-tone color palate make it a good choice. The contemporary design and gold metallic accents fit it in with the updates in the rest of the home.
The wallpaper is by York. It is a non-woven material, which means it can be hung via the paste-the-wall method. See next post for info on the install itself.
One of my pet peeves is splatters from a paint roller, that land all over a homeowner’s floor or countertop. See top two photos.
There are ways to prevent this. First and foremost is to use a dropcloth. You’d be surprised at how many contractors don’t bother.
But protecting shoe molding and backsplashes and faucets takes a bit more. A lot of people use blue painter’s tape across the top of surfaces.
But I like my method, which you see in the third photo. It’s a strip of dropcloth that I have cut into 9″ wide strips. The material is absorbant paper on the top side, and water-proof plastic on the back.
I use push-pins to tack it above the baseboards and shoe molding, and backsplashes, etc.
It’s wide enough to protect any width of molding, and also faucets on a vanity’s sink. And it’s thin and flexible enough that it will contour around any wall configuration.
Most everything in this new home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston is sleek and white. The homeowner wanted to add just a little pizazz to the hall bathroom shared by her two young daughters.
This Paris-themed design, with its pencil-thin lines and three-color palette is just perfect! I love the way the line drawing effect reiterates the lines in the shower’s subway tile. Charcoal grey, white, and just a touch of red are enough to brighten the room, without overwhelming the serene white color scheme. And it’s a fun design to look at. I mean, who wouldn’t love Paris – especially a Paris with a Ferris wheel?
The wallpaper is by York Wall, in their Sure Strip line, and is a pre-pasted product on a thin non-woven backing. It is designed to strip off the wall easily with no damage when it’s time to redecorate. In the meantime, it is thin and hugs the wall tightly, and the seams are practicably invisible. This brand is very reasonably-priced.
The interior designer for this project is Stacie Cokinos, of Cokinos Design. Stacie specializes in helping choose floor plans, finishes (flooring, countertops, paint colors), fixtures (faucets, lights, knobs), appliances, in new home construction and in remodel projects. Her look is fresh and clean, but very livable for modern families. She is a delight to work with.
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