Posts Tagged ‘galveston’
My View from the Office Today
September 1, 2018View of the Day – Working on the Beach
December 31, 2015To brighten up this gloomy December day, here is a post I drafted a couple of weeks ago…
Well, O.K., I am not exactly working on the beach. But the home in Galveston where I am working today is just a few minute’s walk away. It was a beautiful day – uncharacteristically bright and clear, and even though I spent the day hanging wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom, I had an open window to look out, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The amusement park is Galveston’s Pleasure Pier, built after Hurricane Ike destroyed other facilities, and the grand building is the historic Galvez Hotel, which has withstood two hurricanes and is still lovely and going strong.
Beachy Bathroom in Galveston
November 19, 2015This home in Galveston was built in the 1800’s, and survived the 1900 Great Storm (hurricane). The homeowners have an island theme going on in their decorating, and the bathroom was the final touch. They had done some renovations to the bathroom, including new shower & tub, toilet, vanity with quartz countertop, and the cool distressed, salvaged beaded board they put on the lower half of the wall as wainscoting. (last two photos) The doorknobs are for holding towels. So cute!
But they said they could not find anyone on the island to hang wallpaper; I was very happy to drive down and help them out.
The walls weren’t in bad condition, but they showed decades of “home repairs” – layers and layers of paint, drips, sheetrock patches, uneven areas, grit, etc. I skim floated all the walls to make them smooth, and then primed with a good coat of Gardz. This yield a much smoother surface for the shiny wallpaper, and a more stable foundation in a bathroom where humidity will be a factor.
This sea shell-themed pattern blends nicely with the beachy feel in the rest of the house. I particularly love how it coordinates with the rustic beaded board below the chair rail. The wallpaper is by York, and is printed on a pre-pasted non-woven stock, which is supposed to strip off the wall easily and cleanly when it’s time to redecorate.
Hangin’ On Island Time
June 27, 2015to minimize and obscure the mismatch .
Today I was working in a new home in Pirate’s Cove on Galveston Island. Just look at that gorgeous view out the window!
Inside, in the powder room, though, the view was ho-hum (2nd photo). But just look at how a little wallpaper changed the room! There is color and life, a little beach flavor, and a lot of happy cheerful feeling when you walk into this room. Pretty much everything else in the entire house is white (walls, floors, appliances, furniture), so this dash of color is very welcome.
The walls in this room were <em>very</em> crooked and bowed, and I had to pull some tricks out of my hat to keep the pattern looking matched and straight, and to prevent wrinkles in the paper. And some additional tricks were needed to minimize and obscure the mismatch in the final corner. No photos, sorry, but it came out great.
The interior designer for this job is Sally Farley – e-mail me if you would like her contact info. The wallpaper is a British pulp paper by Osborn & Little, called “Coralie.”
Cherry Blossoms Make for a Very Pretty Bathroom
May 10, 2014This beautiful pattern is serene, yet just a little beachy, in the master bathroom of this League City home not far from Galveston Island. Previously, the walls were just plain boring paint, and the room felt empty and had no character.
I also put some light aqua & natural fiber grasscloth in an art niche just outside the bedroom door. The homeowner said, “I LOVE it. Now I want to find another room to paper!” (She did. 🙂 )
I spent four days here, smoothing the textured walls, priming, and hanging the wallpaper.
This pattern is by Schumacher, and was sold by Dorota at Southwestern Paint near the Rice Village in Houston. She is wonderful at helping you zero in on just the right pattern, and her prices are lower than ‘most anywhere else. By appointment. dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com (713) 520-6262