Another Baby’s Room – Third in a Row!

I have done three accent walls in a row for couples having their first child. I’m honored to help them get things ready for the new little one. I think it’s fun to see what patterns parents are choosing these days – not all of them are “babyish” at all.

The one I did yesterday is a fairly formal damask in gold tones (sorry, no pics), and this one is a sophisticated horizontal neutral tones wide stripe. Last Saturday, I did a cute aqua-on-white dot.

This mother-to-be saw this idea on Houzz or Pintrest. Instead of the usual one accent wall, she wanted two walls opposite one another wallpapered. The stripe was made to be hung vertically, so, to get the horizontal effect, I “railroaded” it – hung it the long way.

In the second photo, you see the first strip is up, and the second is in progress. I am using a push-pin to hold the pasted paper in place while I move the ladder so I can position the next section. I did this along the wall until all the paper was supporting itself, then went back and butted the seams and smoothed the paper into place.

After the first two strips were up, it was easier, because I didn’t have to stand on the ladder, with limited reach. Once the wallpaper dries, the blotchiness will disappear, and the color will become a little lighter.

This is a pre-pasted paper (not vinyl) by Sanitas.

Dark Line Showing Under Wallpaper

This wallpaper was put up by another installer. In the bottom half of the photo, you see a dark line at the seam. At first, I thought this was “staining,” an unpredictable phenomenon that happens with some pastes soak partly through some papers, and create what look like wet areas.

But when I started to strip off the paper, as you see in the upper left of the photo, it was clear that what was showing through was the other installer’s pencil marks and plumb line.

I write on the walls and draw plumb lines in pencil, too, and also mark on the back of the wallpaper. This is a good reminder to always write lightly, especially if the paper is thin or light colored. Note that, even if marks show through the paper when it’s wet, usually once it’s dried, the marks do not show.

The previous installer was not so lucky. After I stripped off the paper, I rolled on a white primer, which both hid his lines and better prepared the surface for wallpaper.

This pattern is by Sanitas, and is a pre-pasted, non-woven, breathable, easy to remove material.