I knew this new crystal chandelier was precious the minute I walked into the dining room …
Because it was the first thing the homeowners pointed out. Even before showing me the beautiful wallpaper I would be hanging there.
The textured walls needed to be smoothed , and that meant there would be lots of dust from sanding.
Drywall dust is fine and sifts everywhere. I looked at those shiny crystals and knew that there would be no way to clean them to remove dust . So, to keep dust off, I covered the light fixture with painter’s plastic. Only thing is, the light bulbs get hot and would melt the plastic. Which sticks and you can never get it off. Yes, I could have turned off the lights. But I didn’t want to work in a dark room. So above, you can see I took a scissors and cut slits in the plastic to allow the light bulbs to slip outside. This way, the glass fixture was protected, nothing hot touched the plastic, and I had plenty of light to work.
Original wallcovering was a dark , rustic , textured (and outdated) torn and overlapped paper .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
The existing wallpaper in this sink / vanity room of a hall bathroom is unique, because instead of coming in rolls, it came in pieces of torn paper, each about the size of a paper plate, that were placed on the wall in random ways, with the pieces overlapping each other. This was a fairly popular wallpaper option back in the ‘90’s. I’m to hang new wallpaper in this room, so my first step was to remove the torn paper. This started out seeming easy, because the paper was literally falling away from the wall – but only around the top, and only the top 5” or so. The lower areas were stuck nice and tight to the wall. What’s going on?The original installer hung his wallpaper directly on new drywall / Sheetrock , with no primer and no other prep. Turns out that, under this wallpaper, there are actually several different types of wall surfaces related to the new drywall. The main part of drywall is grey in color . But here you see a band of white running along the top of the wall, under the ceiling, about 5” wide. This is where the joint compound was applied , to smooth over joints , drywall tape , and nail heads . But the curious thing is that the wallpaper is adhering to the drywall – but not to this white band of joint compound below the ceiling line. The reason? After the drywall guys sanded this area smooth, no one wiped off the dust left over from sanding . Thus, there was a layer of dust on the wall, between the wall and the wallpaper. Well, the wallpaper paste wants to bite into a solid surface, and it can’t get a grip on dust. That’s why you see this top portion pulling away from the wall. I have a lot more prep to do in this room. But before moving forward, I took a sponge and bucket of water and wiped the dust off that top portion of wall. Now I’m assured that any smoothing compound or primer or wallcovering or other that is applied, will stick . For reference, here’s a shot of the un-primed drywall being uncovered as I strip off wallpaper in another area. This picture shows the sections of drywall , joint compound , and also paint (from overspraying the woodwork ). Wallpaper adheres to all these different surfaces in different ways. Another reason to always use a wallpaper primer – it will adhere to just about any surface, and will create a uniform coating for the wallpaper to adhere to. I like Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime.
This powder room is in a home with two little kids , so you can expect splashing as people wash their hands , reach for the faucet handle, or grab a hand towel . Although Mom swears that the little ones are banned from this newly- decorated room ! But even adults can get water onto the walls. If drops of water get onto the backsplash, they can accumulate along the edge where the wallpaper meets the marble . It’s possible that water can wick up under the cut edge of the wallpaper . This can cause the paper to expand and then push away from the wall , resulting in a curled edge. To prevent this, I like to take clear caulk and run it along the back of the backsplash , where it meets the wallpaper . This is the white line you see. As the caulk dries , it will turn clear , and be invisible . The dried caulk is water-resistant and will seal that edge quite nicely. I like water-based caulks, because they’re easy to use and easy to clean up. But it’s important to get one that’s non-yellowing . A whole lot of them look good when applied, but in a year or two have yellowed and look kinda disappointing, for lack of a stronger word. Sorry – I didn’t get a photo of the brand I’m currently using. After application , I do usually take a wet finger and run it along the caulk to smooth it into place. Painters who are better with caulk than I are bold enough to use white or other colors of caulk. I like the forgiveness of the clear . This wallpaper pattern is called Brooklyn Toile and is by Flavor Paper . I like their EZ Papes pre-pasted option – not so much their vinyl or peel & stick .
In most rooms, when plotting where to position the motifs printed on the wallpaper, you usually consider the top of the wall just below the ceiling. (If the room has a chair rail / wainscoting , or if another feature like a vanity or countertop is dominate , you might position the motifs to fall appropriately along the top of those features.) Back to the ceiling line … You usually want to place a motif at the top of the wall. Because ceilings are never level and walls are never plumb, it’s common for ceilings to go off-track , slanting up or down. This means that, as you hang subsequent strips and move along the wall / room, the top of your motif can move closer to or further away from the ceiling. In this photo , the man’s crown and the top of the roller coaster are the obvious designs to place at the top of the wall. Further down in the wallpaper pattern , any other motifs you might consider are staggered in such a way that if you put one element at the top of the wall, something would be cut off in an unpleasing way. In other words, if you place the hot air balloon at the top of the wall, then the train bridge and part of the roller coaster would be cut off. In addition to that, you need an extra inch or two at top and bottom of each strip to allow for trimming at ceiling and floor. 1″-2″ hopefully. So, you want the crown and the roller coaster at the top of the wall. Plus, you want a little play / extra clearance to allow for those crooked ceiling lines. But this manufacturer has printed its most important motifs just about smack at the top of the strip. There’s no extra to allow for trimming or to accommodate wonky walls and ceilings. This wallpaper comes in panels of set heights, so there is no extra pattern repeat to roll off and discard until you get the motifs you want. As it is, if you try to place that crown at the top of the wall, as you move around the room, it’s quite likely that the crown will move upward and be cut off by the ceiling. OR that it can move down, and that some of the manufacturer’s label will be exposed under the ceiling line. I’ve sent my comments to the company, in hopes that they will start printing to give us a little more play at the top of each strip. This pattern is called Brooklyn Toile , and is in the EZ Papes line of pre-pasted wallpaper by Flavor Paper . I like FP’s EZ Vapes a lot. But not their heavier vinyl, and definitely not their peel & stick material .
Before shot of dining room in a beautifully restored and enlarged 1925 bungalow in the Heights neighborhood of Houston. Just below dead center of photo, under the stairs – my helper couldn’t be less interested!Swooping heron , and powerful , roiling, turbulent clouds .This is a manila hemp product , which is similar to grasscloth , and has a texture d surface . As with most natural materials , the seams are always a bit visible .The walls in this home were smooth , so no call for skim-floating or sanding … Just a primer was needed . My favorite primer for wallpaper is Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime .This wallpaper comes in panels , and is custom made to order . All of the panels are rolled up into one long bolt , and you have to separate them, as you see here. AND keep them in the correct order / sequence ,I was lucky that this house had a lot of open floor space , where I could roll out the panels to verify pattern match, panel sequence , and get accurate measurements. Note that, like many high-end brands, this wallpaper comes with an unprinted selvedge edge , that has to be trimmed off by hand . Once I get the edges trimmed off , the birds you see in the photo above will match perfectly .I trim against this Big Blue straightedge , and hold a single edge razor blade in my hand .Sorry, I don’t know how to flip this photo. WordPress used to be easy to work … but some years back they came up with this ” New Editor ” which is, to be honest, a nightmare, and costs me a lot of time every evening. End of rant. Here is a mock-up provided by the manufacturer , that shows the mural as a six- panel set , including pattern layout and dimensions of each panel .Here are my drawings from when I first consult ed with the homeowner and we plotted out how the paper was to be install ed. Phillip Jeffries is expensive stuff! Normally, with a mural , a full-height panel is required for even the 6″ high areas over the door ways. See photo below. This means that you’re paying for a lot – a LOT – of wallpaper that gets cut off and thrown into the trash. But, since the panels are about 2′ taller than the walls , we figured that the part cut off the bottom of each strip could be used for the areas over the doorways (see next photo) , as well as above and below the windows (see last photo). This will take no small amount of math and engineering , and the couple will have to live with some paneling / shading , and color variations between strips . But that’s typical of grasscloth type products , anyway. Accepting a few color differences will save this couple a few – thousand – dollars. Yes, I told you that PJ was expensive stuff! And I’m up for the challenge !Here’s the one area I’ve done so far, using scraps discarded from the bottoms to piece in over the top of the entryway . This area is only 6″ high , so color variations won’t be very noticeable . Still, it really turned out well.Getting a similarly pleasing look on this wall , with heights over and under the windows being much higher than 6″ , will be tomorrow’s challenge. Stay tuned!
Spoonflower wallpaper is packaged a little differently from other brands. It comes in what they call “rolls” that are 2′ wide, and then you can get different lengths – 3′, 6′, 9′, or 12′. Always get a little extra length. Suppose your walls are 8′ 6″ high. You’d think you can get by using the 9′ long roll . But remember you need to add 2″ to both to top and bottom to accommodate trimming and wonky walls. Adn here’s another reason to order extra length. Say I want horse at the top of the wall. I sure dont want his head to be cut off. Here the Spoonflower paper comes with the horses chopped in half. Yuck! Also, the next row of horses don’t line up so that their heads will be intact at the top of the wall without the hooves of the horses above them showing – which would look distracting. So I’m going to have to cut off and throw away several inches – up to the length of the pattern repeat – in orer to get the motifs I want at the top of the wall. Hence, the homeowner needs to purchase the 12′ long rolls.
OK, never mind the ’80’s-era toilet paper holder that’s recessed into the wall here and is not removable – which presents a challenge all its own. My issue is adding the next strip of wallpaper to the left, turning the corner, and keeping the pattern matched as well as possible in both the inside corner and around the outside corner. Usually, when turning inside corners, you wrap the paper around the corner 1/8 of an inch, and then cut a new strip of paper, match the pattern, and then overlap it that 1/8″ . That helps eliminate issues like mis-matches or wrinkles due to crooked corners or uneven / bowed / out-of-plumb walls . (no walls are ever perfect ) But in this case, we also have an outside corner to wrap. Even though it’s only about 2″ wide, that edge can cause the pattern to go off-plumb , or to create wrinkles in the wallpaper . Going against most rules of wallpapering , I’ve decided to wrap the next strip around this 2″ wide wall and then onto the wider wall to the left . Here I am, starting to position that next strip. I’m not going to try to wrap a full 27″ wide strip around this turn. Instead, I’ve trimmed it vertically along a horizontal stripe , which makes this strip narrower and more easy to handle , and also will help in placement of the next strip. Now I’m pushing it into place into that corner. Note how the paper is wrinkling, both on the wide wall, and as it comes around the 2″ wall. Another shot of the placement and wrinkles . Using my plastic squeegee smoother to press the paper tightly into the inside corner. Note that, since the corner isn’t perfectly straight or plumb, there were a few areas where I couldn’t press the paper tightly into the wall, but had to leave a bit of a gap or air bubble, in order for the left edge to wrap around the turn. The plastic smoother can also be used to gently push out wrinkles on the larger body of the strip of paper to the right. Don’t press too hard , nor overwork , because you don’t want to stretch the paper – that will cause more wrinkles. The plastic smoother took care of the inside corner. Here I’m using my damp microfiber cloth to tightly press the paper around this outside corner . OK. Paper’s wrapped tightly around this corner – but, because the corner isn’t straight , we’ve got wrinkles and warps . Sometimes, you need to take a scissors to make relief cuts to help ease the paper around the corner . Try to make your cuts along an element of the design , to make the slit less noticeable.here is that little narrow bit, finally wrapped around the outside corner. Now we need to add the next strip to the left of this. Note that this narrow strip isn’t straight nor plumb nor equidistant from the corner that we just turned. Nor is it equidistant from the next corner we have to deal with, which is to the left (not pictured). Since we want the wallpaper strips to match in the corners, it’s important that the wallpaper pattern fall in the corner to the left at the same point from ceiling to floor. Complicated to explain. So I’m taking a fresh strip of wallpaper , made sure the pattern matches correctly , and have trimmed it vertically along the tan stripe . Now placing it along this wrapped edge. Because I’m overlapping instead of butting , I’m able to pull the new strip to the right or left, to keep it equidistant from the right outside corner . Or, from the inside corner to the left. Actually, I don’t care much about the right side. The eye won’t notice if the new strip isn’t perfectly plumb . Nor will it notice if the pattern match isn’t 100% perfect . But it will notice if the pattern doesn’t match perfectly in the inside corner to the left. So I’m pulling and manipulating and overlapping the strip a bit, so that the left edge of it is exactly 10-3/4″ from the left edge. This ensures that the pattern motifs fall all at the same point into that corner on the left. Do I can cut my next strip, trim it vertically so the design matches with that in the corner, and get a perfect pattern match in the corner. Kinda difficult to explain, but I hope you can follow what I’m describing. Note that this overlap is causing a bit of a ridge under the paper . Hard to see here, but when the paper dries and shrinks tight against the wall, it will be a little more obvious. But I’d rather have a ridge on the right, than a pattern mis-match in the corner to the left. Oh, and never mind that little pattern mis-match to the right … that’s the paper wrapped around the corner, so you’re looking at different dimensions, not a pattern mis-match. Here is that strip finished. The vertical strips isn’t perfectly plumb, but no one can tell that. ut the pattern is perfectly straight in the inside corner to the left . So when I take my subsequent strip and trim it vertically to remove the right edge by approximately 10-3/4″ , the pattern should match perfectly in this inside corner. (It did!) This “sort of” Greek key trellis geometric design is by Thibaut , one of my favorite brands. It was on a triditional paper substrate , and was hung via the paste the paper method . It was purchased from my favortite source for wallpaper in Houston , Dorota Hartwig at the Sherwin-Williams in the Rice Village , who has more selection books than anywhere else in the city – and knows what’s in every one of them! Call before heading over (713) 529-6515 . The home is in the Champions Forest area of northwest Houston.
Powder room before. The original paper dates to the ‘90’s , and was a popular theme at that time. Fast-forward 30 years and add a young family with active kiddies = time for an update . For various reasons, the existing wallpaper could not be removed . So I’m prepping and will hang the new paper over it. Here I’ve skim-floated over the seams, so there will be no ridges showing under the new paper . Next I’ll seal with a stain blocker (see previous post) and follow that with Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime wallpaper primer .Primed and ready to for wallpaper .Such a pretty pattern , full of movement and cheer . The homeowner wanted something dramatic , hence the dark color . Dark works quite nicely in a small room like a powder room . The homeowner also wanted the ceiling papered . Close up .From a distance . A large , sculpted mirror with a heavy white frame will be hung over the sink. This will contrast against the dark paper , and really stand out . I like to think that the wallpaper is the star attraction , but I really think the mirror will take center stageThe pattern is Cornflower and is by Rifle Paper , made by York , one of my favorite brands . This is a non-woven / paste the wall material . It’s relatively easy to work with , and is designed to strip off the wall easily and in one piece without damage to your walls when it’s time to redecorate . This was purchased from Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams on University in the Rice Village . Excellent help in tracking down your perfect paper , and discounted prices , too. Wed – Sat . Call before heading over (713) 529-6515 . The home of this install is in the West University / West U area of Houston .
This is the current wallpaper, and I’m to put a new paper in this powder room. For various reasons, this paper cannot be stripped off the wall , so I’m prepping the walls to be able to hang the new paper on top of it . Normally, my favorite Roman Pro 977 Ultra Prime will seal this effectively enough. But – hard to see in this photo – but this existing paper looks dirty to me. Some of that is due to the mottled look of the pattern / colorway . But I’m seeing tan discoloration , and I think it’s coming from under the wallpaper . This home was built in the early ‘90’s , and in a neighborhood where , through stripping off many old wallpapers in order to prep for new installation , I’ve noticed that someone working in that area and era used what we call clay-based paste . This paste is made using actual clay – i.e. dirt – and has a reddish color . I believe that this red clay paste is able to work its way through wallpaper, and creep onto the surface, causing a subtle “dirty” cast to appear on the wallpaper. Once you strip the old wallpaper off the wall, the wall can then be washed , and hopefully you’ll get all the clay paste off . But usually, no matter how much you scrub, residue will remain. I fear that that residue will work its way through the new wallpaper, as well. Additionally, the most severe stains are in the vicinity of the toilet – housekeeper splashing cleaning agents? or little boys with bad aim ?? Yes, most homeowners will never notice this, especially since it can take years to show up. And the paper I’ll be hanging is black , so it’s highly unlikely that any discernable stains will become visible . But I get a little anal about wanting jobs to look perfect. So I like to use a stain blocker , which will ensure that no discoloring elements will work their way through . My two favorites are KILZ Original , oil-based primer . KILZ is wonderful, unparalleled stuff. But it does have strong fumes , so you have to ventilate the room thoroughly and also wear a chemical respirator while applying it, to avoid becoming “high.” i.e. “sick” My other option is BIN , which is shellac – based . This is also an excellent stain blocker , and has a strong smell , but nothing that will kill your brain cells . Since my current clients have little kids, I opted for the BIN . Unless you want to go through a LOT of paint thinner and mess , you can’t easily wash oil-based or shellac-based liquids out of your roller cover or brush es . So I plan to use disposable rollers and brushes. This doesn’t mean cheap rollers and brushes – it just means that I factor in that these will be used once and then thrown away. Speaking of factoring in costs – the gallon of BIN was $70 (and that was a reduced price due to dented can). The KILZ was $40 , but I would have had to purchase a new respirator and cartridges , which would have added an additional $40 – some of the respirators went up to $70. March 2023 prices . All this needs to be considered when figuring up the price for doing a wallpaper job. I’ll also note that these products can be difficult to source – my local hardware store, which typically has stock even when larger outfits are out , had only one can of KILZ and one scratch-and-dent can of BIN . Whichever I would have chosen, I sure got lucky. Note that these stain blockers are formulated to block lots of nasty stuff – water stains , blood , rust , wood sap / knot holes , ink , tar , grease , crayon , lipstick , cooking stains , marker , Sharpies , etc. Back to BIN…. It’s very watery and runny and drippy . So you really have to cover the floors and baseboards , as well as countertops , toilets, etc. Microfiber roller covers help a lot to minimize splatters . Roll slowly and in an upward motion . Oh – additional plus … both BIN and KILZ dry quickly, so you can apply it and then move to your next step in less than an hour. Besides the shadow-y paste residue , this room has other issues . Here, someone used ink pen to mark placement of the hooks for the powder room mirror . Eeek! Ink will bleed through paint and wallpaper even faster than clay paste residue will. Here you can see one coat of the BIN applied – but the ink seems to have been “resurrected” and is actually enlarging and spreading, and bleeding through the stain blocker . Here I’ve spot-primed with a heavier coat of BIN , and that appears to be holding the nasty ink at bay . Note that wallpaper paste will not adhere to oil-based products like KILZ , and probably not to shellac , either, because it dries kind of glossy. So whichever of these primers you choose to use, you will need to top-coat with a primer formulated for use under wallpaper – and that will adhere to the stain blocker. Tomorrow, I’m going to follow up with Roman Pro 977 , as mentioned above .
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