Another Calm and Quiet Bathroom

Textured walls have been skim-floated and sanded smooth, wiped free of dust, primed, and are ready for wallpaper.

For the master bathroom, the homeowner again chose a symmetrical, fanciful, woodland themed design in muted tones of cream on tan.

The overall look is balanced and calm.

I added the paper towel cushions to the cabinet handles on the left, to prevent them from slamming into and marring the new wallpaper.

Close-up shows the unique light texture of raised ink on this material.

The manufacturer is Schumacher, pattern name is Chenoceau. Usually I don’t like this brand, but this paper was actually pretty nice to work with. It does not have a protective coating, so the homeowner will need to be careful with splashes of water and toiletries to prevent staining, and to not let damp towels hang against the wallpaper.

Calm Forest Frolic

Before shot of sink room in hall bathroom in a home in the Energy Corridor / Briar Forest area of west Houston.

Symmetrical flora and frolicking fauna are a popular design concept in wallpaper. Just about everything in this home is white or cream or tan, so the homeowner’s choice of this muted color palette fits in perfectly and lends a serene feel to the space.

Close up. The seam at far right is still wet, and will be less obvious once it dries.

The pattern is called Design Woodland and is by Crown Wallcoverings, a British company. True to its roots, the material is what we call a pulp, which is basically wood pulp and ink … thick, stiff, turns mushy when wet with paste, tears easily, and no protective coating on the surface so my client will have to be careful to avoid splashing toiletries or cleaning agents onto the wallpaper. Even water will stain it over time.

Bathroom Goes from Young Girl to Teen

The original classic trellis pattern by Thibaut was pumped up by the hot pink color. I hung it about six years ago for a young girl’s bathroom. It held up beautifully, even without stains from toiletries that you might expect in a child’s bath.

But now the gal is a teen, and she wanted something calmer. Enter “Priano” by Serena & Lily, one of my favorite patterns and also one of my favorite wallpaper manufacturers.

It’s a soft, easy-to-live-with pattern with fluid movement.

The home is in the West University neighborhood of Houston.

Weird Bubbles Develop on Wall

This wall had a slight texture that needed to be skim-floated and then sanded smooth. After I applied the smoothing compound (drywall joint compound), a half hour or so later, these tiny blister bubbles appeared. This is off-gassing. But from what is a mystery.

The only clue is that this area is around where the hand towel was positioned next to the sink. So this area would have received a lot of splashing of water and also soap and other toiletries.

My guess is that some of these substances stuck to the wall. And for whatever reason, when they were covered by the joint compound, they released air / gas, which caused these bubbles.

I’ve seen this before. But this time, some of the bubbles were large enough that they did not sand down smooth and even with the wall surface. So I had to do a light touch-up skim-coat on top.

Once I got the wall smoothed, I wasn’t too concerned. I don’t believe that anything causing these tiny blisters would be something that would bleed through and stain the wallpaper.

Some substances do stain wallpaper, though. For more on that, do a Search here.

Don’t Let Water / Toiletries Splash On The Wallpaper

Very hard to see here, but look closely and you will see vertical stains running down the wall.

This wall is right behind the sink. And this spot is right below the hand towel. Obviously, people reaching for the towel with wet hands has led to water – sometimes tainted with soap, toiletries, or cleaning agents – to drip down the wall.

The resulting stains are minor on the painted wall. But, once the wallpaper goes up, it is possible that these substances will bleed through the primer and the wallpaper and cause staining on the new wallpaper. So, proper remediation is needed to prevent stains from bleeding through.

Also, once the new paper is up, people will need to be more cognisant of not splashing the wall.

It’s a misconception that wallpaper is “washable” or “stain resistant” or “will hide flaws.”

Best to treat your new wallpaper with care.

Water Splashes / Stains in Powder Room

Look closely, and you can see water streaks and stains running down the wall alongside the vanity in this powder room.

This happens when people reach with their wet hands for a towel, or just shake water off their hands.

I will be hanging wallpaper in this room in a few days.

You can bet that this family is going to get my “Care and Feeding of Your New Wallpaper” lecture, so they learn to take care to not get water on their new wallpaper.

Wallpaper can handle a little water (or toiletries, glass cleaner, air fresheners, etc.), but over time, as you can see, most substances will leave their mark on wallpaper.

Toiletries, Cleaning Products Damage Wallpaper

You might have to enlarge the photo to see the tiny spots on the wallpaper – they are much more visible in real life.

The tiny spots were caused by the homeowner using hairspray. And the water stain in the corner is surely the result of the housekeeper letting cleaning solution pool up on top of the tile.

No airborne anything when you have wallpaper!

If you are going to use hair spray, stand in the tiled shower. Spray the Windex onto your rag, not onto the mirror. No aerosol air freshener.

Even if the product does not hit the wall directly, tiny droplets will hang in the air and can then work their way to the walls, eventually causing staining.

Do Not Use Aerosol Products in Your Wallpapered Room

When I finish a wallpaper job, I like to give my clients (and especially their children) a “lecture” about care and feeding. You can read the full version of this on a page found at the right.

For now, I want to explain why not to use spray products in your room.

Avoid the use of any aerosol or air-borne substances such as hair spray, glass cleaner, air freshener, etc. Residue can hang in the air and will eventually find its way onto the wallpaper. Please see the above attached photos, where you can see tiny dots of shiny residue on the middle panel of the door, and in the second photo, on the wallpaper. Instead, use a solid air freshener, or the new “Poo-Pouri” type products that are not air-borne. When applying hair spray, step into the shower so any overspray will land on the tile walls, not on the wallpaper.

For cleaning the mirror, have the housekeeper spray the Windex on her RAG, not onto the MIRROR –this will prevent overspray from getting onto the wallpaper.

Super Alternative to Grasscloth – With Texture, Color, Durability

I am not fond of grasscloth, for many reasons – Read my blog page on the right.

So here’s an alternative that I love. It’s made of embossed vinyl, so it has a textured surface and a tri-toned color finish, which people are loving right now. The vinyl composition makes it practically impervious to water, fingerprints, toiletries, and little boys with bad aim. 🙂 Being commercial-grade, it is also durable, so it will hold up to dings and bangs. And it has a woven fabric backing, so it will strip off the wall easily when its time to redecorate.

This wallpaper pattern is called Bankun Raffia, and comes in 30+ colors. It’s made by Thibaut Designs, and was bought at below retail price from Dorota Hartwig at Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village. She is great at helping you find just the perfect paper! Discuss your project and make an appointment before heading over to see her.  (713) 529-6515

Aerosol Products Can Stain Wallpaper

See these tiny drops on the wall of this bathroom? I believe these are caused by people using aerosol toiletries, such as hair spray, air freshener, and other such products.

Even if MOST of the material hits its target, SOME of it will remain air-borne, and then will eventually find its way onto the paint or wallpaper.

Most people don’t notice tiny stains like these. But sometimes they’re very visible, and that’s why I recommend that people stay away from air-borne products. For air fresheners, there are solid or wick-type diffusers, and with glass cleaners, it’s preferable to spray the cleaner onto a rag, than to spray it onto the mirror or window.