Same Faux Grasscloth Pattern ; Different Colorway

A nice faux grasscloth made of textured vinyl in an en-suite bathroom in a new home in West U ( Houston ). This is the same wallpaper , but a different color , that I hung yesterday in the bedroom across the hall.
A large mirror will be hung between the two light sconces.

It’s a tan with silver metallic color , that goes nicely with both the vanity countertop and the bright chrome faucet and towel ring , as well as the mirror .

With the light switch for perspective, here you can see the realistic embossed texture . I understand that the manufacturers use photographs of real grasscloth , and transfer to their vinyl or paper products . This gives you a realistic look, but with better color consistency , as well as a pattern that will match across the seams, reducing the jarring look of paneling and shading that often comes with real grasscloth. Do a search here to read previous posts about this.

Made by York , and purchased from Dorota , at the Sherwin-Williams on University in the Rice Village . Call before heading over to get her expert help in finding your perfect paper! (713) 529-6515
installer

Shells / Fans in Master Bedroom Closet

Left side of entry wall primed and ready for wallpaper.

Starting the right side of the wall.
Instead of laying a 9.5′ length of wallpaper down along the door frame and wrestling it around the tops and bottoms of several fixed-in-place shelves, I used a razor blade and my straightedge to slice the strip horizontally into sections, measured carefully to coincide with the position of the shelf brackets.
This way I was working with much smaller and more manageable chunks of paper.

Entry wall finished.

Entry and side walls finished.

Opposite, window wall finished.
This closet, with 20 single rolls (10 double roll bolts) of wallpaper, several fixed shelves to wrangle paper around, support brackets to trim around, and two windows to wrap wallpaper inside, took me two 10-hour days to prime and paper.

Here’s a close-up, with a light switch for perspective, to show the lightly textured surface of the wallpaper.

BN European brand of wallpaper.
This is a non-woven material and could be hung via the paste the wall method or the paste the paper installation process.
Pasting the material made it much easier to work around all the obstacles and tight areas.
The paper was very soft and pliable. It is an embossed ( textured ) vinyl and will be more resistant to stains and dings than most traditional wallpapers.
This home is in the Heights neighborhood of Houston.

Odd Things I Did 30 Years Ago

I hung this wallpaper back in 1996, and was back this week to update it with new ‘ grown-up ‘ wallpaper. You are looking at the mounting bracket for the towel bar. For some reason, I didn’t remove the bracket like I usually do today, nor did I cut around it. Instead, I cut the paper so that the towel bar would be able to grip onto the bracket, but left some of the paper intact.

The cover plate is off the light switch. Here I cut the paper very tightly to the electrical switch. I didn’t cut out for the screw holes, but, when the cover plate was replaced, I let the screw drive itself right through the wallpaper.

Water and Hands Stain Walls and Wallpaper

See the stains from water drips, finger prints, and smudges? They’re faint, but they’re visible.

These photos were taken in a powder room, right next to the light switches – you know, the spot where everyone touches as soon as he enters the room. And the next two photos are from under the hand towel – you know, right where everyone is shaking water off his hands as he reaches for a towel.

This is pretty normal use in a home where you have children. And even minus the kids, water is likely to get splashed on walls around a sink or when reaching for a towel. And hands fumbling for a light switch will leave stains on the walls (even clean hands contain oils that will stain surfaces).

The point is, learn to live gently in your home, especially when you add wallpaper. Wallpaper is not as cleanable as paint, and can be stained by everyday wear and tear.

For this particular home, the designer has ordered grasscloth. Grasscloth and other natural materials are even more easily stained than plain wallpaper. This home has young children, so, once the new grasscloth goes up, you can bet they will be receiving the Wallpaper Lady’s lecture about not splashing or touching the new paper.

Don’t Touch the Wallpaper!

Digital Image

See the light-colored, clean wallpaper close to the light switches?  Now see the darker area a little beyond?

The light area had been covered up by the switch plate cover.  The dark area shows were family members have put their hands on the wall while turning the light on and off.  Over time, the paper has become discolored.

This could be from dirt on people’s hands, or it could simply be from the oils we all have in our skin.

Bottom line – when you are turning lights on or off, touch the SWITCH, not the WALL.

Unusual Mounting Bracket for a Bathroom Mirror

Digital Image

It’s best to take accessories off the wall before installing the wallpaper, so that the wallpaper can go behind them, and leave a smooth, uniform look. “Accessories” can mean anything from light switch plate covers to towel bars to light fixtures to artwork to, as in this case, mirrors.

This mirror (not shown) was supported by a bracket that held it a few inches away from the wall, and allowed it to swivel up and down. I had not seen one like this before, so it was interesting to me to figure out how it worked and how to get the mirror off the wall – and then back onto the wall, after the wallpaper was up.

This mirror was affixed with “female” mounting receptacles that fit over the “male” rods protruding from the bracket on the wall. Then there was a largish hex-shaped set screw that fit into the top and joined the rod and the receptacle together and held them tight – with the help of an allen wrench. Now the apparatus is ready to support a heavy, framed mirror.