Yesterday’s install was quite fun, but there were some unusual or challenging features to the room. Here are some of them. First, in most areas, the chair rail had a sort of gap between it and the wall, probably then filled in with caulk. I used some craft paint from Texas Art Supply to color that in, so there wouldn’t be white showing between the dark green paint and the black wallpaper. My usual trim guide (not pictured) is thin, designed to allow you to cut very close and tight to the edge. But in this case, I was afraid it might leave some of that gapped area showing between the paper and the wood trim. So I used this steel plate tool, which is thicker and would allow me to get a fat cut – just enough paper left to wrap a teeny bit onto that gap area. Note that before I trim, I’m going to press that edge into the corner. I couldn’t hold the camera and hold it in proper position at the same time. Also, you’ll notice the rolled edge at the top of the tool. That’s thicker, and allows for getting an even fatter cut, for instance, when you want just a tad of paper to wrap around a corner . Do a Search to see my previous post about this technique. Here I’ve made the trim cut and am peeling away the excess that was trimmed off at the bottom. See how the bottom edge of the wallpaper now wraps a tiny bit and fills the gap neatly?Next issue – wall height. On this wall, the height is 3′ + 30.5″But on the opposite wall, the height is 3′ + 29.75″. This means that you can expect the ceiling to move up or down, which means that a pattern motif – let’s say one of those cute chameleons – could get his head chopped off by the descending ceiling. Next issue – bowed wall. Here my yardstick is sitting pretty squarely against this wall, in a corner . But as I move it up the wall a little further – wow! – that wall takes a dip to the left. And it’s quite a dip! The wall has a bow in it. I can get my next strip of wallpaper to cover that space. But the fallout will be that pattern motifs will hit the wall at different points, which means that the next piece to be placed after that, the pattern will not match perfectly at all points. All right. So that previous corner had a bow. This one is out of plumb. Here you see my laser level showing that my wallpaper strip is hanging nice and plumb.But move the laser to the corner and you see that it’s out of plumb .Here’s a better example. Again, this causes the pattern to not match perfectly in the corners. Another shot of the bowed wall, which, for various tech reasons, due to Word Press ‘s crappy New Editor , this shot got out of order and I was not able to place it with the others under the topic. Papering around the electrical outlet , I had to unplug my light source. There was light coming in from the hall. But this paper, as well as the paint, were so dark that I couldn’t see well to work. Enter my Big Larry flashlight .Small enough to fit in my toolbox , but really bright and dependable for when you need it. The pattern is called Fantasy Tree and is by Breeze and was purchased through one of the showrooms in one of Houston’s decorative / design center s. It’s a nice non-woven material , easy to hang , easy to remove , durable and stain-resistant .
This is a closet tucked under the stairs off the main living area of a nicely renovated and enlarged 1920’s home in the Heights neighborhood of Houston. Nice and bright, but a little claustrophobic. (That brown vertical thing is my yardstick.) This two-toned wallpaper with pencil-like sketches immediately visually opens up the room and creates an inviting work space .
The pattern is called Florida Toile . The manufacturer / vendor is Katie Kime , also known for stationary , home décor , phone cases – and very cute , comfy pajamas !Their ” City Toile ” wallpaper collection is quite popular , with more than a dozen locales to choose from . It’s a heavy , smooth vinyl on a non-woven / paste-the-wall backing. A little too heavy , a little too stretchy , and too easily wrinkled or creased for my taste , but all in all, a nice enough material . With so many people working from home these days, or just needing space to handle family business or homework , these cloffices have become popular.
This toilet was less than an inch away from the wall, yet I was able to slip both the liner and the decorative papers behind it. This saved the homeowner the $$ expense of paying a plumber to come remove the tank, and then come back and replace it. I could unbook the paper and slide it behind the tank without creasing or damaging the material. But it still needed to be smoothed against the wall. I work a yardstick back there and use it to press the paper gently against the wall. Sometimes it works better to wrap a damp cloth around the yardstick, because that puts more pressure – gentle pressure – on the paper and helps press it against uneven areas of the wall. I often use a shorter length of yardstick, which is handy because many toilets are recessed into areas that are narrower than 36″.
Before. The previous installer did a beautiful job with this earthy grasscloth. But it didn’t suit the homeowner’s taste, nor did it fit with the feel of this 1939 cottage in the historic Norhill section of the Houston heights.Done! The dark towel and mirror really set off the pattern and colors.Wall behind the toilet. This Asian-influenced design, with its pagodas and minstrels, is referred to as a Chinoiserie . These designs have been popular for centuries. Close-up. The green and blue tones coordinate beautifully with adjoining rooms in the house. I rolled the wallpaper out on the floor, so I could see the full-size design. This one has a 46″ pattern repeat, which is awfully long, and means there can be a lot of waste. This design had a straight pattern match, and came packaged in a 24″ x 33′ bolt, like traditional wallpaper. It did not come as an A-B set, as many M&K products do. I couldn’t find a full-size room-set photo on-line, so I availed myself of the Milton & King ‘s ” chat ” feature … I was connected with a live and knowledgeable representative in mere seconds, and he very quickly sent me a link to a picture of this pattern in a room. In the photo, I’m using my yardstick to determine a centerline of the design motifs.As are most of Milton & King ‘s wallpapers, this one was on a non-woven substrate. Rather than paste the wall, I chose to paste the paper, which works best in a bathroom with things to cut around and tuck paper behind. miThe pattern is called Mulberry . Milton & King’s bolts come packed individually in protective boxes – no worries about banged edges with this outfit!
We’re looking at a corner where two walls meet, over the vanity in a powder room.
Top photo – bottom of the picture … See how the wall bows away from my yardstick? And in the second photo, you can see gaps between the wall and my yardstick.
The walls are not just out of plumb – they are bowed.
The strip of wallpaper that I am about to hang will go on the wall to the right. This strip gets wrapped a tiny 1/16″ around the corner.
The next strip will go on the wall on the left. This strip will overlap that tiny 1/16″ wrapped area. This results in a tiny 1/16″ pattern mis-match in the corner.
I have a few tricks to minimize this pattern mis-match in corners.
BUT … if the wall is bowed or is not straight, as in the photos above, not all of my tricks will work, and it’s going to be impossible to get the pattern to match 100% perfectly from ceiling to floor.
Usually, no one notices this kind of minute detail but me. But still, it’s always good to have realistic expectations, and plan to accept a few pattern mis-matches around the room.
Well, somebody forgot to tell the contractor to push the vanity all the way against the wall … Resulting in this 1/2″ wide gap between the countertop and the wall.
With some careful folding, unbooking, and the use of a wooden yardstick to both pull the pasted paper away from the wall, and then smooth it against the wall as needed, I was able to get a contiguous strip of paper into this narrow space.
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