William Morris Strawberry Thief in Houston Heights Breakfast Nook

Primed and ready for wallpaper.

Finished!

I love the way the light fixture repeats the red color, as well as mimics the curve of the birds’ bodies.
It’s almost like a hummingbird hovering over flowers in an English garden.

Strawberry Thief is a popular pattern, and I have it coming up two more times, in the same neighborhood, also in renovated 1920’s bungalows. Usually you see it in the red or navy colorway.

This is the first time I’ve seen it in this muted, pastel colorway. This color is available only from Morris & Co.
The symmetry and the fluidity of the design are very pleasing.

I’m seeing a lot of interest in William Morris designs lately. Many vendors are offering his originals, and many others are designing similar patterns. Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village showed me two new wallpaper books with patterns reminiscent of the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau eras. See my post from April 17, 2022.
This material is very user-friendly, being a non-woven material that can be hung by pasting the wall or by pasting the paper.

An English (Scots) Country Garden

In 2014, I hung this fun and cheerful pattern in a 2nd floor hallway in a 1940’s home of a young family in the Garden Oaks neighorhood of Houston. Seven years later, it’s time for a change.

In addition to changing the pattern in the upstairs hall, the homeowner wanted to paper this lower, adjoining wall. Here I’m applying smoothing compound to the textured surface. Once it is dry, I will sand it smooth, and then roll on a wallpaper primer.

Finished. The homeowners are contemplating more updates to the home. … And will probably opt to change the color on the wall above … I am rooting for murky green or muddy brown / gold.

Detail.

Close-up. I love the way the motifs look as if they were cut from a magazine and then decoupaged into place. The flowers look hand-painted. But the bees look like photographs.

Lola Design is the manufacturer.

No all-white, minimalist décor for these homeowners! Hailing from the British island of Scotland, and being artists at heart, they crave color, life, activity, and joy. This “Mixed Bee” design is the perfect mix of classic British floral interior décor and outdoor garden lushness.

The manufacturer is Lola Design. The material is non-woven, and can be hung via the paste-the-wall method,,,, although I preferred the softness and flexibility produced by pasting the paper.

Bringing India to Houston

One of the homeowners has familial ties to India, and he wanted their new home to reflect that feel. Presenting “Peacock Garden,” which perfectly conveys the feel of rural parts of that country, while complimenting the colors of their dining room.

This wallpaper is 54″ wide – which is about as wide as I am tall! Since I don’t have scaffolding, I used two ladders, set close together (not pictured), so I could walk back and forth between them to augment my wingspan.

The paper was untrimmed – had a selvedge edge that had to be roughly trimmed off by hand. Next, a perfect pattern match was achieved by overlapping the seams on the wall and double cutting – an industry term for splicing. The process requires special tools, and takes a good bit of additional time. Do a Search here to find related posts.

The material is a durable non-woven, which meant that I could install via the paste-the-wall method. Eliminating paste from the back of the paper made each 54″ x 10′ strip much lighter and easier to get to the wall.

The contemporary home is a new build in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston.

This wallpaper pattern is by Zoffany, and was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Accessing Walls Over a Bathtub

When I have to hang wallpaper in areas over “garden bathtubs” or similar, it can be difficult to reach the walls safely. I don’t want to fall, and I don’t want to scratch or damage the homeowner’s tub.

So I use this piece of plywood to cover the tub. The 2’x4′ size is sufficient to bridge most all tubs. And the 3/8″ thickness is enough to hold my weight (not quite 100lbs) and distribute it across the span of the board / tub. And it’s still light enough that I can carry it easily back and forth to my work truck.

I coated it with KILZ Original primer, so it looks better, and so it won’t leave marks on the homeowner’s tub or tile.

It’s hard to see, but I have placed some blue textured shelf-liner between the board and the tub/tile. This will cushion the weight and prevent scratches to the homeowner’s tub and tile. And it’s non-slip, so it makes the arrangement safe for me to climb up and move around on.

With my ladder on top of the plywood, I can easily and safely reach the walls over the tile.

While working, it is important to be aware of my weight distribution, and to not put my weight, nor the ladder’s legs, over that part of the board that is hanging over the tub.