Blue Rose Floral in Laundry Room

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.

“Otomi” Forest Frollic Wallpaper Pattern by Hygge & West

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Like animals? Like the forest? Like a little whimsy? Then this wallpaper pattern is for you!

I hung this in a children’s bathroom in a very nicely remodeled 1939 brick cottage in Montrose (inner Houston). The bottom 1/3 of the walls was shiny white subway tile, and the straight-lined vanity cabinets below were painted a strong, glossy yellow. The navy blue wallpaper pattern looked smart against the white tile, and the color perfectly complimented the yellow cabinetry.

This wallpaper pattern is called “Otomi,” and is in the Emily Isabella line by Hygge & West. This wallpaper can be bought on-line.

Coloring the Edges on a Dark Faux Grasscloth

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I am not happy with the shading and paneling that is typical of most natural grasscloth products, nor with the unmatchable pattern. So I suggest that homeowners consider the fake stuff, made of vinyl. I love this faux grass, by Thibaut. It has a texture to it, if reverse-hung (every other strip is hung upside down) there are no color variations or paneling, it is strong vinyl on a sturdy scrim (fabric) backing, is water proof, scrubable, and virtually indestructible.

So I was pleased when this Tanglewood area couple took my advice and went with this product for the husband’s home office. I have hung it many times, in many colors – twice this summer in the navy blue. There is plenty of light and open space in this room, so the dark color will feel snug, but not cave-like.

Because the product is backed with white vinyl and reinforced with white woven fabric, it’s probable that some of that white will show at the seams. To prevent that, I took a navy blue oil pastel (from an art store) and ran it down the edges of every strip of wallpaper, taking care to do this from the back, to avoid getting color on the surface. Once the strips went up, the seams were virtually invisible.