Good Reasons NOT To Let The Handyman Hang Your Wallpaper

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“He was good at everything else he did,” said the homeowner. “Painting, drywall, and everything else. He just had never encountered un-prepasted wallpaper before.”

Pre-pasted or hand-pasted material has little to do with it … this poor fellow’s skillset didn’t cover basics like matching the pattern, wrapping corners, butting seams, trimming neatly along the edges, patching over a mistake, removing the old wallpaper, properly prepping the walls, or using an appropriate adhesive (he made a mad dash to a local box store… Sherwin-Williams or Southwestern Paint would have been better).

He also failed to remove the existing wallpaper. I am sure that that paper could have been stripped off, with proper knowledge and a little time. Then the walls should have been primed – another step he skipped.

In addition, there is a gummy residue that feels something like rubber cement left along the top of the tile. This will be pretty difficult to remove, and any product that can dissolve it will probably stain the wallpaper.

And this rubbery-feeling gunk makes me fear that this wallpaper will be very difficult to get off the wall. There are some versions of “wallpaper primer” that result in a tacky surface that is great for grabbing ahold of wallpaper – but NOT for letting it go when it’s time to change décor.

The bottom line for these homeowners…. They paid this guy to put up their wallpaper, and will now have to pay me to fight to get it off the wall, fix any damage to the wall surface, subjugate the problematic adhesive residue, re-prep and reprime the wall, and then rehang the new paper.

The last photo is from a different house, but shares some of the same problems, most particularly improper wall prep.

The Perfect Pattern for a Lady’s Bathroom

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I love this artist’s-swath-of-ink-hand-drawn-design of lovely ladies for a single gal’s private bathroom. It goes nicely with the white and minimalist theme of this contemporary style townhome in the Midtown area just south of downtown Houston.

Even though the design has lots of movement, it does not feel busy, because the palette is limited to black and white.

This pattern is by York, in their Sure Strip line, which is designed to strip off the wall easily and with no damage to the wall when its time to redecorate. But don’t worry – it will stick nice and tight in the interim.

The wallpaper was bought at below retail price from Dorota Hartwig at the Sherwin Williams on University in the Rice Village near Kirby. (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.

naked ladies wallpaper installer houston

From Country Child’s Room to Cozy Guest Room

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With it’s bold brown color, contrasting horizontal band, and stenciled pattern, the original treatment of this room had taken a lot of planning and careful execution. To me, it had a country look, but I am told that the room sported a “cars & trucks” theme, and was used by a little boy. See first photo.

The new homeowners plan to use the room as a guest bedroom, though, and wanted something more grown up and more soothing. This neutral-toned Chinoiserie (Oriental-themed) toile (two-color pen-and-ink type drawing of daily life scenics) perfectly transformed the room.

The walls had a fairly heavy texture, which I skim-floated the first day, then sanded smooth and primed the second day. I love the second photo, with the new paper juxtaposed against the freshly-prepped walls.

The second-to-last photo shows my kill point, where the last strip meets up to the first strip, which virtually always ends in a mis-match. I pulled a few tricks out of my hat, and I think I disguised this mis-matched corner nicely.

This wallpaper is on a non-woven substrate, and is by Brewster. It was more pliable than many non-wovens, and was pretty nice to work with. The seams were practically invisible, and even going around corners and windows, the paper performed well. It was bought below retail price from Sherwin-Williams, at the Durham & Washington store, in Houston.

From Dark and Traditional to Bright and Contemporary

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Here is a dramatic change! This master bathroom in a River Oaks (Houston) home was originally papered with the classic Empire Star (I’m betting the manufacturer was Osborn & Little, a higher-end British company). It was beautiful.

But it didn’t suit the new homeowners’ taste.

At first, I thought their new selection was too “mod” for the traditional bones of their home. But once it started going up, boy, was it clear that this was a wonderful choice!

The paper has just a bit of sparkle and shimmer, but is understated and serves well as a backdrop for the couple’s nautical-themed artwork. More important, it is light in color, and it reflects light, so it really brightens up the whole room. The pictures include shots of the outer sink room, and the toilet cubbyhole room.

The wallpaper is by DecorLine, and is a paste-the-wall non-woven product, and was purchased from Sherwin-Williams.

Classic Damask in a Dining Room

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This dining room full of antique furniture greatly benefited from the addition of this traditional damask wallpaper pattern. And the color coordinates perfectly with the paint on the chair rail and the wainscoting beneath.

Note the slight shadowed / striped look in the wallpaper. If you were thumbing through a selection book, you might not notice these subtle color variations. I certainly didn’t see this when I had strips of the paper rolled out side-by-side on my work table. This is why it’s important to look at the room-set photos in the selection book. These shots will show you how the pattern will look full-size, in a real room, and give you a chance to see any secondary patterns, such as this shadowy effect.

This pattern is by Designer Wallpapers, and was bought at a discounted price from Sherwin Williams. I hung it in a dining room in west Houston.

A Scratchy, Blurry Geometric Trellis On A Dining Room Accent Wall

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The homeowners are fairly new to this house in the Shepherd Park Plaza neighborhood of Houston, and are doing lots of updates. In this dining room, they removed the built-in cabinet that was smack in the middle of this wall, as well as the chair rail molding around the middle. In the top photo, you see new Sheetrock that has been taped and floated in areas that were damaged by removing the cabinet.

To make a perfect surface, I skim-floated the wall. This eliminates hairs and grit from the drywall, and smoothed over the patched areas. I then sanded, wiped free of dust, and primed with a penetrating sealer called Gardz. The finished wall is shown in the second photo.

The homeowners found a paper that matched the colors on their walls and in their Oriental rug, and the scratchy, vague design is visible, but not at all overwhelming. I love the way that the trellis pattern mimics the carved design on the ceiling.

This wallpaper is by Designer Wallpaper, and was a non-woven, paste-the-wall product. It was bought from Sherwin-Williams. I made sure to center the pattern on the wall, so when they place furniture against it, the pattern will be balanced on either side.

Perky Trees in a Shared Bathroom

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“The decision to go with wallpaper was a hard-sell,” said the husband. His previous knowledge of wallpaper was the flowery sort of stuff that your grandmother had. But the wife wanted some pattern and color for this bathroom that is share by a pre-school girl and an adjoining guest bedroom, in their remodeled 1920’s bungalow in the Houston Heights. She found this fun tree design at Sherwin-Williams.

Once the paper started going up, Hubby was sold!

Originally, the walls were all white, plus white wainscoting on the lower 3′ and white tile on the mirror wall. Clearly, the wallpaper brought personality and fun, and a bit of color to the space.

The couple was originally debating leaving two short walls that flanked the mirror wall painted white. During our initial consultation, I pointed out that that would leave too many disparate elements in the room – paint, tile, paneling, mirror, wallpaper. I suggested they put the wallpaper on all the walls, including bringing it onto those two walls that surrounded the mirror wall. It turned out to be the right choice. (Sorry – no photo.)

I also plotted the pattern placement so that both of those walls mirrored one another, and both had a half inch of blue space between the trees and the tile, and the trees on both walls were at the same height. It’s something you would not consciously notice when looking in the mirror, but your mind’s eye would sense that the area is equal and balanced.

This wallpaper is by Brewster, in their A Street Prints line. It is a non-woven material and a paste-the-wall product. The homeowners bought it from the Sherwin Williams store on University in the Rice Village – the store I deal with the most. It was nice to work with, but, like many non-woven wallpapers, it was stiff and somewhat argumentative when turning corners or doing detailed work like cutting around intricate moldings.

Out of the ’90’s, and Into the …. ’90’s ….

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The owners of this newish home in Garden Oaks were updating their powder room, including a new console style vanity, a point-of-use tankless water heater, and new wallpaper. They wanted it all done before the Super Bowl game…. I am generally booked with work several weeks out, but had an unexpected opening, so was able to squeeze them in today, between Christmas and New Year’s. They were happy to let me come this holiday week!

I have hung a ton of that chintz style floral (top photo) in the ’90’s. It’s a pleasing pattern, but has become dated. Really, the homeowners’ new choice isn’t much different, but it’s an updated version, plus the red color has a lot of impact, and that helps the walls stand out against the white woodwork.

One good thing about a pattern like this is that it won’t really ever go out of style.

The paper was printed on what we call a pulp substrate. I usually like pulps, but this one was thick and stiff and brittle and it abraded easily. I had to color the edges with oil pastel, to keep the white backing from peeking out at the seams. Pasting it was a wrestling match, because it kept wanting to curl back into a roll. It didn’t want to turn corners, it bubbled, and it abraded if it was rubbed too much, especially at the seams. It will stay nice and flat to the wall over time, but has no coating, so cannot be washed, and will stain if water splashes onto it. In other words, don’t buy this brand. 🙂

All that said, the room looked great when I was finished, and the homeowners loved it. The plumber is coming tomorrow, to install the sink, and they will be all ready for Super Bowl Sunday!

This wallpaper was bought from the Sherwin-Williams on N. Shepherd in Garden Oaks. I believe it was made in England, and the brand appears to be English Florals.

Beautiful Chinoiserie Compliments Tile and Marble Sink

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When I first consulted with this homeowner to measure the powder room, she had samples of two wallpapers she was considering, including this one but in a different color. She mentioned that she was concerned about the wallpaper colors coordinating with the marble vessel sink, the tile, and the vanity. Well, I didn’t think that either of her original choices looked good in her room.

So we thumbed through the book and found this Chinoiserie (Oriental themed pattern) which was one of her first choices, but in a different color. This version with soft aqua, tan, gold, and orange has just the right tones to accent the marble sink, as well as the reddish vanity and the tan tile. To make it better, in the adjoining room, she has a rusty orange sofa sitting in front of a pale aqua wall, so this wallpaper in the powder room helps pull both rooms together.

This wallpaper is by Thibaut Designs, one of my favorite manufacturers, Pattern #T-8604, “Ting Yuan,” and was bought at the Sherwin-Williams store on University in the Rice Village.  I hung it in the powder room of a newish home in the Museum District of Houston.

Beautiful Classic Toile in a Breakfast Room

Here are “before” and “in-progress” shots of a breakfast room in a ’60’s ranch house in Pasadena (Houston). Originally, there was dark brown paneling with thick grooves between panels. The homeowner “always wanted a wonderful kitchen,” and, after living there nearly three decades, had the kitchen redone – and it’s really nice, with good choices and great workmanship.

Then I came in and hung this beautiful classic and cheery blue-on-yellow toile pattern in the adjoining breakfast area. Someone told me that a true toile will always have some people playing, and some people working. In the last photo, I’d say that counts as “play.” 🙂

I was originally going to prep the paneling for wallpaper, but the homeowner had the contractor tear out the paneling and install new Sheetrock (first two photos), which was more expensive, but a much better option. An interesting side note is that the money she saved because I did not have to prep the paneling, was re-directed to repapering the master bathroom – which still had the original wallpaper from the 1960’s.

This wallpaper is by Thibaut Designs, and was a pre-pasted pattern. It was bought through Sherwin-Williams, and shipped directly to their home. The homeowners chose to paint the bottom 1/3 of the wall below the chair rail with a solid yellow, in a tone slightly darker than the wallpaper. I like this, because, since it’s on the bottom of the wall, the darker color adds visual weight, and helps balance the wall / room.