Silver Cork in Art Niches

Wallpapering just the back of a niche or bookcase is a wonderful way to get maximum impact for little money.

One of the first things the homeowner said when I arrived for work was how expensive this silver cork wallcovering was. The good thing is that we only need one double roll. That provided enough to paper the backs of both niches. One had a barely-noticeable seam down the middle, and the other, which was less than 36″ wide (the width of the material), was seamless.

The homeowners loved it, and are now happily searching for something to put in the niches. I think something three-dimensional would look best … an architectural piece, a statue, some old rusty object, etc.

The pattern is Thibaut #839-T-7047

Wallpaper on the Heights Home Tour

I attended the Heights Home Tour yesterday, which showcased six homes. My favorite was a new home built in a traditional style – meaning, nice decorative woodwork, granite countertops, hardwood floors, tile in bathrooms, no mid-century modern looks (which were popular in many of the other homes). And this home happened to be part of the Gallery Furniture family. And, yes, all the furniture in it came from Gallery Furniture.

Another thing I loved about this home is that it had fair amount of wallpaper in it, all very nicely hung. There was a cute pen-and-ink drawing of dogs hanging in the back entry hall. There was a beautiful silver cork with a white leaf pattern stenciled on it in the master bathroom and potty. Another bathroom had a soft grey wallpaper, the laundry room had a paper that looked textured from a distance but actually wasn’t, another room had a patterned grasscloth, and, finally, in the “man cave” in the garage apartment, there was a fine grasscloth over all the walls. I was impressed that this grasscloth did not display the color variations (shading and paneling) that is common, so it had a very nice, uniform, textured look.

Of course, hundreds of tour-goers saw those rooms and how lovely they are, and will surely be clamoring for wallpaper in their own homes. 🙂

I LOVE It When the Sink Is Not In the Room

Here you are looking at the plumbing connections for a powder room sink. The homeowners have removed the sink so I can work around the plumbing more easily. This makes me happy. 🙂 Even with this stiff and brittle silver cork wallpaper, I was able to manipulate the material neatly behind the escutcheon (round silver plates) and the drain pipe. This is important because this area will be visible, because the homeowners will install a modern-looking sink supported by tubular chrome legs (not the typical wooden vanity).

This area probably took me about 12 minutes. If the sink had been in place, I could have been sitting under it with my scissors and razor blades for the better part of an hour.

Note: The painter was probably not as lucky as I, because, judging from the amount of paint slopped on the metal escutcheons, he most likely was floundering around with his brush under a cramped sink in the dark.

This silver cork wallpaper is by Thibaut Designs, 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.

Wallpaper Patched by the Manufacturer

This metallic silver cork wallcovering had a cut in the surface, about 7.5 feet down the roll. If you look closely, you can see it parallel to my red straight edge.

The manufacturer took a piece of white paper tape and put it on the back of the wallpaper, to keep the cut from separating and showing. Sounds good, right?

The thing is, the tape itself has a thickness to it, and could well show under the paper. In this case, since the paper is a thicker textured pattern, the bump from the tape might be less noticeable than if it were on a thinner regular wallpaper. But why chance it?

Considering what the homeowners paid for this wallpaper, I think the manufacturer should have discarded the damaged paper and given us a perfect roll.

I was able to measure out enough paper for the three strips I needed. I took the first strip from the top of the roll, then rolled it backwards and took the other two strips from the bottom end. Of course, I measured and marked first, to be sure there was enough paper, before cutting anything.

This is Thibaut #839-T-7047