The windows look out into a green yard, so the verdant , playful design frames the view perfectly. The bull-nosed edges on the sides and top of the windows are really tricky to wrap wallpaper around, BTW. Skim-floating / skim-coating the textured wall to smooth it, along with the puffy wallpaper, added enough thickness to the wall that the blinds on the right would not fit into their brackets. A window covering company can easily trim those down.Arrrgh! Moving from left to right, the last strip ended up 1/2″ from the corner. That meant that I had to cut a narrow strip and work it into place. Trickier than it sounds. Note that this required an entire 10′ long strip, to get that 1/2″ wide piece. Always order a little extra! el like I’m stepping back into the ’70’s !This ” House Plants ” design is buy MissPrint , a British company. It’s on a non-woven / paste the wall substrate , which is more durable and stain-resistant than traditional papers. And it’s designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece when you redecorate . The home is in the Eastwood neighborhood of Houston . install installer
Before. Walls painted with a deep, murky teal blue. I’ve measured the width of the border and then applied my wallpaper primer 1/4″ narrower than the border. That’s the white you see around the top of the room. I love the way the teal / blue walls coordinate with the green in the border (a tall , vintage border like this is called a frieze ). Painting the walls the same color as the border would have been too much, IMO. Plus, you can never get the color exactly perfectly the same – so it looks like what I call a “near-miss.” Better to opt for complimentary colors , as this homeowner did. The color in some of the leaf detail also coordinates with the avocado green in the adjoining living room – you can see a snatch of this color at the far left of this photo. The camera is making this color brighter and greener than it actually is, but you get an idea of the design . Once the Victorian era faded away, the Arts & Crafts movement came to be in the very early 1900’s , with less fru-fru and more nature , clean lines , whimsy , and stylized designs . The home also has furniture and decor that hark back to this time period . The pattern is called Apple Tree Frieze , and comes in several colorways . The manufacturer is Bradbury & Bradbury , in California. They are the go-to company for 19th & 20th century historic patterns . Delicious stuff on their website! Bradbury can be tricky to install, so not for novices . Different colorways can call for different adhesives / pastes , so be sure to read the instructions before starting . The bungalow home in the Houston Heights dates to 1920 (possibly earlier) which is just smack in the middle of the Arts & Crafts decorating style . I hung another period-correct border in this room for this family 10 years ago. Now they’ve done some updating with new colors and, of course – a new wallpaper border frieze . It was a pleasure to be back and help bring new life to the place!
The rich colors and clay coating give this wallpaper a truly luscious , velvety look. But they’re also fragile and can be damaged easily . Here you see damage caused at the factory simply by folding back the last 2″ or so of paper, before rolling it up. The company does provide and extra foot or two to accommodate this. You have to be extremely careful handling this stuff. Even a fingernail or your wallpaper tools can cause scratches or marring . Per the manufacturer’s suggestion, I covered my smoothing brush and plastic smoother with microfiber towels , to minimize chances of scratching the paper . In fact, the manufacturer suggested that, during installation , that you wipe the entire surface uniformly with a damp microfiber rag , to even out any imperfections that might have resulted . Now, just between you and me – if you know you have a product that’s likely to end up with blemished areas, why not just switch to a better , tried-and-true ink ? SMH Luckily project this is a border that will be butted up under the ceiling , so no one’s going to zero in on a few shiny areas in the matt ink. But , think of all the homes that will have this same material as a wall paper , that will be viewed close-up . Not all colorways from Bradbury do this. I’ve hung plenty of it and not had a problem with most. In fact, the “fishnet” area you see at the bottom of this picture is not delicate at all. It’s the very matt finish green and brown colors in the center of the border that are so delicate . The inks and clay coating the manufacturer uses on this particular colorway are very fragile and mar easily , so I’ve used ankle socks to cover the edges of my straightedge, and also a weight I’m using to prevent the paper from rolling around on my table. And that scissors is just there as demonstration for the photo … you can bet that tool was not touching the surface of the border at any other time. This material has a selvedge edge that has to be trimmed off by hand , with a straightedge and razor blade . Normally I set my straightedge on top of the wallpaper , because it’s easier to see where I need to make my cut , and also because the weight of the straightedge helps hold the wallpaper down. But even with cushioning socks on either edge of the 6′ long tool , and with padding on the underside, I was afraid that it might harm the inks . So I placed it on the outside edge of the wallpaper. This left very little for the tool to grab on to, so I made sure to press it tightly against my work table , so the wallpaper strip wouldn’t slip around while I was trimming . The manufacturer is Bradbury & Bradbury . They specialize in historic and period-correct patterns from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
OK, because this CRAPPY “New Editor” that Word Press FORCED on us a couple of years ago – which is EXTREMELY difficult to use, BTW, and the Big Wigs at Word Press don’t give a flip, despite my many comments to them … Anyway, it decided to eat / delete the post I just spent 30 minutes typing up, so I’m going to have to write it all over again and try to remember all the points I had made. PISSES ME OFF, this DAMNED WORDPRESS NEW EDITOR. End of rant. But STILL FARKIN’ ANGRY!!! Anyway, you’re looking at images of the same pattern motif , from the same Run number (do a Search here to learn more about runs ), but two different rolls / bolts . Look at where my pencil is pointing in the top example – at the green leaf to the left of the blue flower . You’ll see the light green color shadowing , or following the dark green . Now look at the same motif on the example below it. Here both green colors are together . Why? What’s happened is that the printing presses at the factory have gotten out of register . The machines print each color separately , layering them on top of each other . For example, brown first, then light green, then dark green, then blue, etc. Each turn of the printing rollers has to be perfectly synced with the previous, so that the colors and motifs line up correctly . Here, obviously, something got out of whack . Looking at this, the mis-alignment is not a big deal. It’s a loose , cheerful pattern , and it doesn’t really matter if the colors aren’t lined up perfectly. In fact, I think it makes the pattern more fun. The problem comes when trying to match strips from one roll up to another, because the design won’t match perfectly at the seams . That does matter IMO . See my other post tonight . The pattern is called Wildwood and is by Rifle Paper , which is made by York .
This is a fairly large powder room with a sloped ceiling, as it is situated under the stairs. You can see a bit of the ceiling at the top of the photo. The room also had this odd recessed niche with “columns” on either side, and a door leading to a closet. In addition, there were tons of the rounded / bull-nosed edges that have been common in new homes in the last 10 years or so. These are tricky to wrap wallpaper around, and equally difficult to trim wallpaper to the edge. Here is the niche area done, with wallpaper wrapped around the columns, and cut neatly along the horizontal bull nosed edge above the entry. Wrapping the wallpaper around this edge and onto the ceiling of the niche would have made the area way too busy and claustrophobic. Because these edges are never perfectly straight and level, it’s also quite likely that the wallpaper will go crooked, and you’ll end up with gaps or overlaps at the seams. A better option is to paint that ceiling area. I suggested the murky green color that’s in the leaves on the wallpaper pattern. Here’s the east wall of the room. The vanity and sink are at the bottom right.Here it is finished. In this case, the fir-down underside was only about a foot deep, so less chance of the wallpaper going crooked, so I did wrap it around the rounded edge and underneath. Still, one of the wallpaper strips did twist askew, and there was a small gap at one seam. With this pattern, no biggie – I just cut out a leaf and pasted it over the gap.I told you the room had crazy angles!Note that in papering angled areas like this, you can match the pattern in some places, but there will be mis-matches in others, such as where the sloped ceiling meets the fir-down. This wild pattern is perfect for disguising any mis-matches!Rolling the paper out on the floor, to get an idea of the pattern’s layout . Closer look at the lemons and leaves . And angles . It looks like a Picasso painting, don’t you think? The homeowner wanted something wild and fun , to set off the white minimalism in the rest of the home . The pattern is called Citrus and is by A Street Prints . It’s a nice non-woven material , doesn’t expand , and can be hung by the paste the wall method , although I opted to paste the paper , as I usually do. Non-wovens are designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece, with no / minimal damage to the wall when you redecorate . They’re usually a pleasure to install . They’re more stain resistant and more able to withstand humidity than many traditional wallpapers . The home of this busy young family is in the West University area of Houston .
This is a beautifully renovated and updated 2-story 1920’s bungalow in the Heights neighborhood of central Houston. Unlike the trend for homes that are all white or grey , this family went for color and fun . In other rooms, the woodwork and walls are painted cheery yet soft shades of blue , orange , yellow , salmon , and green . You may be able to find some photos by doing a Search here.The fun doesn’t stop with paint colors … Here is a colorful and visually active wallpaper pattern in the family’s dining room .The pattern might be overwhelming floor-to-ceiling , so the board and baton wainscoting gives the eyes a resting place. The pattern is called Swallowtail . Not sure if that refers to birds or butterflies , but either way, it’s a fitting description . You can almost feel the swooping and swirling wings . The homeowner chose sconces that coordinate beautifully with the theme of the wallpaper .The manufacturer is Flat Vernacular . The material was pre-trimmed , and was printed on a non-woven substrate . It could be hung by pasting the paper or by pasting the wall (I pasted the paper, as I usually do). It was nice to work with. Unlike most wallpapers that come in rolls of standard dimensions , this material was priced and sold by the yard , and came in bolts of continuous lengths .
Before, primed and ready for wallpaper . Just about everything in this house is white – walls , furniture , accessories . Serene, but kinda blah.The homeowner wanted to add a pop of color and chose the powder room to be the fun room . I love the way the pattern seems to push the walls away and makes the room look larger . In addition, the strong vertical element of the tree trunks adds a lot of energy to the space. I love the burnished gold fixtures with the green paper . This very popular wallpaper pattern is called Raphael and is by Sandberg . It comes in a lot of colors – I’ve done a bunch of them! This is made in Sweden and is a non-woven material , also called paste the wall . It is more durable and breathable than traditional papers, and will hold up nicely in a bathroom . The home is in the Oak Forest area of Houston . installer installation
This young couple hosts the mother / mother-in-law a few times a year, and are lucky enough to have a private spare bedroom for her. To make it special, they wanted to jazz up the area a little. Enter this fun and whimsical wallpaper pattern .The room before was a pretty shade of murky teal – but needed personality and warmth. The wall started out with a light orange peel texture . I skim-floated the wall, and then sanded it smooth . Along the baseboard at the floor , here’s the dust from sanding , along with the sanding sponge I use – this is a modern take on the idea of wrapping sandpaper around a block of wood . I tack painter’s plastic across the wall from ceiling to floor to prevent dust from getting into the room or onto the furniture . Here’s the wall smooth and primed , ready for wallpaper . Since this is a dark wallpaper and I want to be sure that the white wall does not peek out from behind the seams, I stripe dark paint along the wall under where the seams will fall. Because non-woven papers don’t expand when wet with paste , it’s simple to measure the width of your strips and plot out where each seam will fall. Use the laser level as your guide . Do a Search here (upper right hand corner) to read more about this technique. I use craft paint from Texas Art Supply (or any hobby store ), diluted with water from a Gatorade bottle cap , and applied with a scrap of sponge . Further insurance is taking a chalk pastel (never oil pastel – oil bleeds and will stain wallpaper) and running it along the edge of the wallpaper strip – from the backside to avoid staining the surface – to cover the white substrate the wallpaper is printed on. This is to prevent white from peeking out at the seams , which can happen with dark papers. Centering the first strip in the middle of the wall, and using my laser level to ensure the strip is nice and straight and plumb . Note: The strip is not centered on the wall. The dominant pattern element is. Notice that the center of the dominant pattern motif – the white circular flower – is 3.5″ to the right of the left edge. This means that I had to position the left edge of the wallpaper 3.5″ to the left of the center of the wall, in order to get the round white flower to fall down the center of the wall. When you look again at the finished photo, you’ll notice that the white flower falls down the middle of the walls, and that it also appears at equal distance from both the right and left walls. Most people wouldn’t be able to put their finger on this symmetry , but it is something they subconsciously notice , and it lends a feeling of orderliness to the room. As orderly as you can be, that is, with pigs dancing around the meadow dandelions ! Finished accent wall . The three other walls painted in blue were a bit of a surprise, because one would think the more dominant color of green would be used. But with so much green in the wallpaper, green on the walls, too, would have been too much, perhaps. I like the cool feeling that the blue creates . There is plenty of the exact same blue in the wallpaper pattern to tie the walls and wallpaper together. Close up shows the stamped printing technique . You’ve gotta love a frolicking pig in a hand-knitted sweater! This pattern is called Hoppet Folk and is in the Wonderland line by Borastapeter , a Scandinavian company . It’s a nice, sturdy but flexible non-woven material that can be hung via the paste the wall installation method . In addition, this product will strip off the wall easily and in one piece , with no damage to your walls, when it’s time to redecorate. This is a very popular pattern, and I’ve hung it more times than I can count, just in the last two or three years. It does come in other colors – but most people gravitate toward this black version. The townhome is in the Rice Military area of central Houston .
Closet corner before.Closet corner after.Window corner. Continuing the chair rail inside the window return would have made it difficult for the blinds to fit properly. So the carpenter ( Arcadio Morgado , who is unparalleled in craftsmanship and professionalism – email me if you want his contact info ) stopped the molding at the window edge, but painted that little 1/4″ lip. I love the way the narrow strip of wallpaper looks falling down along the green wainscoting . View from door of crib wall . Close up. My clients love these peacocks ! Called Menagerie by Rifle Paper , which is made by York , one of my favorite brands .Please see previous post for more information about this product and installation .
What a cute pattern! Suited for a boy or girl, and will “grow” with the child for several years.Before. The parents had this block paneling wainscoting added before the wallpaper went up. It keeps the wallpaper pattern from being overwhelming, and the green color really sets off the colors in the wallpaper. Trees , flowers , forest animals , deer , leopards , peacocks , birds . Made by Rifle Paper by York , one of my favorite brands. Rifle Paper is a non-woven material , DIY – friendly , and designed to strip off the wall easily when it’s time to redecorate .
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