Here I’m moving right to left, fixin’ to have my last strip of wallpaper meet up with the first strip I hung (which you see on the left). Because the corners are never perfectly straight, and because wallpaper can stretch when it gets wet with paste , and for other reasons, it’s not possible to pre-trim the width of this last strip, because it won’t be the exact perfect width. So you cut this strip 1/2″-1″ wider than the gap. That means that it’s going to wrap 1/2″ or so around that corner. So you’ll have to trim off the excess. In this way, you’ll be able to get a custom fit into that corner. But, you’ll also get paste slopped onto that strip on the left. Some papers you can wipe the paste off easily. But others are more delicate and can be damaged or stained . Why take a chance?Here is the strip that’s going to fill that gap. I’ve paste it . Next I’ve run a strip of thin blue plastic tape along the edge that will be overlapped onto the existing wallpaper in the corner. This will keep paste from coming in contact with the wall on the left. I also like to place this tape on the top of the strip, to protect the ceiling. Especially important when there is not crown molding and the paste will be bopping into the flat paint on the ceiling (difficult to wipe off). You can do a Search here to see other posts where I have photos of the trimming taking place, and then removing the excess paper and the blue tape. Here you see the finished corner . This blue tape is pretty useful. It’s also helpful when double-cutting ( splicing ). Another great feature of this blue tape is that it snaps apart quite easily, so you don’t need a scissors or blade to cut your pieces. It’s imported from Japan. (Those guys have a lot of cool wallpaper tools.) It can be purchased here https://www.wallpapertoolstore.com/product/blue-cut-tape/ Some people use waxed paper cut into strips, or yellow caution tape, or painter’s plastic cut into strips. But nothing parallels the usefulness and quality of this blue cut tape .
This home in the Heights area of Houston is being enlarged, renovated, and saved from the wrecking ball! The homeowners are using the original features where they can (reworking original windows, for instance), and in other areas are using vintage items salvaged from other area homes.
I love that they have found flooring that will work in this entryway. I don’t know what the plans are … they may have the boards sanded down to bare wood, stained, and sealed. Which would give a mighty nice and formal look to the home.
But I wouldn’t mind one iota if they kept the planks as-is, sealed them, and left this cool, funky, colorful, shabby-chic mosaic on their entry floor.
“Someone” (a.k.a. the homeowner) went and set something on my work table.
Folks, I can set things on my table. NO ONE ELSE can!!
Not even an innocent glass of water!
For one thing, it’s my work area, and I have all my needed tools and measurements and thought processes there. Outside items disrupt my thought process and the flow of installation.
But most important … the table has to stay CLEAN. As in PRISTINE. Any speck of grease, or ink, or oil or dirt can leave a stain that will transfer to the wallpaper. Sharp objects can cut it, and other objects can dent or scratch it.
My clients spend a lot of money for their wallpaper. Their investment shouldn’t be permanently marred because some electrician decided to dispose of his scratchy, sweat-stained wire clippings, or the wrapper from his hamburger, on the nearest surface – my work table.
The absolute worst was a homeowner himself, who walked by and casually set down a bowl from the backyard, full of GREASY CANNED DOG FOOD.
Schumacher’s popular “Acanthus Stripe”The very popular Cole & Sons “Woods”
The Acanthus Stripe is a grasscloth, and, being by Schumacher, is very expensive. Adding the wainscoting 3′ up reduces the amount of paper needed, and also makes the pattern less “stripe-y” in a small room like this bathroom. An additional bonus is that the tile helps keep splashed water off the wallpaper, which can be stained easily by water, toiletries, or cleaning agents.
I’ve hung Cole & Son’s Woods many times, but have never seen this colorway. I am thinking this is a special color they are making available only through Anthropologie. I think the strong diagonal bent of the design works better in this softer color than in the black-on-white version.
In the April or May 2021 Better Homes & Gardens magazine.
I don’t like wallpaper on switch plates or outlet covers. I think they look much better nice and crisp and white. I also just hate covering them – it’s tedious and imprecise and leaves lumps at the corners and it eats up my razor blades.
In the few times I have had to cover them, I always give my “lecture” to touch the switch, not the plate. As you can see, someone in this household wasn’t listening, and simply slapped his hand across the whole thing. And, over time, dirt and oil from the skin has stained the wallpaper.
One of the homeowners from yesterday’s post has an in-home yoga studio, and, as I hung wallpaper in three other areas of the home, she began toying with the idea of wallpapering one accent wall in that room, too. When the serene rural-themed pattern went up across the hall in the dining room, she immediately knew it would be the perfect finish for her yoga room, too.
I did some futzing and calculating, and was able to come up with one extra 10′ panel. I hung this centered on the accent wall. The “villa” homestead is perfectly centered in the panel.
The homeowner ran to Home Depot and got some decorative molding, that will be used as a frame on either side (not the top or bottom). The molding will be painted, or stained, or maybe antiqued (it’s to be decided!), in color(s) that compliment the wallpaper.
The pastel colors and soothing pastoral feel make this the perfect backdrop for a Zen experience in a yoga room.
You are looking at a wall in a powder room that I am about to hang wallpaper on. If you look carefully, you will see fine vertical lines running down the wall.
These are faint water stains that have built up over a few years, from people washing their hands and then reaching with wet hands for the towel hanging to the right of the sink.
Repeated assaults from water will stain flat finish paint, as you can see. Wallpaper might hold up a little better, but it will eventually become stained from dripping or splashed water, too.
That’s why, when I finish hanging paper in a bathroom or other area where it might come into contact with water, I give the homeowners a “lecture” about not allowing splashing or dripping.
It’s easy to keep your new wallpaper looking clean and fresh, if you can keep all family members (and the housekeeper) conscientious about not splashing.
I’m about to do a repair to some wallpaper that was damaged flooding during Hurricane Harvey here in Houston. Unfortunately, the left over wallpaper from the original installation was also exposed to the water and humidity of the flood. There is a little bit of water stain and mildew on the back of the paper.
This rendered the paper unusable, because both water stains and mildew will work their way through wallpaper (and paint and other surfaces), and will eventually show up on the printed side.
Luckily, there was enough left over paper for me to discard this stained area and then use undamaged paper for the repair.
Here is a larger-than-usual rear / pool bathroom that went from typical suburban hum-drum to wildly fun and colorful, all due to the addition of a little wallpaper.
But for this bathroom, which is located off the family’s greatroom, and is adjacent to both the swimming pool and the wife’s work-out room, the homeowner wanted something fun and bright and spirited.
This wallpaper pattern is called Janta Bazaar, by Thibaut Designs. The inks on this paper are delicate, and can be stained easily. So it’s fortuitous that the homeowner had beaded board paneling installed, that reaches up to nearly 6′ – way past any splashes from the sink or toilet.
It was bought from my favorite source for good quality, product knowledge, expert service, and competitive price – 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.
This is a recently-finished home in a brand new development out Hockley way – far northwest Houston. Like most new construction these days, everything started out white or vanilla.
But the homeowner – who is also an interior designer – likes things to feel both livelier and cozier. She has beautiful stained wooden furniture to warm things up, and she displays a number of treasured items and collectibles to add personality.
For the walls, she’s added color. Not hit-you-in-the-face brights, but comfortable colors like “Peanut Shell” paint on the great room walls, and this deep rust colored wallpaper in a paisley print in the adjoining open kitchen area.
The room looks much better in person than in these photos. And the wallpaper working its way around the white cabinets and pantry door was striking!
The wallpaper pattern is named Driskill and is by Thibaut, one of my favorite brands. Thibaut makes lots of types of paper, but this one has the feel that I call “satiny.” The paper is quite malleable, which was good because this room had wonky walls and rounded corners that can throw things out of plumb and out of square. It also resists shrinking, so even when I needed to twist or stretch it into position, it held tightly to the wall, so no worries about teeny gaps showing white at the seams.
The interior designer for this job is Leona Rossy Interiors.
The Wallpaper Lady's Blog 