This young couple hosts the mother / mother-in-law a few times a year, and are lucky enough to have a private spare bedroom for her. To make it special, they wanted to jazz up the area a little. Enter this fun and whimsical wallpaper pattern .The room before was a pretty shade of murky teal – but needed personality and warmth. The wall started out with a light orange peel texture . I skim-floated the wall, and then sanded it smooth . Along the baseboard at the floor , here’s the dust from sanding , along with the sanding sponge I use – this is a modern take on the idea of wrapping sandpaper around a block of wood . I tack painter’s plastic across the wall from ceiling to floor to prevent dust from getting into the room or onto the furniture . Here’s the wall smooth and primed , ready for wallpaper . Since this is a dark wallpaper and I want to be sure that the white wall does not peek out from behind the seams, I stripe dark paint along the wall under where the seams will fall. Because non-woven papers don’t expand when wet with paste , it’s simple to measure the width of your strips and plot out where each seam will fall. Use the laser level as your guide . Do a Search here (upper right hand corner) to read more about this technique. I use craft paint from Texas Art Supply (or any hobby store ), diluted with water from a Gatorade bottle cap , and applied with a scrap of sponge . Further insurance is taking a chalk pastel (never oil pastel – oil bleeds and will stain wallpaper) and running it along the edge of the wallpaper strip – from the backside to avoid staining the surface – to cover the white substrate the wallpaper is printed on. This is to prevent white from peeking out at the seams , which can happen with dark papers. Centering the first strip in the middle of the wall, and using my laser level to ensure the strip is nice and straight and plumb . Note: The strip is not centered on the wall. The dominant pattern element is. Notice that the center of the dominant pattern motif – the white circular flower – is 3.5″ to the right of the left edge. This means that I had to position the left edge of the wallpaper 3.5″ to the left of the center of the wall, in order to get the round white flower to fall down the center of the wall. When you look again at the finished photo, you’ll notice that the white flower falls down the middle of the walls, and that it also appears at equal distance from both the right and left walls. Most people wouldn’t be able to put their finger on this symmetry , but it is something they subconsciously notice , and it lends a feeling of orderliness to the room. As orderly as you can be, that is, with pigs dancing around the meadow dandelions ! Finished accent wall . The three other walls painted in blue were a bit of a surprise, because one would think the more dominant color of green would be used. But with so much green in the wallpaper, green on the walls, too, would have been too much, perhaps. I like the cool feeling that the blue creates . There is plenty of the exact same blue in the wallpaper pattern to tie the walls and wallpaper together. Close up shows the stamped printing technique . You’ve gotta love a frolicking pig in a hand-knitted sweater! This pattern is called Hoppet Folk and is in the Wonderland line by Borastapeter , a Scandinavian company . It’s a nice, sturdy but flexible non-woven material that can be hung via the paste the wall installation method . In addition, this product will strip off the wall easily and in one piece , with no damage to your walls, when it’s time to redecorate. This is a very popular pattern, and I’ve hung it more times than I can count, just in the last two or three years. It does come in other colors – but most people gravitate toward this black version. The townhome is in the Rice Military area of central Houston .
This is a 2-room powder room in the Memorial Villages area of west Houston. The home is new and openly spacious, but has many classic elements like very elegant moldings and trim work. I absolutely LOVE this 1890’s Victorian era marble sink with metal legs – a lucky eBay score. The homeowner has young kids and an active family and wanted to do something ” wild ” in the powder room. I’d say this Wonderland pattern fills the bill!The look is especially effective due to the homeowner’s bold choice to paint the woodwork this rich mustard ochre color. Looking from the sink room through the arched doorway into the potty room. Cute, cute pattern! And lovely material to work with. The glass flower light sconces are vintage, too, dating to the ’50’s or ’70’s. A similar-themed glass, floral, and brass chandelier will hang in the adjacent potty room. This is the mirror that will go up, almost touching each light sconce on either side. The grey tones in the mirror look super good with the grey marble vanity / commode sink. Manufacturer is Borastapeter distributed by Brewster , both fine companies. It’s a non-woven material and can be hung by the paste the wall method or by pasting the paper. The original wallpaper came from Finest Wallpaper in Canada, a good company. But the homeowner ordered half of what was needed, and was not able to get more in time for our install date. I suggested she call Dorota at the Sherwin-Williams on University in the Rice Village (713) 529-6515) and, sure enough, she found a source that had the paper in stock and could get it here lickety-split. This is the second time I’ve hung this paper in one week, and I’ve hung it several times previously and have it coming up again – always in this dramatic and colorful black version. People sure love the whimsy of frolicking frocked pigs!
Just the sink wall will be papered. Sorry for the photos … the room is so small, and the door is blocked by the toilet, so I can’t get good distant photos. Here’s that accent wall with the wallpaper on it. The room also had an art niche with a curved rear wall. This is the first thing you see when you open the door. I positioned the pattern so the dominant white flower would fall in the center of the wall, under the spotlight. This is such a cute and whimsical pattern. Who ever heard of frolicking pigs wearing knitted sweaters?!The manufacturer is Borastapeter from Sweden. It’s a non-woven material, and was perfectly lovely to work with. It can be hung by paste the wall , but I prefer to paste the paper .
This young family in the West University Place neighborhood of Houston started out with another installation company that was not a good fit. They also started out with a wallpaper selection from a company that I find to be of poor quality (Hygge & West). I was honored that they let me take on the wallpaper install. AND that they listened to my suggestion to explore other manufactuers … the paper they chose is superior in quality, and is a far more charming and fitting design for their young son.
The walls originally had a light texture that I skim-floated over, then sanded smooth, and then primed with Gardz.
The new wallpaper is very similar in color to their original choice of palm leaves, so they could keep the trim and wainscot paint that had already been applied.
Whereas paper from the original manufacturer is known for curling and disappointing “pouches” at the seams, their final selection from Boras Tapeter (a Scandinavian company) is some of the most cooperative and best performing paper I have every worked with.
The seams are invisible, the material doesn’t expand (no pattern distortion or screwed up measurements) and it doesn’t shrink (no gaps at the seams). There is no booking time, so each strip can be pasted and then hung immediately. It can also be hung via the paste-the-wall method. It hugs the wall tightly and turns corners nicely. It doesn’t crease easily, as many thicker non-wovens do. When it’s time to redecorate, this non-woven material is designed to strip off the wall easily and with minimal damage to the wall. And the surface is more washable than most, making it well suited to a young child’s room.
And best of all, the “Wonderland” design, with frolicking animals and whimsical foliage, is much better suited to a child’s room than the original palm leaf option.
This wallpaper pattern is by Boras Tapeter, and 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.
Wow! Here’s a wonderful, cheery, playful pattern that works beautifully with the exposed shiplap wood wall in this small powder room in a nicely renovated 1920 home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Houston.
It’s unusual to have an accent wall in a small room like a powder room, but the builder had left this wall’s 100-year-old original shiplap exposed (after sanding and sealing), and the family loved the warmth and texture of the wood, and it really enhanced the room. The homeowner – who is the mother of two young children – found this super fun wallpaper design that works with both the wooden wall and her spirited, youthful family.
This fairy tale-ish pattern is called “Wonderland” and is by the Scandanavian manufacturer Boras Tapeter. I really like hanging their paper. The seams are invisible, the material will resist water and little sticky fingers better than most, it’s on a non-woven substrate that is designed to strip off the wall easily when it’s time to redecorate, and it’s thin and pliable enough to work nicely in rooms that have corners and intricate cuts and turns.
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.
“Bold” and “whimsical” don’t typically go together, but that’s what this homeowner wanted for her large powder room in the Briarpark neighborhood of Houston. I’d say that this animal-filled, fun foresty pattern in a smudgy charcoal colorway fills the bill! Look close to see the stylized animals frolicking across the paper!
The second photo shows the first strip going up. I love the stripe of dark, bold color against the boring white walls.
The pattern is called “Wonderland,” and it is by Boras Tapeter, a Scandinavian company. It is on a non-woven substrate, and I hung it using both the paste-the-paper and the paste-the-wall methods.
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