Serena & Lily “Feather” in Houston Play Room

The original all-white walls didn’t do much to make this play room for young kids feel fun. Mom chose “Feather” by Serena & Lily to pump it up a couple of notches!

In the close-up photo, you can see the irregular lines of this design, as well as the hand-painted, watercolor-y look. The material has a slight “raised ink” texture.

You might think the pattern is a little busy now, but once the furniture is back in place and the artwork goes up, the room will feel more balanced.

The homeowners also commented that the pattern on the walls makes the room feel bigger and less “lost” than with the all-white look.

The home is in the Braes Heights neighborhood of southwest inner Loop Houston. The wallpaper is called “Feather” and is by Serena & Lily – one of my favorite brands.

World Map Mural, Kids’ Play Room, Heights

This family loves to travel, so a world map that covers a full accent wall is the perfect backdrop to the kids’ play room.

The brand is Wallartica. It is a lightweight vinyl with a pebbled textured finish (see close up photo).

I hung it using the paste-the-wall method.

The panels are 40″ wide, so stepping across the two ladders helped me handle that wide width material.

Colorful Raindrops in a Youngster’s Playroom

Isn’t this a cute pattern for all four walls of a playroom for a toddler (and soon to be new sister)?!

The little boy walked around the room naming colors in the raindrops. The wallpaper also has an interesting downward movement feel – which works well in this large room with three sets of French doors.

Soon the room will be full of stuffed animals, cars, PlaySkool furniture, and crayons. Don’t worry – the little tyke has already been “lectured” that wallpaper is for looking at… not for touching. 🙂

This wallpaper pattern is by Wallquest (Seabrook / York), in their Eco Chic line. It’s pretty nice to work with, although I think the factory had some issues with trimming the edges perfectly straight. Minor, though.

It was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

The home is in the Bellaire neighborhood of Houston.

Marvel Comics in Kids’ Bathroom

Here’s a finished look at yesterday’s install. It’s in a bathroom adjacent to a bonus room / play room / bunk room for this family’s four young sons.

See yesterday’s post for information about this non-woven wallpaper material.

This wallpaper pattern is by York Wall, and was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her, especially during this time of COVID 19.

The home is brand new, and is in the new Pomona development south of Pearland in Manvel (southeast Houston).

Spotting A Little Fun In A Hidden Closet

A 3′ x 1.5′ soffit visible when the door of this closet is opened really bugged the homeowners. The closet is in a playroom where I had just papered an accent wall. (See previous post.)

The homeowners thought that putting wallpaper on this soffit would make it less offensive. They were thinking of using the same paper that was on the adjoining wall (see previous post).

But they had a little paper left over from when I did their powder room in a previous house back in 2011 (yes, the wife saved the left over paper and transported it to the new house!). Once I saw the fun spotted pattern, which just so happened to be in a grey/brown color that coordinated beautifully with the accent wall, I insisted they use the dots instead of the “Fantasia” pattern.

Now when the closet door is open, your eye is drawn to this playful spotty block of funness.

The dotty pattern is called “Tanzania” and is by Thibaut.

Rebecca Atwood “Dashes” in a Toddler’s Playroom

Lucky little boy, who gets this high-end Rebecca Atwood “Dashes” wallpaper in his playroom. The design looks like someone took a tiny brush and daubed watercolor paint onto the walls.

This home is in the Highland Village neighborhood of Houston, and the homeowner is the interior designer. Layne Torsch Interiors.

Wallpaper In Better Homes & Gardens Once Again

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

I am always tickled to see wallpaper featured in national magazines. It draws a lot of attention to the many faces of wallcoverings, and entices more people to use them. These photos are from the April 2017 issue of Better Homes & Gardens.

Sigourney by Quadrille, in a powder room. Interestingly enough, I have this same pattern coming up, but in a softer tan color, in a dining room, in a few weeks.

Daydream by Hygge & West. This a well-loved pattern, and I have hung it several times, in many colors. Interestingly enough, I have it coming up, also, in a few weeks, for a baby’s nursery accent wall.

A yellow ikat trellis by Thibaut. Interestingly enough, I hung this same pattern, but in aqua, with a complimentary leopard print companion paper, in a powder room a few months ago.

Navy blue grasscloth in a dining room, above the white wainscoting. The strips in this photo are narrow, and do not show the visible seams and possible color variations (shading, paneling) that are common with many grasscloths.

An over-sized floral of cabbage roses on a smoky black background. I have not hung this one yet, but many of my colleagues across the country have. It’s a popular look. The overscaled size of this pattern, and the dramatic color contrasts, make it a daring choice for a small room like this powder room.

A wildly and brightly colored geometric pattern for a children’s play room. This is a little similar to what is in the background of the twins’ room on the TV show Blackish.

A pattern reminiscent of tropical thatched roofs. This is reminiscent of a similar pattern I put in a “tree house” home office a few months ago. (Search on my blog to see pics of the full project.)

A mural of misty mountain fog. I totally love this mural. Murals have taken on a whole new look these days, leaving behind the old scenes of palm trees leaning over tropical white sand beaches, and bringing us to much more modern and innovative vignettes.

More murals, including an impressionistic floral in bright colors (I have done two in the similar theme – do a Search on my blog), and an updated beach scene. (Note the current trend among manufacturers / vendors to not go to the trouble to hang the paper on the wall, but to instead run a clothes line across the wall and use clothes pins to “artfully” string up the rolls of wallpaper, letting them drop loosely to the floor. This method is easy / inexpensive for the vendor to do, and it looks oh-so-cool- but it prevents the shopper from seeing what the product would look like attached firmly to a smooth surface.)

The final mural is a tropical forest scene. This has been a popular mural scene / theme for decades. But this version is printed on better quality paper, and the photo image has much more detail, depth of color, texture, etc.

Many of these murals can be custom-made, to fit the dimensions of your wall / room. Measuring is tricky, so be sure to contact your wallcovering installer BEFORE you order the mural or wallpaper.