Here’s a dining room in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston that feels both cheerful and snug at the same time.
The material was “non-woven” and could be hung using the paste-the-wall method. However, I prefer the flexibility and accuracy that comes with pasting the paper.
The interior designer is Stacie Cokinos of Cokinos Design, who works mostly in the Heights area of Houston.
The headboard wall had been painted a darker brown than the other walls in this master bedroom … but the homeowner sought a more soothing and comforting feeling for her bedroom – which has become something of a sanctuary, during these days of COVID and stay at home.
Interior designer Kandi Palella, of Kandi Contemporary Design, found this warm, earthy, organic wallpaper pattern. Viewed up close, it has the look of a hand-woven blanket … It really makes this room feel snug and welcoming.
Kandi coordinated other elements of the room (not pictured). Like a rug in the exact same colors and with the same woven texture. And artwork that includes leaves in the same color, as well as the scratchy fabric-like texture. One thing you can see are leaves reiterated on the bedspread, that are almost identical to the pattern on the wall.
This wallpaper is a non-woven material, and I used the paste-the-wall installation method. The manufacturer is Chesapeake, by Brewster.
The home is in Porter, which is way north east Houston.
That first pattern is darned cute! It’s called Puppy Pile, and is from Chasing Paper. Unfortunately, like most of their products, it is a peel & stick material, which is extremely difficult to work with. It comes in 2′ x 4′ panels, which are some pretty odd dimensions, if you are trying to paper a wall.
I don’t work with P&S materials, and most of my colleagues won’t either. If you love the look, there are surely other companies making a similar design, printed on traditional wallpaper stock.
The second photo shows a fun design used as a backdrop to beds in a cabin guest room. This pattern would be overwhelming on all four walls, but in the bed alcove, it is snug and inviting. Sorry, I don’t know the manufacturer.
Both these photos were found in Better Homes & Gardens magazine, a current issue.
This large 2nd floor room in a 1934 home in the West University neighborhood of Houston was home to two boys, who took it on a 20+ year ride through crayons, toy cars, sports, school projects, first dates, college entrance forms, and professional careers. Now that the sons are grown and gone, Mom is calling the room her own. She got rid of the dorm look and is going for something calming and sophisticated, with a farm-house twist.
On the ceiling, I hung wallpaper that looks like ship-lapped wood… Joanna Gaines “Magnolia” book by York, in their SureStrip line.
To augment that, the homeowner chose another York pattern, this soft brown / charcoal linen weave stringcloth. It’s a textured material that resembles the fabric of a man’s tailored suit.
It’s beautiful with the wood plank look on the ceiling, and creates a snug, cozy feel in the large room.
I wasn’t happy with the quality of the product. See my previous post about the mismatches at the seams.
In addition, the material was thick and difficult to trim, and difficult to turn around corners. But worse, whatever backing the manufacturer used sucked up paste like the dickens. I pasted the back and booked according to directions. Yet when I went to hang a strip, it didn’t want to stick to the wall. There was virtually no paste on the back … it had all been sucked up into the backing, leaving little on the surface to hold the strip onto the wall. The strips also had a lot of memory, and wanted to keep curling up.
Although the instructions said the substrate was paper, I believe it was a non-woven material. That means it was dimensionally-stable and didn’t need to book or sit for any period after pasting. I tried various installation techniques and finally settled on lightly misting the back of each strip with water , rolling it up and letting it sit for a few minutes while I rolled paste onto the wall (not the back of the paper). Then I applied the paper to the wall.
The misting relaxed the paper and stopped the curling, and also made the material more pliable. Pasting the wall made sure that paste was there to hold the paper to the wall, instead of letting the thirsty substrate soak it all up.
Even so, this has been a difficult install. The paper is thick and hard to trim, and there are issues with the seams that do not make me happy (see yesterday’s post). I worked an 8-hour today and only got two walls done. So I have to go back tomorrow, and the job will take a day longer than I had planned for.
The wallcovering is made by York. I usually like their products, but, like I said, I am a bit displeased with this stuff. The homeowner, however, loves it.
The color looks like it’s glowing. A beautiful choice for this 3-room powder room in West University. When you get close, the pattern looks like it is stitched embroidery. It makes a once all-white room now feel snug and friendly.
This wallpaper is by Brewster, in their A-Street prints line. #FD24145 It is a non-woven material, and was meant to be paste-the-wall. But I found that paste-the-paper worked better. (I mean, how ya gonna get paste on the wall behind a toilet?! Pasting the paper also makes it more pliable.)
The paper was bought at below retail price from Dorota Hartwig at Southwestern Paint on Bissonnet near Kirby. (713) 520-6262 or dorotasouthwestern@hotmail.com. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.
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