Black , White , and Gold Geometric on Dining Room Accent Wall

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 . 

Printing Defects With Flavor Paper Brownstoner

Here are two strips of wallpaper, dry on my work table, next to each other, plotting how they will be situated on the wall.  But – whoops! – The pattern doesn’t match properly across the seam.  The design on the right is a repeat of the design on the left. 

Here’s another section, and the pattern also repeats.  Double image.  Won’t look good on the wall.

With the strips separated, you can see the mis-match a little better.  Note the strip on the right should be moved a bit lower to get the correct pattern match.  Still, the pattern has been mis-printed at the factory, so the match isn’t accurate . 
On this left edge of the strip on the right, note how thick the black vertical line is.

Now on this same area of the pattern (same building and bricks) but from a different roll, note how thin is the black line on the left edge of the wallpaper
Butting up strips against each other from these different rolls will result in either a really fat black line , or a really thin black line.  Neither is what the pattern is supposed to be, and will be eye-jarring.

Both these rolls are from the same Run , or Lot .  Which means they were (supposedly) printed at the same time.  So, theoretically, they should both be exactly the same.  But here, you see, obviously, they are not.  Obviously, some mis-steps at the factory with either printing or trimming .   Or, someone slapped the wrong labels on the packaging .  I’ve had suspicions of this happening with previous installation s. 

The pattern is reminiscent of New York City , and is called Brownstoner  .  In the EZ Papes line of pre-pasted material – which I usually like a lot.  However, this is the second time in two months that I’ve encountered unacceptable issues with this material .  See previous blog posts. 
In addition, this stuff bubbles / blisters .  These usually dry flat as the wallpaper paste dries – but not always. 

The manufacturer is Flavor Paper .  They have really innovative patterns , so a fun brand to explore.  Note that I’m not fond of their vinyl material, and definitely not their peel & stick .  The one I will work with is this pre-pasted EZ Papes option.   Still, I wish they would get their quality control re printing , packaging , creased material , run / lot numbers , and suspected shipping out returned material as if it was new material.  (Search to read previous post )

Here’s a close-up so you can see how cute and fun this design is.
I spent a lot of extra time to get this wallpaper up and looking good.  Including plotting layout to avoid the double-image at the seams , overlapping some seams , tracking down bubbles and popping them with a razor blade and chasing the air out with my plastic smoother tool . 

Adventurous Color And Pattern For Artsy Family

Hall leading to bedrooms and bathroom in 1936 bungalow with classic floor plan found in these age and style homes . No, the family doesn’t spend a lot of time in this tiny space , but the homeowner wanted to jazz it up.

Here you go – funky , fun , and colorful ! Makes the space feel larger , too.

The room has five doors , and the bold wallpaper really stands out against the white paint .

Close up .

The pattern is called Indienne and is by the House of Hackney . This installer – friendly non-woven material comes in one large roll that you cut apart into four panels or strips , and then hang in sequence . In the picture above, you see how the four panels look placed next to each other. The final width is about 6′ and the height is 10′ 4″. Most people have shorter walls , so the wallpaper can be trimmed to your ceiling height .
Non-woven wallpapers can be hung by pasting the wall , but I usually prefer to paste the paper . They will strip off the wall easily and with no damage to your walls when you redecorate later .

This company custom-prints your paper when you order .

Here’s their instruction sheet . The printed instructions come in about 10 different languages , and the print is miniscule . But the diagrams are universal!
The home is in the Eastwood neighborhood of Houston . installer

Questionable Rolls From Flavor Paper Today

It’s important that all your rolls of wallpaper be of the same run , or batch number , also called dye lot . This ensures that the rolls were printed at the same time with the same batch of ink . Rolls printed from different batches or runs could be a very slight different color or shade – and that can result in a striped effect on your walls .
The run number is usually printed on the label of the wallpaper. But since Flavor Paper doesn’t use traditional labels, they put a tiny sticker with the run number onto the outside of the plastic bag that each roll is slipped into. These stickers aren’t particularly secure, IMO.
On this job with the Brooklyn Toile pattern from Flavor Paper , we needed eight of their “rolls.” Each roll contains two strips , printed in one long sheet that you cut apart in the middle to separate the two strips .
Flavor Paper comes with a header at the top of the roll, that includes the pattern name and other information from the manufacturer . In this photo, I’ve cut off that top portion.
We had six rolls that came like this.

But then two rolls came like this, with that top part removed.
In addition, this paper has been damaged and soiled . Not smudges around the birds near the center .
I suspect it was purchased by another homeowner, the installer removed the top header , then didn’t need the roll, and it was returned to the manufacturer . In the process, it got beaten up and dirtied.

Here’s another shot of the header missing. If the previous installer had a pasting machine, he could have used its built-in cutter to make a perfectly straight and 90* angled cut like you see here. That’s another reason I think it was opened, not used, and returned to the company.

This is the second roll. Look at how it’s been wrinkled and damaged . Paper doesn’t come from the factory like this. It had to have been unrolled, re-rolled, and put back into the plastic wrapper.

Even worse, a couple of feet into the second roll I came upon this badly creased wallpaper . This crease was probably caused by the factory . But it could also have happened at the hands of the other (alleged) installer .
Because of the way this material is printed and packaged , not in continuous rolls like most brands , but in panels or strips that are 24″ wide x 10′ 4″ long , with a somewhat long pattern repeat , I was not able to simply roll off a pattern repeat or two and still get a strip long enough to fit the wall. In other words, this damaged strip cut me short of what I needed to wallpaper this powder room .

Here’s another reason why I think these two rolls were opened and then sent back to the manufacturer . That one on the right looks like it’s been opened , unrolled , and then re-rolled – and when you do that, you can never get the roll to be as tight as it was when it came off the factory line.
I think these two odd rolls were purchased, not used, sent back to the company, and then simply stuck on a shelf to be resold – without anyone ever checking to see if they were in good condition.
Or what the proper run number is.
In addition, I don’t have confidence that the run number that was on that little sticker on the outside of the bag (see caption to top photo) is actually the right number.
In the end, I was able to futz and fiddle and engineer – and get the room done with the paper that was useable.
In the meantime, the homeowner is communicating with the manufacturer. Flavor Paper has good customer service . Additionally, they are members of the Wallcovering Installers Association / WIA (as am I).
This pre-pasted material is in their EZ Papes line, which I like a lot. I am not fond of their vinyl or peel & stick materials , and some of their papers can be darned tricky to install. I ask my clients to stick with the EZ Papes.

Rabis and Rappers – Brooklyn Toile in Sugarland Powder Room

About all this powder room has going for it is its size – it’s LARGE . But it’s also BORING .

Wallpaper adds personality and visual interest , and keeps the room from feeling too massive . In addition, the Brooklyn icons hold sentimental value to the homeowner .

Here is the opposite corner of the vanity .

AND the short space between the ” floating vanity ” and the baseboard. I was able to do this space fairly easily because, first of all, I’m small and can pretty much fit under there. But what really made this possible is that, once I knew what the pattern match could be to the adjoining wallpaper strip , I was able to pre-trim these six short strips horizontally at the point where they would sit above the baseboard . Then I trimmed their height to 4 1/2″ – the exact height of the wall space way under that cabinet . From there, after pasting , it was a (sorta) easy task to squirm under there and put the strips into place.
Yeah – nobody’s going to see it. But the husband wanted the wallpaper to be under there. And you know what? Even if the homeowners had not requested the paper go down there, I would have done it, anyway. Because leaving that bit of wall uncovered would have bugged the heck out of me.

”

Corner opposite toilet .

IIconic scenes from life in Brooklyn , New York .

The pattern is called Brooklyn Toile , and is by Flavor Paper – they are known for some unique and wacky designs . Some Flavor Papers can be very difficult to install . I pretty much won’t work with their vinyl , and definitely not their (or anybody’s ) peel & stick . But I do very much like their EZ Papes option . This is a thin , pre-pasted material that goes up beautifully , seams are invisible , not affected by humidity , it adheres nice and tight for decades , and will strip off the wall easily when you redecorate – as long as you use water and follow the directions .
This brand doesn’t have a strong protective coating , and the mom has concerns about the three young kids touching or splashing the paper as they reach for towels or soap or toilet paper . So she’s exploring various alternative options for towel racks and TP holders . Like laying a hand towel on the counter top , and a stand for the TP, or placing the rolls in a decorative basket .
Their wallpaper is packaged differently from other companies . Panels are 24″ wide x 10′ 4″ high, with two strips in a pack , or ” roll .” So the total width of a “roll” is 48″ (4′), and then 10′ 4″ high. So if you have 8′ high ceilings , you’re going to be throwing away 2′ or so with each strip. And for the areas over doors , same thing … a full 10′ 4″ strip will be needed, even if the space above the door is only 12″ high. There are a couple other companies that package similar to this, with Spoonflower , House of Hackney , and Mind the Gap being good examples.
Fkavor Paper is also a pricey brand . But very worth it, if you want something fun and unique . I mean, these guys even offer scratch-and-sniff wallpaper!

Pattern Not At Top Of Strip/Roll

Spoonflower wallpaper is packaged a little differently from other brands. It comes in what they call “rolls” that are 2′ wide, and then you can get different lengths – 3′, 6′, 9′, or 12′. Always get a little extra length.
Suppose your walls are 8′ 6″ high. You’d think you can get by using the 9′ long roll . But remember you need to add 2″ to both to top and bottom to accommodate trimming and wonky walls.
Adn here’s another reason to order extra length. Say I want horse at the top of the wall. I sure dont want his head to be cut off. Here the Spoonflower paper comes with the horses chopped in half. Yuck! Also, the next row of horses don’t line up so that their heads will be intact at the top of the wall without the hooves of the horses above them showing – which would look distracting.
So I’m going to have to cut off and throw away several inches – up to the length of the pattern repeat – in orer to get the motifs I want at the top of the wall.
Hence, the homeowner needs to purchase the 12′ long rolls.

Using One Strip to Cover Two Areas Saves Wallpaper

This wallpaper is 20″ wide . My next strip to the left needs to be 20″ wide above the window – but only 1.5″ wide down the side of the window. I hate to use a whole 6′ long strip for this area. Because, as you can see, most of the strip will be where the window is, and will be cut off and thrown away.

But here’s a plan. The same thing is happening on the right side of the wall, on the window to the right. About 10″ of the wallpaper has extended over the window, leaving about 10″ of the lower portion to be cut off and thrown into the trash.
NNo! Since I need a 1.5″ width of a right edge to finish my area on the left side of the wall (see previous photo), I can use this discarded lower 10″ of wallpaper to cover that 1.5″ to the left.

Planning ahead and measuring carefully, I removed the lower section of wallpaper that would have been hanging over the window / shutters . I left plenty of overlap to allow for trimming along the top and along side the window molding. Added bonus – because I’m now not wrestling a 20″ wide strip of paper next to this window and shutters, it keeps a lot of paste from slopping onto the window molding and shutters .
zin this photo, you see the 10″ wide strip I’ve removed. And also the 1.5″ wide strip from the left right edge, that will be put against the strip to the left.

Here’s my 1.5″ wide strip.

And here’s where I’m going to put it. Note that I cut a short strip to fit over the window . It’s 20″ wide – the width of the roll of wallpaper . I cut it long enough to come down the side of the window to where there’s a design element – in this case, a horizontal branch – to disguise the juncture of these two pieces of wallpaper .

About to go into place .

Positioned. Note the overlap of the branch, trimmed along the lines of the motif. This makes the overlap way less noticeable than a straight horizontal patch, or even a splice.
Note: I don’t like to splice / double cut in situations like these – cuts into the wall surface below and can cause the paper to come away from the wall. I don’t mind overlaps in these situations. They’re up high where no one can see, and also much stronger and more stable than a butted edge .

Teimming off excess along the window molding / trim .

Doone!

The tree and leaf pattern is called Twining and is by Graham and Brown . Like most of their materials, it’s a non-woven material and can be installed by pasting the wall – although I usually paste the paper . It is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece when it’s time to redecorate . The seams are invisible .

Different Runs – Different Materials

Due to a mix-up in terminology, the homeowner originally received just four single rolls (two double roll bolts ) of wallpaper .  They needed eight total single rolls (four doubles ), so two more double roll bolts were ordered.  Being unable to get the same run number , we anticipated a slight difference in shade .  But didn’t expect that the two new bolts would be thinner than the two original bolts . 

What the heck is up?! 

The selection book says this is a non-woven product, and a paste the wall installation method .  Yet the label on both the original and the new rolls says to paste the paper.  Even more puzzling, the instruction sheet included inside the rolls says that it’s  non-woven material , and to paste the wall. 
It’s important for the installer to know what material he’s working with, so I needed to know if this was PTW or PTP .  Usually, non-woven paste the wall are thick and hard to tear , due to their 20% polyester content .  The fat roll felt and acted like a non-woven .  But the thinner roll was thin and crispy and easy to tear.  I sure thought it was a paper material , which would require a different installation technique .  In recent months, I’ve had this same manufacturer send several rolls of the a particular pattern , but some were non-woven, and some were paper.  So I thought we might be experiencing this again.  It’s important to know what you’re working with, because different materials require different installation techniques.  If a DIY ‘er follows the instructions to paste the wall , but it’s actually a paste the paper material, he’s going to encounter a whole lotta mess – and ruined paper . 

Here I used my 24” wide straightedge to tear off a strip of wallpaper from the roll of thin material.  This answered my question.  See the little fibers ?  Those are indicative of non-woven papers, and their polyester content .  Once I saw this, I was certain that it was, indeed, a non-woven material / paste the wall . 

So this material was easier to hang than traditional papers, because no need to paste , book , and let sit for a few minutes.  There are other pluses, too, to NW papers, and most of us professionals like hanging them.  But I wasn’t 100% pleased with the thin version of this non-woven material.  For one thing, its stiff, crispness made it difficult to manipulate, and prone to crease . Also, notice the splotchiness of the paper.  This showed up on the dry paper, right off the roll.

But paper that has been pasted and hung on the wall showed even more splotches .  This is scary, because there is a issue called blushing or staining , where the paper looks like it’s wet , but never dries out.  Do a Search here to learn more.   This happens mostly with non-woven papers , and is tied to certain types of paste .  Which is why I don’t use those pastes!  So curious as to what is causing this slight discoloration.

I believe the spots were just due to moisture .  As I worked my way across the wall and time went on, the paper I had hung first had a chance to air out and dry.  The blotches disappeared . 
 
I’m curious as to why the difference in material.  Maybe the manufacturer was using different factories?  In different countries? Or supply chain issues / material shortages meant that their usual substrate and inks were not available .  Or just trying to cut costs?  Saving money isn’t a bad thing.  But it is, if it cuts down on the product’s quality. 

World Map Mural – Focus on Africa

This couple in a beautifully updated 1939 home (4-plex converted to single family) in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston loves Africa and has traveled there several times. This spare bedroom on the first floor is devoted to Africa. On the walls they have hanging artifacts from their travels.

And now they have a map of the continent , front and center!
accent wall

Close up looks like old paper that has been folded and stashed and aged , then uncovered and now placed on the wall.

The mural is custom-sized to the wall. Remember to add 3″ to both width and height, to accommodate trimming and also wonky walls.
The material comes as one big roll , with six panels all in one long piece. You have to unroll the whole thing and cut the panels apart . Note that five panels are 19″ wide. But that sixth one on the far right is only 16″ wide. I have cut off the 3″ overage. So when you’re plotting your lay-out, don’t go assuming that you will have six panels of the same width. That last panel is going to be whatever it needs to be, to custom-fit the size of the wall.
Here, I’m laying the panels out to compare dimensions of width and length with those of the wall . Also checking to be sure the sequence of panels is correct. Note the diagram provided by the company on the white sheet of paper at the top of the photo.

Here’s a close-up of the diagram / install instruction sheet .

The mural is by Rebel Walls , a part of Gimmersta . I love their hundreds of selections, their material , quality , and excellent customer service.

This particular mural is called World Map . I’m not sure, but it may come in other colors .

Here’s the mock-up the company sent. The homeowner requested that Africa be placed in the center . You see what a good job Rebel Walls did with that. The mural that we received was actually a little smaller, and didn’t contain that much of America on the left, nor the far right sides of the countries on the right.
Interestingly, the mural doesn’t meet up with itself. In other words, you can’t place two murals side-by-side. Look at the left, where America is. There’s only the eastern half of America. But there is no connecting western half of America on the right side of the mural. So you couldn’t order several of these and place them next to each other, to go around a bedroom , for instance. This may be because the mural was designed to fit one wall only , and to focus on Africa . It’s possible that the same mural is available so that it will connect to itself, and so that you could use it all the way around a room.

According to the shipping box, Rebel Walls is also connected with Sandberg , another manufacturer of fine wallpapers . This stuff comes from Sweden . It is a non-woven material and can be hung using the paste the wall method . I often prefer to paste the paper , but on this simple accent wall, I did paste the wall . Saves space, because I don’t have to set up my big table .
Non-woven wallpapers don’t expand when wet with paste like traditional papers do, which is a nice advantage for many reasons. They also are durable and stain-resistant . And are also designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece, and with no damage to your wall when you redecorate .  Non-woven is MUCH better than the false-hopes peel & stick material being pushed by some mfgrs today. Click my link to the right.

Rebel Walls also includes special paste for this non-woven paper. This is important, because some other types of paste have been known to stain N-W’s, also called blushing – paper looks wet in areas, but never dries out .
It’s believed that excess moisture is a reason for this staining / blushing . Which is the main reason why I don’t used the paste provided by RW. If the powdered substance has to be mixed with water to turn into paste , it stands to reason that it can be too liquidy and could bleed through the surface of the wallpaper, causing staining.
I prefer a pre-mixed paste made by Roman called 780 . You can also use Roman 838 . These both have lower moisture contents, and have good record of not staining wallpapers . Most Sherwin-Williams stores carry these pastes. But call first!

Vinyl Faux Grasscloth in Guest Bathroom

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.