Bridges, Lovers, and Rabbis – Quirky Brooklyn Toile for Baby’s Nursery

Before. Textured wall has been smoothed, and is primed and ready for wallpaper. The pattern comes in “A” and “B” rolls, which is atypical. In the photo I am plotting strips and rolling everything out, before cutting anything up.

Done!

The pattern highlights special features and landmarks of Brooklyn. I’d sure like to know who the guy with the crown is. I get a kick out of all the Jewish guys. The dancing men – I can just hear the strains of Hava Nigala!

Close-up.

This was a pre-pasted material – simple installation process and dries nice and flat.

Manufacturer is Flavor Paper. Flavor Paper prints on many different substrates – and most are quite tricky to work with. The homeowner took my advice and went with the pre-pasted (EZ Papes) option. This material went up like a dream, and will cling nice and tight to the wall for years to come.

Not many babies can brag a decorating scheme like this! The pattern reminds the homeowner of her time in New York City.

The 1920 bungalow is in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston.

New York Toile in Hall Bathroom

Katie Kime makes this very popular line of city toile wallpapers. There is one for most major cities here and abroad. Not just wallcovering … pajamas, notecards, mugs, all sorts of things.

KK normally prints on a nice non-woven substrate. But these days, due to shortages tied to the COVID pandemic, they can’t the the raw materials, so have switched to a thick, stiff, heavy vinyl product.

It is difficult to work with, on many fronts, and doesn’t look as nice as their original material. IMO

Still, the room is shaping up nicely (will finish it tomorrow), and the client loves it.

My favorite motif is the scene with the lady hailing the taxi, and particularly the little old lady walking the poodle. Straight out of the ’60’s! You can just envision her blue tinted hair and tidy rent-controlled apartment in a ’30’s era building.

Wild & Fun ’70’s Look Flower Power Powder Room

A lot of pattern, but the subtle color pallet keeps it from overwhelming the room.

Close-up.

Marimekko brand.

This wallpaper is the final touch to a remodel of this contemporary style home in the Rice University area of Houston. The husband asked, “Are you sure you want that, Honey? It looks so outdated.”

Ha ha! The wife and I just looked at each other and grinned. We both know that this sort of pattern is really hot right now. Even the gift shop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is selling Marimekko mugs and accessories!

The material is non-woven, and I used the paste-the-paper method for the complicated area around and under the sink, and for the two plain walls I switched to the paste-the-wall method.

Shimmer and Glimmer in a River Oaks New Build

Here is a brand-new, very contemporary home in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston. The lady of the house definitely has a streak of glam, because there are touches of glitter, shimmer, gilt, mirror, crystal, pearl, and more throughout the house.

This textured, shiny gold wallpaper fits right in! I hung this on one wall in the entry of the home.

The material is an embossed vinyl on a non-woven backing, and can be hung by the paste-the-wall method or the paste-the-paper method (which is what I did). The instructions say that if you follow the directions in prepping the wall and hanging the paper, it will strip off the wall easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate.

This design is by Deiter Larger, and is made by Marburg, a German company, and distributed by Sancar in New York City. It was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village, (713) 529-6515.  She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Longing for the Big Apple

Originally living in the heart of New York City, these homeowners “got a better offer” and moved to Houston. In a nicely updated 1925 bungalow in the Woodland Heights, life for these two has changed for the better – but the wife still reminisces over the view she had out her skyscraper office window back in NYC.

She found this really cool wallpaper design, which depicts hundreds and hundreds of New York buildings, from tall to gigantic, from the 1800’s to the 2000’s, with many styles of architecture tossed into the mix.

Where did this cool and sentimental wallpaper go? … In the laundry alcove. But it’s not tucked away in the rear of the house … this laundry room is in the main hall leading through the house – which means that this fun and sentimental wallpaper is on view every time anyone walks through the house.

This wallpaper is by York, in their Sure Strip line. It is a thin, easy to manipulate non-woven material, and is designed to strip off the wall easily and with minimal damage, when it’s time to redecorate. This is one of my favorite brands, because it’s easy to work with, doesn’t tear or crease, it doesn’t shrink and gap at the seams, it’s easy to remove, and it will stand up to humidity, such as will exist in a laundry room.