Before … Heavy stipple / sand texture on drab sage green semi-gloss paint. I skim-floated the walls , sanded smooth , primed with Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime wallpaper primer and … Here’s the finished sink area of this hall bathroom . Before shot of tub and window wall .So much brighter and livelier! Close up . It’s hard to see from these photos, but the colors are pewter, silver, and metallic silver. The paper also has a lightly textured surface . The pattern is called Hedgerow and the brand name is Super Fresco. Every other SF I’ve hung has been on a non-woven / paste-the-wall substrate , so I was surprised to discover that this one was a paste-the-paper material , and that the backing is a paper / pulp material , with textured vinyl laminated to the surface. My issue with this is that, historically, these paper-backed solid vinyl wallpapers don’t hold up well in humid areas , such as bathrooms. Humidity in the air can actually be wicked up through the seams and then settle on the paper backing , which is absorbent and thirsty. Once that paper absorbs moisture, it’s going to expand . Since there is nowhere for it to go, it will push back against the wall , and that can cause the seam to curl up and pull away from the wall. Oftentimes, the paper backing actually delaminates (comes apart) from the vinyl surface. This is not a “loose seam” and cannot be repaired. You pretty much have to replace the whole strip. Or, more likely, to replace the entire wall, from one corner to the next. Proper wall prep , including a primer made for use under wallpaper , goes a long way toward avoiding these sorts of occurrences. installer houston memorial area
The mural was to go in one wall, but that wall had several corners and turns.Don’t be distracted by the mirror on the left, which is reflecting clothing and dropcloths. The focus is the beautiful etched-looking mural!Before.I love the way the trees creep along the wall and in between the mirror and door moldings.Close-up.Here is a picture of the mural as shown on the company’s website. Both the homeowner and I expected that the trees would reach up higher, and would be visible over the mirror and door. I was disappointed that the company printed it too short for those treetops to be visible over the door, but the homeowner was OK with it. In the end, it worked out nicely, because the homeowner wanted another area covered that I had not measured for, and the lack of trees above the doors meant that I was able to pull that off. More on that in another post. The manufacturer is Rebel Walls ( rebelwalls.com ), and I like their material and quality a lot. Their murals are custom-sizeable, too, which is a bonus. This popular pattern is called Bellewood . It’s a non-woven material and you can paste the paper or paste the wall to install. The home is in the Memorial Villages area of Houston.
A few months ago, I papered the adjoining powder room in this same watercolor -y wallpaper pattern. Now that the homeowner’s new custom cabinetry has been installed in the laundry room, I’m papering that area, too. Here’s the before picture.The homeowner made the point that, after all the money they spent on the carpentry, everything was swallowed up by the all-white walls. Well, a little color and pattern from wallpaper changes all that! Besides being beautiful, note how the wallpaper makes the moldings and cabinets stand out. Here the roses look purple … they’re actually more navy blue in color. Close up. The design looks like real watercolor brush strokes. Note there’s a slight pattern mis-match at the seam. This is a very close-up shot. From three feet away, you don’t notice it. Tomorrow I’m hanging another room with the same pattern but from a different run … Let’s see if the pattern matches better in the new run. The pattern is by Caitlin Wilson and is in the Sure Strip line, made by York , one of my favorite manufacturers. This is a unique pre-pasted material, as it’s designed to strip off the wall easily when you redecorate. I like Sure Strip a lot. Do a Search here to read about my install techniques with these. This is a nicely renovated and updated home in the energy corridor / Memorial area of west Houston.
This home in the Energy Corridor / Memorial area of west Houston is dressed in soft tones of white, grey, pale wood tones. The homeowner wanted something dramatic in their exercise room bath, but also wanted to stick with the muted color scheme. Looks like she got what she was hunting for!Although this is actually a digital print, close-up it looks like brush strokes.The wallpaper designer and manufacturer is Lindsay Cowles. The material is a stiff, thick, heavy non-woven like what we call a bridging liner. And to be honest, I’m not enjoying working with it. Hard to manipulate into corners and intricate moldings, and creases easily, among other misbehaviors. I’d much rather they would print on a more standard weight non-woven substrate. This is a high-end brand, and the goods are sold by the yard and come packed in one huge, very heavy bolt, rather than several standard-sized rolls.
Headboard accent wall before. Textured wall was skim-floated and sanded smooth, then primed. Now it’s ready for wallpaper.Finished.Closer look.Detail. The seams were invisible. The lines on this paper are raised a bit, so there is a 3-D effect. I hung this non-woven wallpaper by the paste-the-wall method. Here I have rolled the strips backward, to prevent the decorative surface from hitting the paste on the wall. When I’m at the top of my ladder, I will take off the elastic hairband and let the paper unfurl down to the floor. It’s rolled so the top of the strip comes off first. I have measured the wall and noted where the center point is, then determined where I want my first strip to fall. The black box in the foreground is my laser level, and you can see the vertical red line it’s shooting at the wall, which is where I am going to line up my first strip. Positioning the wallpaper strip along the vertical laser line. This muted geometric pattern is in the Jaclyn Smith Home line by the Trend division of Fabricut. It was mighty nice to work with, and will hold up for years until the family is ready for a change of decor. Then, the polyester-content non-woven material is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece.
The home is in the Memorial Villages neighborhood of Houston.
The homeowners in this Memorial / Dairy Ashford area of Houston live to ski! When they throw parties, they set the drinks up on the counter in their laundry room, and everyone congregates there.
So this “Après Ski” pattern by Katie Kime was the perfect wallpaper pattern.
The material is a smooth vinyl on a non-woven backing. It will be somewhat more resistant to splashes and stains than a cotton or wood pulp paper. The instructions said it has a non-woven substrate and could be hung by pasting the wall, but I got bubbles doing that, so I opted to paste the paper and book it for a few minutes, as with a traditional paper, which worked better.
I had papered this powder room five years ago in a classic trellis design. Here it is, stripped, prepped, and ready for a more modern update.The new look is fresh and light, and decidedly modern. Close up.
The wallpaper manufacturer is Katie Kime, and the home is in the Memorial area of west Houston.
Before. The textured walls have been skim-floated and sanded smooth, and then primed. Welcome to the Jungle!Notice the watercolor-y look of this design. It reminds me of impromptu sketches by artists who work in “plein aire.” “Frida” by Pepper Home
The homeowner was browsing Pepper Home’s website and was instantly smitten by this rather uncommon theme and design. It’s called “Frida.” It sure is fun!
This paper is sold by the yard, was custom-printed, and came in one continuous bolt (54 yards!). It had a selvedge edge that had to be trimmed off by hand (see future posts). The inks are clay-coated, which imparts a rich matt finish, and the substrate is way better than what many other companies are printing on.
I positively loved working with it. The trim marks were spot-on, minimizing a pattern mis-match at the seams. Once pasted and booked, the material became very supple and flexible, and it could be “worked” much better than standard brands. Even better – the seams virtually melted away (became invisible).
I ran silicone caulk along where the wallpaper meets the top of the sink. This will prevent splashed water from pooling on the sink and then wicking itself up into the new wallpaper – which could cause the new wallpaper to curl and peel away from the the wall.
So I’m always happy when clients take my advice to consider other options. These homeowners chose a faux grasscloth with an embossed texture (that mimics the tactile appeal of the real stuff), a pattern that can be matched (eliminating jarringly visible seams), on a non-woven substrate (easier install / easier removal when it’s time to redecorate), with a surface that is resistant to stains (as opposed to real grass, which can be stained easily by toiletries, cleaning agents, or even plain water), and, because it’s man-made, greater assurance of homogeneous color – effectively eliminating the woes of paneling and shading and other color variations between and even within strips.
I was pleased with most aspects of this product. For some reason, my camera made the texture look zig-zaggy, but in real life, it really did mimic real grasscloth. The close-up photo gives you a good idea.
One thing that surprised me – and disappointed me – is that, even though this is a man-made material controlled by factory standards, there ended up being a slight color difference between the right and left side of each strip. Look at the fifth photo, particularly the top, and you will see what I’m talking about.
Since this is made in a factory using inks that are mixed at the same time, poured into the printer at the same time, and applied to the wallpaper at the same time, I really don’t understand how the material can have this color variation. Especially since virtually all of the products I have hung by Brewster have been very consistent in color.
In this case, the color variation was fairly minor, was less noticeable when I removed my 100 watt work light, and pretty much reflects what real grasscloth looks like, anyway. The homeowners were fine with it.
The wallpaper is by Exclusive Wallcoverings, which is made by Brewster. It is on a non-woven substrate, and can be hung via the paste-the-wall or paste-the-paper methods. The home is in the Memorial / Beltway 8 / Briarpark area of west Houston. I hung this in a guest bathroom.
I would call the home’s style as contemporary / industrial. This faux grasscloth really softened the room. The horizontal lines in the wallpaper complimented the lines in the shower’s tile. The overall look went from cold and commercial to soft, inviting, and almost spa-like.
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