Arrrgh. Another boring all-white room. So much warmth and character – with a modern edge – added by wallpaper on just this one wall . I do think that this pattern on all four walls would have been a bit ‘enclosed’ feeling. So a single accent wall – which is visible from the entry – is the perfect choice.There is a definite Art Deco / 1930’s vibe to this pattern .The room has other gold features (plant stands, mirrors), so the metallic look of this pattern pulls all that together . The metallic areas are shiny , so it’s important that I spent the first day here smoothing the textured walls , because that texture would show under the new paper and look bad. This paper arrives nicely rolled up , with no creases in the inner part of the roll / bolt , and every inch was useable . Compare this to the problems and wasted material I’ve had with Rifle Paper recently – do a Search to read previous posts . The pattern is called Beau Gatsby and is by Graham & Brown , a company I like a lot. This is a non-woven material and is designed to strip off the wall easily and with no damage when you redecorate. Many of their NW papers are soft and flexible , but this one was rather crisp and stiff , which is a little more difficult to work with. I usually prefer to paste the paper , which makes it more supple . But today I decided to paste the wall , which is a fast and clean way to install wallpaper. The home is in the Timbergrove area of the Heights neighborhood in Houston .
Oh, boy – more boring white walls . Now brightened with soft blue color and lightly shining / metallic gold trees . The gold branches and trunks have a raised texture . The manufacturer is York , one of my favorite brands. The pattern is called Luminous Branches , and is similar to their Shimmering Foliage pattern , which is bolder and is in the Candice Olson line . This wallpaper is a non-woven material , and can be installed by the paste the wall method – but I usually prefer to paste the paper , especially in a powder room with pedestal sink and toilet and other objects to trim around and slip paper behind . N-W papers are minimum 20% polyester , and thus are strong and durable and more resistant to stains than traditional paper wallpapers . When the surface is prepped properly and the paper is hung properly, N-Ws are designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece and with minimal damage to the wall when it’s time to redecorate . They’re also easier to install and more DIY-friendly . The home is in the Memorial Villages area of west Houston .
aaHere’s what this flowing viny wallpaper pattern looks like in this dining room in the Garden Oaks / Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston . The bottom 1/3 of the wall is block paneling / wainscoting , so the wallpaper on just the area above is not overwhelming . A kill point is the place in a room where your last strip of wallpaper meets up with the first strip you hung . this virtually always results in a pattern mis-match . So we try to hide that in an inconspicuous place, such as in a corner behind a door . In this room, all of the corners are very visible . A mismatched corner of 7′ high would be very noticeable . So in this room, I was able to cleverly disguise the mis-match in a much shorter area, over a door . This is only 6″ high . Here my first strip is on the left, and my last strip is on the right, with two short strips needed to bridge that gap . Here the strip on the right has been put into place. Here’s the piece that will butt up against the strip on the left. Eeek! It’s 1/2″ too narrow to cover the gap. Also, as you can see, there is an obvious pattern mis-match at that seam on the right. look at this tree branch . I’m going to use that to my advantage.Here I’ve taken another piece and have matched the pattern on the right side. Note that it’s not matching on th left. Here I am, back to that strip we saw a few photos ago, that will match with the strip on the left. Remember tha tree branch I pointed out? Here I’ve trimmed the wallpaper vertically along that tree branch . Here I’m putting it into place, butting it up against the strip on the left, and overlapping the strip on the right. But that’s going to leave a vertical ridge under this strip, where the strip underneath it ends on the left. But you won’t notice that overlap if it runs under a design motif . Here I’m using a pencil to trace the outline of that tree branch, bringing it in so that the tree branch will overlap just 1/8″ – 1/4″ over the strip on the right. Note that since the surface of this paper is vinyl , and wallpaper paste doesn’t always adhere well to slick plastic , I’ve used a special border paste or vinyl over vinyl or seam repair adhesive just on this small 1/8″ overlapped area . Strip on the right trimmed to conform to the curves of the tree branch. Tree branch piece being put into place. Tree branch strip trimmed and finished. SDone and viewed from below. OK, so the pattern doesn’t match 100% perfectly the way the designer intended. Some of the motifs are closer together than they “should” be. From here, who the heck is going to notice?! This looks pretty darned good – and it looks way better than having a 7′ long mis-match in a very visible corner . The pattern is called Twining and is by Graham & Brown . It has a very light texture , and also a slight metallic sheen on the branches . It’s a non-woven / paste the wall material , and will strip off the wall easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate . I like their papers a lot . You can purchase G&B from Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village . Call first, as hours vary. (713) 529-6515 . Here’s another cool thing … Go back to that first photo. Since I started hanging paper by centering the pattern between the two windows on the wall to the right (not visible in the photo), by the time I worked my way around to the wall between the windows you see in front of you, the pattern was not going to be centered in between the windows. I thought it would look better if it was balanced symmetrically. So I positioned the dominant part of the tree branches in between the windows. And then I used the same overlap-and-disguise trick over the window on the right.
Kinda bland, huh?Well, let me fix that for you! With just two colors and a simple, yet flowing design, this wallpaper pattern breathes life into this room – but doesn’t overwhelm. Pattern is nicely centered between the windows.This is another wall that also has two windows . I was able to center the pattern between these windows, too. Centering on two different walls in the same room is actually something of a feat – but that’s a story for another time. From a distance .This home has bull-nosed / rounded outside corners and edges, as well as the arch . Very tricky to get wallpaper trimmed to these areas neatly and evenly . See other posts for more info on this.Close up. The design has a weathered fabric texture sort of background . The copper colored foliage is lightly metallic , so has a slight shine – but only when viewed from certain angles , so it’s a subdued luster that’s added to the room . Note how the coppery color coordinates with the light fixtures / chandeliers . The wallpaper is by Graham & Brown , a good manufacturer with quality papers. The pattern is called Twining . This company makes nice non-woven papers , which have a polyester content which makes them stain-resistant and durable . They are also designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece and with no damage to your walls when it’s time to redecorate . G&B ‘s materials are usually flexible and nice to work with – although this particular one did tend to drag and tear when being trimmed – even with a new blade. I usually paste the paper , but non-woven materials can also be installed by paste the wall . The home is in the Oak Forest / Garden Oaks / Heights neighborhood of Houston . This project took me three days, to smooth the textured walls , and then hang the paper around four walls , and trim around those pesky rounded edges and the arch .
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
Before. Walls primed and ready for wallpaper .Vanity area done. This blue , brown , and metallic gold material has the warm look and texture of real grasscloth, but is much more water- and stain-resistant and consistent in color . It also has a pattern that can be matched , so the seams are much less visible than with real grass . Note that some of the lines you’re seeing in the photo are cast by the light fixture .Going around these arched windows took a while!Toilet wall without lights off.With lights on, you see the true colors more accurately. Note the light fixture casting vertical stripes on the wall .Like many thick, textured vinyl products, the edges curl back just a teeny bit, due to how the material is trimmed at the factory. Believe it or not, run your finger over this seam and you’ll feel that it’s perfectly flat. In fact, this look is typical with real grasscloth, because the edges tend to fray up a bit. From two feet away, you don’t notice any of this.This material mimics the look and texture of real grasscloth .Another wall, along the shower . One nice thing about grasscloth is that, since you don’t need to match pattern motifs, you don’t have to paper walls in sequence or order. We were a little tight on material on this job, so I hung my full length walls first, then went back and hung the shorter walls. This helped me plan usage – how many strips needed and how many strips I could get out of each roll / bolt of paper . Made by York , one of my favorite manufacturers.
Dining room before. This bungalow in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston is very true to the Arts & Crafts / Craftsman period. This style featured straight , clean lines , nature , and muted colors that mimicked those found in nature . The homeowner is a retired woodworker / carpenter and did much of the millwork you see here. Done. The teal green is actually a little more muted than the photo shows. From another angle. Close-up. This wallpaper pattern is called Fir Tree . A frieze is a wide wallpaper border , usually run around the middle or top of a room . The manufacturer is Bradbury & Bradbury . They specialize in period-inspired patterns from past eras, such as Victorian , Arts & Crafts , Oriental , Modern Age / Mid Century Modern , and more. Bradbury prints on stock that’s about 28″ wide, and this border is about 13″ wide. So Bradbury prints two borders side-by-side , and then you need to use a straightedge and razor blade to cut them apart .Although the border came about 13″ wide, the space between the beams was only about 11.5″ . So we were going to lose about 2″ . I consulted with the homeowner. He really wanted to see the copper metallic pine cones. We also felt the trunks of the trees were important design elements . We decided that the pattern could afford to lose more from the top , which would permit more of the tree trunks to show, all the while preserving those pine cones. Here I am trimming 2″ off the top, so the overall height of the frieze is now 12″ . That will fill the space between the beams, and also allow a little bit to tuck down below the bottom beam (there is a gap between the wall and that beam). The room was really dark , the wallpaper was dark , and my straightedge was casting a shadow where I needed to trim. So I grabbed my Big Larry flashlight from my toolbox and was able to see where to trim. Bradbury uses inks that are quite delicate , and can be scratched or marred simply by brushing with my smoother brush , or my plastic trapezoid squeege smoother tool . Metal – like a trim guide or scissors – will also leave marks on it . Here I’ve wrapped tools in microfiber towels and baby socks , to soften contact with the wallpaper . Bradbury inks and substrates can be finicky, and it’s important to use the paste recommended by the company for the particular colorway that you’re hanging . In this case, I had to use clay – based paste . The inks and substrate aren’t always compatible , so when you add wet paste to the back , it can cause the substrate to absorb moisture and swell , while the inks on the surface are holding tight. This will result in wrinkles , warps , and bubbles on the surface . We call this quilting or waffling . One trick is to lightly sponge clean water onto the inked surface. This will allow the surface to absorb moisture and expand hopefully at the same rate as the backing , hopefully eliminating wrinkles and bubbles . On this install , I still had problems with uneven expansion . And with the paper drying out before I could get an entire strip up on the wall. So, while I was pasting the back, I also sprinkled a little water on the back and mixed it in with the paste . This did seem to even out moisture , and also help the material remain moist and workable during the installation . In addition, I also had trouble with the edges of the paper drying out before I could get a full strip up on the wall. Part of this was because it’s winter time and the furnace was blowing hot air into the room and drying out the paper. My counter-attack was, again, to sprinkle a little water onto the back, to hydrate the material more. Also, once I had pasted a strip and rolled it up (see below), I dipped the edges into about 1/8″ of clean water. And then wrapped the pasted material in a plastic trash bag and allowed to book for a few minutes before hanging . This is standard procedure with wallpaper. Actually, what worked better was to paste, book, bag, and then just before hanging to dip the ends into water. This seemed to keep everything wet and workable better and longer. Despite all this, some small bubbles did remain in the paper. As the paper dried, though, they flattened out. When you book a strip of wallpaper, customarily you fold the top 1/3 down and the bottom 2/3 up. This keeps paste from smearing all over everything, and makes each strip shorter and easier to handle. And allows you to get the top section of the pattern lined up with that on the previous strip , before unfolding the bottom section and working that against the wall. But it’s a little different handling a narrower border that’s maybe 12′-15′ long. What I do to make this manageable is to book the material in accordion pleats . See photo. Then I can unfold just a small section, work it into place, and then move along the strip, smoothing just a small section at a time against the wall. Actually, with this install, I positioned my sections against the wall temporarily, to get the whole 15′ strip up there. And then went back and smoothed each section against the wall, working out bubbles and warps , and ensuring that the frieze was pressed tightly against the wall at both top and bottom . There were four strips around the top of this dining room. On each strip I used a different install method. By the time I was done, I had learned how the material wanted to be treated. The homeowners are in love with this period-authentic look for their vintage bungalow. The husband said it was like Christmas, because they had waited for so long to have this room completed, and now it’s finally finished and beautiful!
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
Primed and ready for wallpaper . The original color was a somewhat dark murky blue . The room just felt listless and small (it’s not a small powder room )Finished. Brighter and comfortable . This isn’t a statement-making wallpaper . But it’s all about lightening up the area, and making it feel welcoming at the same time. The light metallic accents in the pattern accentuate the color of the light sconces .The gold also works nicely with the oil-rubbed bronze faucet and handles . And the aqua melds nicely with the grey marble countertop . Close-up showing the printed texture . The paper also has a light raised ink texture to it. The design is called Tresco and is by Thibaut , one of my favorite brands . It’s in their Anna French line. This wallpaper is a non-woven material , and can be hung by the paste the wall method . I usually prefer to paste the paper . Non-wovens are strong and more stain resistant than other wallpapers. They are designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate . Tanglewood houston installer
Originally, these walls were sorta heavily textured, and painted a drab brown-tan. Here I’ve finished skim-floating the walls to smooth them, and applied my wallpaper primer. Ready for paper!Flowering tree branches are a popular trend right now, and many companies are making their own versions of it. Pattern is nicely centered on the sink wall. The white background really perks the room up, and the light touches of metallic gold in the leaves helps bounce light around this small room. Close-up. This material has a slight raised ink texture to it. I love the look and feel. That scribble at the top reads Florence Broadhurst . She was an Australian artist / painter. This line of wallpaper patterns are based on her art and designs. The pattern is called Branches and the manufacturer is York Wallcoverings, one of my favorite brands. Pearland is a southern subdivision of Houston.
The Wallpaper Lady's Blog 