Look Maw – No Faucets!

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This wall with wall-mounted faucets over a vessel sink was much easier to paper, because the homeowner removed the faucet handles and spout for me.

If the fixtures had been in place, I would have had to make long relief cuts in the paper, to allow me to manipulate the paper around them. And the paper would have been trimmed to butt up against the faucet and spout. The long cuts and the edges against the metal are all places where there is the possibility of water getting behind the paper and causing curling or peeling.

Instead, with the fixtures removed, I was able to make small cuts so the paper fit neatly right up to the plumbing. And, once the faucets and spout are screwed back on, any cut edges of paper will be tucked safely behind them. No rough edges to look bad, no cut edges to curl up.

Because this wallpaper is a textured vinyl product of a commercial grade, there is no need to worry about the plumbing fixtures damaging the paper as they are screwed snugly back into place.

This faux woven grasscloth is water and stain resistant, and very durable. It 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.

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.

Gold Balls on Silver

I rarely get to see rooms once they’re finished and put back together. But today I went back to wallpaper two more bathrooms in a home where I’d papered the powder room last month.

In the meantime, the counter top, vessel sink, and faucet had been installed. All complete, it looks great!