Smoothing Knock-Down Textured Wall

This newish home in Kingwood (northeast Houston) had a typical suburban tract home knock-down texture. This would look horrible under the new wallpaper, as well as interfere with complete adhesion.

So I skim-floated the wall by troweling on joint compound (like plaster), and then sanded smooth. After wiping sanding dust off the wall with a damp sponge, I primed with Gardz, a penetrating sealer / primer by Zinsser. Sorry, no “during” photos. 😦

The last photo shows the smoothed surface, primed and ready for wallpaper. (The dark spots are where the original texture was thick and therefore peeking out from under the smoothing compound.)

Poppy Dotty Pantry

You can get away with a lot of avant garde-ness in small areas. This home in the Kingwood community of northeast Houston is mostly traditional in floor plan and décor. Yet the homeowner has found a few places to inject a little playful personality.

One is the backs of these cabinets in a butler’s pantry (but they are using it as a bar).

The lightly textured, indistinct smeary dots spread in a diamond pattern are nothing short of fun!

What’s especially clever is that the homeowner found a colorway that coordinates with not just the wall paint and furnishings in the home, but also with the weathered chandelier in the adjoining dining room, the nubby rug, and other furniture.

These are the little details that “pull a look together” – and this homeowner did it all on her own, acting as her own interior designer!

This wallpaper pattern is by A Street Prints, which is by Brewster. It is a non-woven material that has a high fiberglass content which prevents expansion and shrinking, and makes removal at a later date easier. I hung it using the paste-the-wall method.

From Grey to Golden – Delightful Dining Room

This dining room accent wall started out the typical suburban taupe/grey color, with even the ceiling painted the same color. The homeowner thought the room looked cold before.

Accentuating this focal wall with a special silk-look wallpaper really brought appeal to the room, and the warmth the homeower was seeking.

The wall will be finished with an oval mirror, and distressed sconces, which will tie in nicely with the weathered-look chandelier.

The remaining walls, as well as the area below the chair rail, will be painted. I suggested picking a color that compliments, rather than matches, the wallpaper color. This will enable the papered wall to stand out, with it’s mottled colors and warm feel.

The wall will then fade into the background, allowing the mirror, sconces, and buffet to take center stage.

This wallpaper is by Designer Wallpaper. It is a traditional paste-the-paper product, and was nice to work with. It went better when I pasted, booked, and then dipped the edges into water before bagging, which helped prevent the edges from drying.

The home is in Kingwood, a northeast suburb of Houston.

Bringing Happy to a Home Laundry Room

This home in Kingwood (far northeast Houston) was damaged by flooding during Hurricane Harvey, so the bottom portion of the walls had to be torn out and replaced. The repaired laundry room was functional, but not very inviting.

This cheery pattern changed all that!

The light black pen & ink-like images on a white background add whimsy and really brighten the room. I don’t think anyone would mind spending time in here on Laundry Day!

The motifs remind me of dandelions that have died and dried, that you puff on to make a wish.

The wallpaper is by York, in their Sure Strip line, which is one of my favorites. It is a pre-pasted paper, and is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate.

I Hate Sloppy Work! – Overspray on Light Fixture

This home in Kingwood (far northeast Houston) was flooded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The homeowners were pleased with their contractor’s work in getting the repairs made and getting them back into their home.

But when you get close and look at details, you can see that everything was not done as carefully as it should have been.

I guess the painters did not bother to remove, or even cover, the light sconces in this powder room. Because when they sprayed paint on the woodwork, plenty of paint got splattered onto the new fixtures. Look at the white residue on the base of the fixture.

Cute Flowers for Guest Bedroom Accent Wall

This bedroom went from typical traditional suburban style to much more contemporary and fun, thanks to this line-drawing pattern with a playful take on potted flowers.

Just the headboard wall was papered, creating a focal accent for the room.

By Exclusive Wallcoverings, this is a non-woven product, and can be hung either by pasting the paper or by pasting the wall. Since there were no intricate cuts to make or obstacles to trim around, it worked nicely to paste the wall.

Non-woven papers tend to want to retain their curled-up state, which makes them difficult to work with. To get rid of that “memory,” and to prevent the decorative side from bopping into the paste on the wall, I roll the paper backwards and secure with a hairband, as you see in the photo. Once I’m up on the ladder, I undo the paper and let it unroll toward the floor, working it into position against the preceding strip as it goes.

This home is in the Kingwood neighborhood of Houston.

No Work Today – Flooding!

If you’ve watched the news in Houston or elsewhere, you know that it rained and then flooded heavily here.

My job for today was set in Kingwood, a suburb about 20 miles northeast of downtown that got hit extremely hard two years ago during Hurricane Harvey – and again today.

I don’t pay a lot of attention to local TV, so I’m thankful that a friend alerted me to the weather and to driving conditions.

My client and I made the very wise decision to postpone this job until better weather and safer driving could be ensured.

As for me … the skies were dark, rain was pattering against the windows, and there’s nothing like taking a long nap with three cats piled up on top of you.

Thibaut Historic Damask in a Kingwood Powder Room

I love traditional patterns – like this “Classic Damask” by Thibaut.

I hung this in a powder room in a home in Kingwood (north Houston) that had been damaged by flooding during Hurricane Harvey.

It looked fabulous, was nice to work with, and is … not available anymore. 😦 The pattern has been discontinued.

DON’T Write in INK On the Walls!

Today I was prepping a room in a home in Kingwood (far northeast Houston) that was damaged during the flooding from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Look at what some contractor did – he went and wrote on the wall in INK!

Most EVERY workman of any type knows that you NEVER write on walls with ink – nor crayon, Sharpie, lipstick, or other.

Reason being, that these substances will work their way through wallpaper (and paint, joint compound, and other substances, too). It may happen quickly, or it may take a few years, but these materials will show themselves eventually, as ghost-like stains on the wall.

Other things will cause staining, too, like blood, water, rust, oil, grease, food, wood sap (knot holes), and more.

Luckily, there are dependable stain blockers on the market that can be brushed on. I like oil-based KILZ Original, but shellac-based BIN is good, too. Water-based products don’t perform as well, no matter what the label or salesman says.

I like to be extra sure, so, when I can, as in this case, I will take a knife and cut around the stain, then dig into the drywall and remove the top layer, taking the ink with it. This way it is GONE, not just covered up.

Of course, the remaining exposed / torn drywall needs to be sealed, skimmed over, sanded smooth, and then prepped for paint or wallpaper.

But all that is worth it, when you can be assured that no stains will bleed through the finish coat.

Grasscloth the Color of Milk Chocolate in a Kingwood Master Bedroom

This couple got married, blended their families, built a house, then got flooded by 3′ of water during Hurricane Harvey – all within less than a year…. Talk about stress!

Well, now that the home is back together, this soothing master bedroom will give them a calm and quiet sanctuary. The wallpaper went on one feature wall, behind the headboard.

This is a grasscloth wallpaper the color of milk chocolate. Although there were some minor shading issues, I was very pleased that the color of the strips was pretty consistent from strip to strip. The bottom photo shows a discrepancy in the weaving – this is not considered a defect, but “part of the inherent beauty of this natural product.”  Luckily, it was in a location that would be hidden behind the bed.  There was one more similar spot, but it was much smaller and not anything to complain about.

The name on the label was something generic like “Quality Wallcoverings.”

The material 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.