Sink wall before. I’m getting ready to start applying wallpaper primer – note the roller tray and brush. On the right – that’s a baby’s T-shirt, protecting the toilet seat lid.
Sink wall done.
Done. This style pattern is called a Chinoiserie . This one comes as a mural , in panels instead of rolls . With murals, every panel is different, so you don’t have the repeating designs of standard wallpapers. This one was custom-sized to the dimensions of the walls in this bathroom .
So pretty, with the white bathroom fixtures , the countertop , and the floor tile .
Close-up. This is an economical option to the $$ hand-painted on silk murals imported from China and elsewhere. It has the same artisan look, but is much more affordable . The non-woven backing is much less complicated to install , and also easy to remove when you redecorate later. And much more resistant to water and stains than real silk!
This is intended to mimic the look of the hand-sewn and hand-painted murals made in China . Those products are made of rectangular blocks of silk, meticulously sewn together, and then painted. Here you see that the artist has recreated the look of the individual pieces of silk. And the motifs look as if they’ve been painted by an artist .
All the panels for this, plus another mural (for the dining room ) came rolled up in one huge (and heavy!) bolt.
Here I am, using the homeowner’s open floor space to roll everything out, cut the panels apart, rough-trim off the selvedge edges, check pattern match, and check panel sequence. This photo is actually the mural for other room, but you get the idea.
This company doesn’t pre-trim the panels, so you have to take a straightedge, razor blade, good lighting, and a lot of time and patience, to carefully trim off the unprinted edge.
The company provides a schematic / mock-up of where each numbered panel will sit on which wall. Note that, except for the left corner over the door, the widths of the panels do not line up with the corners of the room. Panel 17, for instance has to be measured, then split in two vertically (remember that straightedge and razor blade?!), so that about 8″ of its left edge sit on the right side of the north wall, in the corner over the vanity. (Note that they don’t tell you that the width should be 8″ … I had to figure that out myself.) The remaining right portion of Panel 17 then goes onto the east wall, starting in the corner, over the vanity.
Likewise, Panel 18 hangs mostly over the right side of the vanity, but 10″ of it runs down the full length of the wall, behind the toilet (not shown in the schematic).
Panel 19 is a bit too wide for the remaining wall space, so about 5″ of its right edge was trimmed off at the right side of the east wall, which abutted the shower.
Side note: If you like math and engineering , spatial relationships, and working with your hands, you’ll probably love hanging wallpaper.
This mock-up diagram is very important. Only thing is – the company did not include it in the package with the wallpaper . And, when I called the home office, I got a recording and left a message – but they never got back to me. So here I am, trying to get this paper up for this nice couple, but with no clue as to how the custom-printed material had been fitted to each specific wall. Luckily, the homeowners were reachable by phone (I was alone in the house while they were at work), and had copies they were able to text and email to me.
This design is called Fenimore and it’s by designer Paul Montgomery . The manufacturer is the Mural Source. Their material is pretty nice, and the seams went together well . I would prefer, though, that they pre-trimmed their goods. And the 36″ width is a bit cumbersome to work with. I’m kinda short, with a small wingspan. (Most wallpapers are 20″ – 27″ wide.)
Oh, and the part about not including the diagram with the panels – they need to do better on that!
The home is in the Heights area of Houston . installer
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