Hand printed wallpaper now going up!

[Nigel Watts]

I have finally started on the paper hanging in my living room. Against all advice I am hanging the stuff myself. It is a bespoke batch (£150 a roll), and I am a little tight on quantity, so a single mistake could ruin the entire hang. Added to which the pattern repeat only gives me only 3/4 inch of leeway at the start and end of each drop. No pressure then ....

So far, so good however. I am being forced to work carefully and concentrate to avoid errors - no bad thing. The paper is a joy to handle. I am using ready made tub paste for the first time. This is much stiffer than the normal powdered paste you mix yourself, which means it needs a lot of effort to brush out, but there is much less danger of of it oozing out. I have got some little bits of paste on the front of the paper but it has washed off, apparently without staining.

The paper is a dark green. The biggest problem so far is that the whitness of the edges of the paper can be seen in some places. I initially tried pre-colouring the edges of the roll with a green wax crayon, but am now using black to get more oomph. This is now working better. I reckon some careful touch up could be possible later (with indian ink plus a fine sable paintbrush?).

The one thing I have yet to find a way of avoiding is slight tears at the corners, for example when going round a door frame or mantlepiece. Cutting the wet paper with a knife, as recommended in one of my books, was not a good idea as it tears the surface, so scissors are the only safe cutting option.

Any further hints?

 

[Flyfisher]

Sorry, I can offer no useful advice whatsoever (indeed would be terrified to do so at £150 per roll!) but I just wanted to record my admiration for your 'hands-on' approach. I wish you all the best!

 

[skier-hughes]

The only advice I can give is;

To use something like a surgical knife, it needs to be extremely sharp to cut wet paper.
More than one pair of hands is very helpful when doing things like corners to take the weight of the paper.

I also admire you..... I'm not really sure I'd have attempted hanging it myself.

Graham

 

[Penners]

Nigel - please do post some pictures when you've finished.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

It'll be fine, look foward to seeing the pics when done. Is it Cole and Son or watts of Westminster?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

PS.I generally find that a light score around an awkward edge, then let it dry off a bit before detaching it, works quite well.Try a bit first from a teeny tiny off cut (!) and see if that helps to make a better edge.

 

[alice]

I touched up my white edges with a fine brush and acrylic paint. I was able to mix the paint to exactly match the paper. This will also work on any tears that leave a white ragged edge.

I don't have any problems using an x-acto or scalpel, just change the blade frequently. If you're pulling at the paper, then the knife is dull. Cheap knives (the break off kind) aren't worth the trouble. Paper has a lot of abrasives in it and dull knives (and scissors) very quickly.

alice

 

[Nigel Watts]

Thanks for the tips and emcouragement. I was trying to cut with a "cheap snap off knife". I have a surgical scalpel which I use for bookbinding - I will try that next.

The paper is from Watts of Westminster (no relation). It is one of their standard damask designs, but the batch in my colour choice was made to order. I looked at many high quality machine printed papers before choosing this one. There was simply no comparison in terms of intensity and richness of colour.

Here is a corner of the room showing the paper against my fake oak woodgraining. The oak has come out a bit lighter in the photo than it is in reality. This pic also shows my Forbes and Lomax "invisible" light switch - two stainless toggles with a perpex plate over the paper. I will post more as the work progresses.

 

[Anita]

Looking damned good Nigel - you must be very proud of yourself. Your woodgraining is also extremely realistic - did you do that yourself? We had my 80 year-old father-in-law woodgrain our bathroom radiator in our last house, as the white metal was up against some traditional panelling. He had certainly not lost his touch after not doing any graining for many years (probably a couple of decades) and it really helped the radiator disappear against the panelling.

Soem shots of your finished room would be nice once you are done.

 

[Nigel Watts]

The oak graining is my own work and is in close imitation of what I believe the finish would have been when the house was new in the 1840s. There is evidence of at least two fake wood finishes on the old woodwork - a darker, almost mahogany coloured one with a paler, more "medium oak" coloured one below.

I know what the original paper looked like, but imitating that would have been difficult:

What is clear though is that early-mid 19th C interiors would have been very much richer in colour and texture than we are now used to - almost alarmingly so. This is the effect I am aiming for.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

WOW, well done, it looks super, definitely worth the effort (and expense).!!

 

[Penners]

That's absolutely beautiful, Nigel. Lovely work.

 

[Carrie]

It's absolutely beautiful. I love the wallpaper - you're very brave putting it up yourself. The light switch is great too - off to order a brochure. Keep posting pictures.

 

[alice]

It certainly looks like it's coming along beautifully! I liked the woodgraining. Did you use a feather or a brush? I'm assuming you used oil and not acrylic based paints, although both work well in faux painting.

alice

 

[Nigel Watts]

My oak graining was done as follows:

Initial coat of Dulux eggshell in a kind of pale caramel colour. Homemade glaze was then made with turpentine, boiled linseed oil, a splash of terebene driers, a fair amount of raw umber artists oils paint and a bit of yellow ochre. This was brushed on thinly, flogged then combed.

For the quartered oak panels the combing was done with a medium steel comb then cross combed with a broken, fine steel comb. The figure was then wiped out using a stick covered with a rag, folloed by a bit of softening with a brush.

For the rest, the combing was done with home made rubber combs, then cross combed with the fine broken steel comb.

When all this was dry it looked a bit raw, so I applied a water based overglaze made with vandyke brown crystals disloved in malt vinegar and water. I went over the figure again to wipe out the overglaze. When nearly dry I moved the glaze around a bit to give a bit more contrast.

The whole was finished off with two coat of Crown & Rose extra pale eggshell varnish.

I got the technique from reading Parry's Graining and Marbling, watching a video, and experimenting.

 

[Penners]

So quick and easy, then?

 

[JMartin]

Your house looks like a real labour of love. I bet it'll be fantastic when finished. If only more people took the same sort of care as you clearly are.

 

[Nemesis]

Thing is, Nigel, if you don't like it when it's finished, you can always emulsion over it. Magnolia?

 

[Nigel Watts]

I still have my eye on the 17th C portrait I posted on this forum a year or so ago (it is still for sale), and I think the oak effect and damask have certain Caroline character, which would be in keeping with it. It would fit above the mantlepiece - I've measured it - and the dealer has offered me a modest discount.... Unfortunately My wife doesn't agree and would rather I bought her a new car and a new bathroom.

 

[Nemesis]

I would suggest a new woman in your life...

New car and bathroom indeed!