Original wallcovering was a dark , rustic , textured (and outdated) torn and overlapped paper . Smoothed , prepped , primed , and ready for wallpaper . Done! Bright , fresh , and with visual movement from the swirly leaf pattern .Opposite side of vanity / countertop . Mirror shot showing wall behind the vanity / sink . Wall opposite the vanity / mirror . The pattern is called Priano .
The color is called Dusty Pink – it’s a very livable pink. This is very popular pattern , and I’ve hung it a bunch of times, in every colorway . It’s one of my favorites, too. I love the soft swirling foliage , and the simple two-color scheme . This makes it a very easy pattern to live with , whether it be one accent wall or a whole room . In fact, the pattern is so soft and un-intrusive that it makes a wonderful choice for papering all the walls in even a large room such as a bedroom or dining room (Search here to see the dining room I did in the soft blue version .)
Made by Serena & Lily
I like the quality of just about everything from this company. This is a paper wallpaper , and goes up nicely . Like most traditional wallpapers , this is installed by pasting the paper . The home is in the Champions Forest area of northwest Houston . installer paperhanger
I’ll be hanging grasscloth / sisal wallcovering today. This material is thick and stiff and difficult to see and feel through, and equally hard to cut through. In addition, the backing on this particular product (by Phillip Jeffries ) pretty much turns to mush once it gets wet with wallpaper paste , so, under the blade, it drags and tears and pulls away from the grass fibers , leaving gaps . All of which means that it’s tricky to get tight, clean trims when you’re going around intricate moldings such as in the photo. So here I’m using paint of a complimentary color and shade to fill in around the molding edges. That way, in case the wallpaper won’t trim perfectly tightly against the molding, my white wallpaper primer won’t show through. I use plain old matt finish acrylic craft paint from Texas Art Supply (which is close to me) or any craft store , and a small, angled artist’s brush .
It’s important that all your rolls of wallpaper be of the same run , or batch number , also called dye lot . This ensures that the rolls were printed at the same time with the same batch of ink . Rolls printed from different batches or runs could be a very slight different color or shade – and that can result in a striped effect on your walls . The run number is usually printed on the label of the wallpaper. But since Flavor Paper doesn’t use traditional labels, they put a tiny sticker with the run number onto the outside of the plastic bag that each roll is slipped into. These stickers aren’t particularly secure, IMO. On this job with the Brooklyn Toile pattern from Flavor Paper , we needed eight of their “rolls.” Each roll contains two strips , printed in one long sheet that you cut apart in the middle to separate the two strips . Flavor Paper comes with a header at the top of the roll, that includes the pattern name and other information from the manufacturer . In this photo, I’ve cut off that top portion. We had six rolls that came like this. But then two rolls came like this, with that top part removed. In addition, this paper has been damaged and soiled . Not smudges around the birds near the center . I suspect it was purchased by another homeowner, the installer removed the top header , then didn’t need the roll, and it was returned to the manufacturer . In the process, it got beaten up and dirtied. Here’s another shot of the header missing. If the previous installer had a pasting machine, he could have used its built-in cutter to make a perfectly straight and 90* angled cut like you see here. That’s another reason I think it was opened, not used, and returned to the company. This is the second roll. Look at how it’s been wrinkled and damaged . Paper doesn’t come from the factory like this. It had to have been unrolled, re-rolled, and put back into the plastic wrapper. Even worse, a couple of feet into the second roll I came upon this badly creased wallpaper . This crease was probably caused by the factory . But it could also have happened at the hands of the other (alleged) installer . Because of the way this material is printed and packaged , not in continuous rolls like most brands , but in panels or strips that are 24″ wide x 10′ 4″ long , with a somewhat long pattern repeat , I was not able to simply roll off a pattern repeat or two and still get a strip long enough to fit the wall. In other words, this damaged strip cut me short of what I needed to wallpaper this powder room . Here’s another reason why I think these two rolls were opened and then sent back to the manufacturer . That one on the right looks like it’s been opened , unrolled , and then re-rolled – and when you do that, you can never get the roll to be as tight as it was when it came off the factory line. I think these two odd rolls were purchased, not used, sent back to the company, and then simply stuck on a shelf to be resold – without anyone ever checking to see if they were in good condition. Or what the proper run number is. In addition, I don’t have confidence that the run number that was on that little sticker on the outside of the bag (see caption to top photo) is actually the right number. In the end, I was able to futz and fiddle and engineer – and get the room done with the paper that was useable. In the meantime, the homeowner is communicating with the manufacturer. Flavor Paper has good customer service . Additionally, they are members of the Wallcovering Installers Association / WIA (as am I). This pre-pasted material is in their EZ Papes line, which I like a lot. I am not fond of their vinyl or peel & stick materials , and some of their papers can be darned tricky to install. I ask my clients to stick with the EZ Papes.
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that double-cutting was needed for that vinyl mural installation. This type of trimming is often used in commercial vinyl jobs (hotels, hospitals). Above are some tools that help make it go more smoothly. ~The clear plastic tape on the right is made of polystyrene plastic. It’s flexible, but thick enough that you can’t cut through it with a razor blade. It’s used to ” pad ” the wall under where your cut will be, so it goes from ceiling to floor. It’s wide enough that you can straddle where your seam will be, and have 2″ or so in which to make your cut. This stuff is really important, because you never want to score into the wall surface, nor even into the primer . If the wall surface becomes un-intact , then when the wallpaper paste dries and the paper shrinks a bit, it puts stress on the seams. If the wall is not intact under those seams, the wall surface may give way and you end up with a ” popped ” seam. It’s not the paper coming loose – it’s the wall itself coming apart, and is difficult to repair. ~The roll of thin blue tape is used to keep paste off the wallpaper. You put it on the under side / pasted side of your second strip where it’s going to overlap onto the strip that is already on the wall , which is the area where your splice cut will be made. This blue tape can be used for other purposes, too, when you want to keep paste off the ceiling , for instance, or your last corner where the last strip meets up with the first strip. ~That metal tool is a 20″ long trim guide. It has a non-slip strip under the left edge, and a point at the top to get right up against the ceiling. The handle makes is super easy to hold and manipulate . This comes in both shorter and longer lengths. ~All of the above were invented and are sold by members of the Wallcovering Installers Association . Contact me if you are interested in purchasing. ~And, of course – razor blades. When I D/C, I usually hold a single edge blade in my fingers. But some installers use a snap-off blade in a holder. Whatever works best for you! ~Once your trim cut is made, of course, you need to remove the two tapes, the cut-off strips, and then smooth the two pieces back into place. ~For more information and photos on how this whole process works, click and read here https://wallpaperlady.wordpress.com/2018/03/25/stinky-ink-curling-seams/
Here I am moving from right to left across this wall, fixin’ to put wallpaper over, around, and then under this window .The distance from the existing strip to the corner is 20.” The width of the wallpaper is 18.” This means that my next wallpaper strip is going to fall 2″ short of reaching that wall to the left. So another strip will be needed to cover that last 2.” That’s two full length, 9′ long strips to cover that small bit of wall space. And there will be a seam down the middle. I’d like to use less paper and have less waste. And I sure would like to avoid having a seam down the middle. Both because installing it is a PITA and also because it would look better and be more stable without the seam. If I could just make that next strip over the window narrower, it would pull the full-length strip a bit to the right, eliminating the second strip and the seam.Each 18″ wide strip has two stripes of flowers running down it. There’s a little gap between these stripes, so it’s possible to split the strip in half vertically between the rows of flowers. Then I’ll have a 9″ wide strip filling the gap over the window, instead of an 18″ wide strip. So here I’m using a straightedge and razor blade to split the strip. (Normally I do this on my table with my 76″ straightedge , but today I’m working on the floor and with different tools .)Here is the piece viewed from the front. The pink bit of flower on the right side is going to match up with the corresponding flower on the existing strip over the window . I made sure that the left edge of this 9″ wide strip has no flowers or motifs crossing over the left edge. That way there is no pattern to match across the seam, so I can choose any piece I want for the final strip that will go in between the window and the corner. Here it is in place. Now I have only 11″ of width to cover with wallpaper , and no seam down the middle . Same procedure for under the window. Except I’m not trimming this piece to 9.” I’m leaving it about 2″ wider. One reason is because that full-height strip coming down between the window and the corner is likely to twist or stretch a bit, and thus won’t line up absolutely perfectly with the strip under the window. Having this strip under the window be wider will allow the strip coming down the side of the window, when it gets down to under the window, it will overlap the strip under the window by about 2.” So I’m going to double cut / splice these two pieces together. I’m also not adhering this piece to the wall yet, because I don’t want the paste to start drying, as I will need wet paste and paper that is easy to pull off the wall, in order to do the double cut. OK, so here we are over the window, getting ready to put in our long 11″ wide strip down alongside the window. Actually, I’m cutting this piece 12″ wide, to allow for trimming along that left edge in the corner. This will also accommodate if the paper twists or shifts over that 9′ drop from ceiling to floor. I chose a flower to put at the top of the wall that is different from what’s on the existing strip, so there won’t be repetitive motifs. But the right edge of this strip of paper has a design part that is meant to match up with the corresponding flower on the left edge of the previous strip. But we don’t have that corresponding flower, because I cut that strip down from 18″ wide to 9″ and thus lost the left edge of the paper, along with the corresponding flower. I don’t want this half-motif to be hanging in the middle of nowhere. Even 9′ up above the window, it might catch your eye. No problem. I took my straightedge and razor blade and trimmed off 1/2″, which got rid of that design element. Note that I did this before I trimmed this long strip to 12.” If I had trimmed it off before, then this strip would have ended up 11.5″ wide instead of 12″ and might not have fit the space since wallpaper can twist and shift during that 9′ drop. Sorry, no photo of that strip butting up to the piece over the window and then dropping down the space between the window and the corner.So that strip is in place now, and here we are under the window, with that 9″ wide gap to fill. So I take the strip I had set aside for under the window and position it next to the strip on the right. Remember that I cut this middle strip about 2″ wider, so it overlaps the strip on the left. I need this overlap to do the double cut / splice.When splicing on the wall, it’s important not to let your blade score into the wall. If the wall surface becomes compromised, the torque created when the paste dries and the wallpaper shrinks a bit can tug at the wall and cause layers of paint or etc. to pull away from the wall, resulting in an open seam. So I’m padding behind where my cut will be made with this strip of flexible Lexion plastic. It’s thin enough to not make much of a bump under the paper, but thick enough that you can’t cut through it with a razor blade. If you’re interested in this cool stuff, email me and I’ll hook you up with the guy who sells it. wallpaperlady@att.net There it is on the wall. Now I put the two layers of paper over it . Note that this is a paste-the-wall wallcovering, so there is no paste on the strip on the right, so nothing to stain the paper below it. If this were a regular paste-the-paper material, you can use thin plastic strips (like painter’s plastic) to cover up that paste. Trim guide in place, and I’m getting ready to make the cut with a new single edge razor blade. You have to press hard enough to get through both layers of paper in the first try, but not so hard as to cut into the wall. I’ve plotted where my splice will go, to not cut through any flower motifs, and to be sure to cut off that little bit of flower you can see shadowing through from the wallpaper piece underneath – just to the left of the large flower. Once the cut is done, I remove the excess paper on the left. Then reach underneath and remove the excess paper from the bottom strip. Another shot of pulling out that excess bottom paper. Next I removed the Lexion strip. I set those in a bucket of water to keep the paste wet until I can wash in the sink. Bringing the two strips to meet up and then smoothing into place. No paste got on the surface, so no need to wipe the seam.A double cut / splice makes the absolutely most perfect and invisible seam, because both pieces have been cut together and butt perfectly.Here it is finished. Technically, due to slicing the strips in half vertically, the floral strip on the far left is about 1/2″ further away from the strip on the right than it “should” be. But – eh – who the heck is going to notice that?! What’s important is that no flower motifs got cut in half, no identical flowers ended up next to each other, here’s no seam down the middle of that space, and only one 9′ high strip of wallpaper was required (instead of two). Done. Oh my gosh – now I’ve got to do the same thing on the opposite side of the wall!!The pattern is called Sweet Pea and is by Serena & Lily . This went in a nursery in a home in the Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston .
The instruction sheet was rolled up inside this bolt of stringcloth wallcovering . As you can see, some of the ink came off and discolored the wallpaper . This is not uncommon. I had to throw away the first 10″ or so of paper (about 2 sq ft of paper). Other things can damage the ends of rolls , too, like tape , impressions / dents created by labels or packaging , edges banged up during shipping , and more. Another reminder to always purchase extra paper .
Everyone advised this homeowner not to put black in the dining room, that it would make the room too dark. But she had a vision and went with her gut. She was right – the room looks fabulous and elegant. And the texture and sheen on the walls visually expanded the space. There is enough white molding in the room to play against the black. And the satiny drapes, along with the slight sheen of the grasscloth wallcovering bounce light around the room.Accent wall in dining room. White swirls (look closely – they’re snakes!) add movement that make this wall lively, not closed-in. In this master bedroom , everything’s dark – dark green walls , black ceiling , and black floral wallpaper . If this accent wall had been left painted green , the room would have felt dark and lifeless . But the black against the green, along with the limited color pallet and the visual movement of the wallpaper pattern visually push the wall back and add depth . This powder room started out all black. And it was a bit oppressive .But add wallpaper with a little color and pattern , and now the room feels larger and alive with personality . A powder room with black moldings and black wallpaper. Nothing claustrophobic here!Another powder room that started out with black painted walls . Yes, it has an enclosed feeling. Wallpaper with a black background and dark flora / fauna open up the space. wallpaper installer houston
While waiting for my order to be ready, I couldn’t help but notice problems …. Wallpaper starting to curl at the seams. Wallpaper twisting in corners as the building shifts and drywall moves. This is pretty common in Houston. Other signs of poorly maintained building and/or climate control issues. Seam curling back. I believe this to be a lower-end solid vinyl wallpaper on a gritty paper backing – one of my least preferred types. When the walls are not prepared correctly, and the paper is not hung properly, and when there is a lot of humidity (door left open, steam from kitchen getting into waiting area, A/C not running or turned off at night), humidity can enter into the seams and be wicked up by the paper backing. The paper expands and pushes away from the wall, causing the edges of the wallpaper to curl back. The next step is that the vinyl surface can actually delaminate (come apart) from the paper backing. This is pretty impossible to repair. At the very bottom, you can see the vinyl separating from the paper backing. The wallpaper has been wrapped around this outside corner, and a new piece of paper overlapped on top of it. When this is done, with vinyl material, you’re supposed to use special vinyl-over-vinyl ( VOV ) adhesive, because regular wallpaper paste isn’t formulated to adhere to vinyl / plastic . But even if the installer had used the correct adhesive, under humid conditions or with improper wall prep, the odds are that this wallpaper job will start to fail. Also note dirt along the ceiling, and along the chair rail in the previous photo. General lack of maintenance and I am really suspecting lack of climate control.The black smudges appear to be mildew coming from underneath the paper. Again, probably related to humidity. Vinyl wallpaper is a sheet of plastic, and moisture can be trapped behind it. That can be a breeding ground for mold and mildew. So why use vinyl wallpaper? Mainly because the surface is much more washable than most other types of wallpaper. In a business, washability is attractive. But these property owners chose a low-end vinyl product, most likely skipped proper wall prep such as a wallpaper primer, and have not provided a hospitable environment for the paper. There are other vinyl wallcoverings that would have held up better. For instance, vinyl on a scrim ( woven fabric ) backing, or the newer backing called non-woven , which has a 20% polyester content, and therefore less likely to wick up humidity.
he lure of (false!) claims of easy to install and easy to remove led these homeowners to purchase peel & stick ” wallcovering ” and try to install it themselves. It did not go well. The wall was coated with a gloss paint, as per manufacturer’s instructions. Yet, here you can see that it is not even trying to adhere to the wall. Many brands come in rectangles of a few square feet, rather than traditional strips that are long enough to reach floor to ceiling. These small rectangles are much harder to keep perfectly lined up, so you are very likely to end up with overlaps or gaps at the seams. It’s not pliable or malleable, so won’t readily be eased into corners or turns. Here, note wrinkles and warps in the corner in the center of the photo, and at the ceiling line in the center top of the photo. The wall was not smoothed before applying the paper, so you see unsightly texture. The roughness is also interfering with good adhesion, because the paper is only sticking to the tops of the bumps, instead to the entire surface. So much for easily removeable. As you can see, trying to take this stuff down – it took the paint along with it.
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