Soft and Serene Entry in Oak Forest

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Digital Image

Here is an entry in a typical ’60’s – ’70’s ranch style home in a tidy neighborhood to the west of Oak Forest, in Houston. Originally, the top 2/3 of the walls was papered in a flocked (three-dimensional velvet-like) stripe in black and gold. When the previous homeowners hung new wallpaper, they skim-floated over the flocked paper (because it can be the Devil to get off), and then coated it with a clear sealer. Which is fine, and pretty much what I would have done, except that the joint compound (smoothing material) shrinks, and so it’s best to do two coats. Since they did only one coat, some of the ridges between the stripes remained, and these showed under the new wallpaper they put up.

The current homeowners stripped off that top layer of wallpaper, and intended to hang their new pattern, but realized it was beyond them, so they called me. Wise decision!

In the first photo, you see the wall as it looked once they stripped off the top layer of wallpaper. In the second photo, I have skim-floated and sanded the wall so it is smooth, and then applied a coat of sealer (I used Gardz, by Zinsser, a penetrating primer which is exceptional on porous surfaces like this) mixed with a little 1-2-3, also by Zinsser, to add some white pigment.)

In the third and fourth photos, you see the new paper. This pattern is a medium scale damask with a little “raised ink” texture, in white on pale gold. The lady of the house has an extremely good eye for decorating, and her style is pretty much pale neutrals and sparse, clean settings. This entry, which is open to the living room and dining room, enhances that look.

This wallpaper pattern is by WallQuest, in their EcoChic line, is made of a thin non-woven material with raised ink. It was very nice to work with, and it is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece, when it’s time to redecorate. It was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.

Sweet Mini-Print in a Vintage Bathroom

The guest bathroom in this early 1950’s ranch-style house near Highland Village in Houston still has its original yellow wall tile, with the funky green accent tile around the top. I love this old retro stuff, and so does the homeowner. She wanted a wallpaper that would work with the tile, but still look up-to-date.

She had found a paper with square dots in a color that worked well with the tile. But it was one of the uncoated (stains easily) pulp papers by a British company (pricey). Dorota (read below) was able to find her some better-suited options, and she settled on this one. She asked my opinion before buying, and I said YES! It’s vinyl-coated so it’s a little washable, it’s less expensive, and I like the lively foliage pattern much better than plain old rectangular dots all over the paper.

The first photo is the room after I’ve smoothed and primed the walls. The second photo is a finished shot, and the third is an (admittedly grainy) close up of the pattern. Click to enlarge and see a better view. The black line is an extension cord going to supplemental lighting I rigged in the room.

The homeowner was out of town while I did the work today, and will come home to a very happy surprise in her soon-to-be-children’s bathroom.

This wallpaper pattern is by WallQuest, and was bought at a discounted price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.