Before. Heavily textured wall has been skim-floated with smoothing / joint compound and then sanded smooth , and then primed with Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime wallpaper primer . I’ve run a narrow line of dark green craft paint along the top of the chair rail / wainscoting , due to uneven edges . More on that in a soon-future post. Sink wall is done. Pattern is centered nicely on the faucet and in between the electrical boxes for the new sconces – They haven’t arrived yet and will be installed in a few weeks . The homeowner’s carpenter created this beautiful wainscoting out of 3D block paneling , and then painted it a rich dark hunter’s green . Right now there’s some sanding dust collected on it, plus bad lighting . In person, it’s gorgeous . The same company did a fantastic paneled wall / fireplace surround in the family room (not pictured) . Back to wallpaper … This shot is pretty color-accurate. I love the way the dark wallpaper coordinates with the green paneling . The pink and orange flowers , as well as the row of purple foliage , really stand out against all the dark . Close-up looks like an artist’s painting . Besides centering the pattern on the sink wall, the dimensions worked out so that I was able to balance the chameleons between the ceiling and chair rail , one just below the ceiling and the one here just above the chair rail. So no critter got cut in half . This product comes as a 2-strip (roll) set , with an “A” strip and a “B” strip in each box. Together, the two strips equal just a hair under 6′ wide , and a little over 9′ high . Here I’m rolling out the two strips so I can gauge the pattern , measure width and height , and plot the layout on the wall. Sobering fact: Each 2-strip set (one “roll”) cost about $500. This room used four of those sets. I always try to keep that in mind when working with people’s purchased wallpaper . OK, this damned Word Press blog account has AGAIN (2nd time in two nights!) deleted paragraphs that I spent a lot of time typing. I can’t recreate all the info I put into that lost post, but below I will try to include some of the important points. First and foremost – since the switch to the New Editor back about 2015, I pretty much HATE WORDPRESS . Anyway, here the company is providing a mock-up of what the “A” and “B” strips look like. The mock-up above shows the two panels next to each other. Since this is essentially a mural and the pattern doesn’t repeat vertically as more typical wallpapers do, you can plan on getting only one strip out of each panel. These walls are 6′ high , and the panels are 9′ high. So you’re losing 3′ with every strip. Further, the area over the door needed one panel that’s 2′ high. But an entire 9′ panel was needed for this, to get the 2′ high strip. So 7′ are going into the trash. Add to that, since this product comes as a 2-panel set , the homeowner had to buy a 2-panel set (at $500), even though only part of one panel would be used. This means that 1 + 2/3 9′ long panels were purchased but not used. Also, because this comes in panels instead of traditional rolled goods, there are no “extra” strips. This means that I can’t make any mistakes. Nothing like a little pressure while trying to install wallpaper ! No fears … this pattern and material went up nicely, and we had just enough paper to git ‘er done. Manufacturer is Breeze and the pattern is called Fantasy Tree . It was purchased from one of the show rooms in one of the Design / Decorative Centers in central Houston. It’s printed on the user-friendly / DIY – friendly non-woven material , which can be hung by pasting the paper (which I prefer) or the paste-the-wall method . It’s designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece with no damage to the wall when it’s time to redecorate . Definitely better than peel & stick (click my link on the right to read more about P&S ). The home is in the Oak Forest / Garden Oaks / Heights neighborhood of Houston .
For more than a decade, the dining room was bold red from head to toe. In this photo, I’m applying drywall joint compound to smooth the textured wall .Here’s the wall sanded smooth , primed , and ready for wallpaper . Done. The next question is – what color to paint the bottom 1/3 of the wall ? What do you think?Using the red beam from my laser level to center the design on the wall, and directly under the decorative corbel which the wood-worker homeowner husband installed as a feature to the crown molding . Close-up. I also balanced the pattern between the ceiling and chair rail / wainscoting .The wallpaper design is by Candice Olson , of HGTV fame, and is made by York , a company that I like a lot. It was purchased at a discount through Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams on University in the Rice Village . Call before heading over (713) 529-6515 . The homeowner had originally chosen something else, but it was unavailable. Dorota dug through her large library of selection books and found this, which is very similar, but more open and airy . We all three agree that this is the better option. It is a non-woven material , and can be hung via the paste-the-wall method , or the paste-the-material method – which is what I usually prefer to do. This NW stuff is durable , stain-resistant , humidity -resistant , and easy to strip off the wall when you decorate down the road. Cute in his bandana . But not very helpful at all! 🙂 The home is in the Candlelight Plaza / Shephard Park Plaza / Oak Forest / Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston .
Before. The previous installer did a beautiful job with this earthy grasscloth. But it didn’t suit the homeowner’s taste, nor did it fit with the feel of this 1939 cottage in the historic Norhill section of the Houston heights.Done! The dark towel and mirror really set off the pattern and colors.Wall behind the toilet. This Asian-influenced design, with its pagodas and minstrels, is referred to as a Chinoiserie . These designs have been popular for centuries. Close-up. The green and blue tones coordinate beautifully with adjoining rooms in the house. I rolled the wallpaper out on the floor, so I could see the full-size design. This one has a 46″ pattern repeat, which is awfully long, and means there can be a lot of waste. This design had a straight pattern match, and came packaged in a 24″ x 33′ bolt, like traditional wallpaper. It did not come as an A-B set, as many M&K products do. I couldn’t find a full-size room-set photo on-line, so I availed myself of the Milton & King ‘s ” chat ” feature … I was connected with a live and knowledgeable representative in mere seconds, and he very quickly sent me a link to a picture of this pattern in a room. In the photo, I’m using my yardstick to determine a centerline of the design motifs.As are most of Milton & King ‘s wallpapers, this one was on a non-woven substrate. Rather than paste the wall, I chose to paste the paper, which works best in a bathroom with things to cut around and tuck paper behind. miThe pattern is called Mulberry . Milton & King’s bolts come packed individually in protective boxes – no worries about banged edges with this outfit!
A week before I start a job, I send the homeowners information about the installation process and what things I will be needing. One thing I ask is that they clear toiletries, jewelry, paperwork, etc., out of the work area. Well, here are a few households that didn’t get the message. 😦
All this mess is hard for me to work around. And since I often need to sand, even if I cover these items with plastic, they are likely to get a little dusty. And they’ll need to be protected from splatters from the wallpaper primer.
Sometimes I’ll move things out of the way, and then you never know where they will end up – under the vanity, on the bedroom floor, on the dining room table, in the bathtub – anywhere I can find a surface to set them on. That gets them out of my way and keeps them clean, but it puts the homeowners on a search mission later, and they’ll have to try to put everything back the way they had it in the beginning.
Best for the homeowner to take these things out of the room herself, and stash them where she can find them when the wallpaper job is finished.
Years ago, one of my clients, a business owner and a smart man, told me that I should have my name on my truck. I ignored his advice. A year later I was working for the same guy, and he admonished me for not having my business advertised on my vehicle.
So this time I followed his suggestion – and it has proven to be sage advice.
I could give lots of examples, but here’s the latest… I was working at a client’s home, the next door neighbor looked out the window and saw my van with my “Wallpaper Lady” name on it, she had a wallpaper project of her own she wanted done, she knew that her neighbors researched craftsmen and hired only the best ( 🙂 ), and so she walked over and put this note on my windshield.
Voilà ! I have a new client, and the homeowner will soon have a beautiful newly redecorated powder room!
The painted walls in this powder room were dull and uninspiring. This homeowner is an artist, and loves drama and color. Well, you can’t beat huge purple flowers to meet the cravings!
Regarding pattern placement, this room defied the rules of chance. I spent quite a bit of time plotting and measuring and calculating, to get the flower to land intact (not get any important elements chopped off) at the top of the wall, and still have the weighty part of it land at the top of the sink, and also fall dead-center behind the faucet. But after that first strip is hung, every subsequent strip falls as it will, and you cannot control pattern placement for the rest of the room.
However, on the wall to the right of the sink, the wallpaper pattern balanced itself out perfectly, with the dominant flower lining up smack down the center of the wall, and perfectly halved-flowers falling down the right and left corners of the wall (no photo). Then, to heighten the improbable, the dominant flower centered itself again on the rear wall, behind the toilet, with the two corners ending up with perfect halves of peonies on either side (not shown).
Finally, the last join ended with less than a 2″ gap, which I was able to disguise very nicely with virtually no disruption of the pattern (no photo 😦 ).
This all just defies the laws of physics and geometry and chance, and I was tickled and thrilled when it all worked out so perfectly. Best of all, the room looks fantastic – and the clients think I’m a genius! 😉
This wallpaper pattern is by Sanitas, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.
I looked at a repair job in a home today, where the painters messed up some of the wallpaper. This the homeowner knew, and she called me to see if it could be repaired.
But in the meantime, she removed hand towel from its ring next to the sink across the room – and discovered that the wiring contractor who had been working at the same time as the painters had DRILLED FIVE HOLES IN THE WALL, trying to find his connection.
The thing is, the painters ‘fessed up and told the lady about the paint on the wallpaper. The wiring guy just put the hand towel back and hoped she would not notice. WHO DOESN’T NOTICE FIVE HOLES IN THE WALL??!
Here’s what’s left of the very tasty surprise lunch feast the homeowners treated us to today.
Today, I started a 3-room job in a old home in the historic Heights neighborhood (coincidentally right next door to a house I papered over the summer). The home and yard are being veeery nicely redone.
The homeowners are super nice, and today surprised us with a fajita lunch for all the workers – and we’re talking plumbers, A/C guys, painters, detail (clean-up) crew, me, and who ever else was running around there today. We had pointsettias and a tiny Christmas tree on the table, I cranked up my satellite radio with holiday tunes, and we all sat down and broke bread together.
It sure makes you feel good to know the people you are working for care so much about their workers. And it makes you want to work extra hard for them.
I got my hair permed today. Since the van was in the shop (Astro vans are Hell on front end suspension – or should I say CRAPPY HOUSTON STREETS are Hell on suspension systems??!), I road my bicycle, even though it was raining. Simply donned a poncho and road through the rain.
It was still raining when the perm was done and I was ready to go. I slipped into my poncho and headed for the door.
All of a sudden, I saw a look of horror cross my hair stylist’s face. “You canNOT let your hair get wet for three days!” she cried.
I have to admit, I got quite a chuckle out of this. You see, Erica had about the exact same look I get on my face when I finish a wallpaper job I’ve put a lot of time and effort and pride into, and the first thing the homeowner does is walk up and RUN HER HAND OVER THE PAPER…or any other action that could potentially soil, stain, abrade, or otherwise hurt the paper.
I guess Erica and I are both Nervous Nellies about wanting our creations to look and perform their absolute best.
Incidentally, my hair stylist is Erica, the owner of Vertigo Hair Concepts, at 3208 S Shepherd Dr., Houston, TX 77098, (713) 574-8642. She’s been treating my hair for over a decade, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else. I highly recommend her.
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