Wallpaper Feature Wall

Our painting and decorating company recently completed a large wallpaper installation in the Gold Coast area of Chicago. Wallpaper can sometime be used in creative ways that bring excitement to a room. That project presented such an opportunity.

Part of the project included the creation of a feature wall above the tub area in the master bath. The interior designer on the project had the idea of using a classical wallpaper design with arches, monkeys and adding a custom mirror frame to create a fun and classy accent wall. The clients loved the idea.

The challenge for the installation consisted of coming up with the measurements for the wallpaper panels that created the most balanced effect, while maintaining equal measurements for the mirror frame all the way around the wall. After doing some brain twisting calculations, the magic formula was achieved! Then it was a matter of flawless wallpaper trimming and installation. Compared to the calculations, the installation was the easy part!

Using our skills as craftsmen, coupled with our commitment to produce a delightful result for all involved parties, guide everything we do as painting and decorating contractors in the Chicago area.

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We are putting the finishing touches to an upscale residential wallpapering project on Chicago’s Gold Coast. Every wall of this two-bedroom condo was clad in eight different wallpapers, including three grasscloth and one sisal wallcovering.

J-Channel After Installing Second Wallpaper

This project had an unusually high number of outside corners due to the fact the eight windows in the apartment were recessed into the wall by about a foot. Every window had about twenty five feet of outside corners each. In all, there were three hundred linear feet of outside edges in the condo: That is a lot of edges that can fray over time?

This is our clients’ retirement location – they are not looking to ever move again. They had the unit gutted and designed to their needs. We are just now completing all the decorating for them. Having understood their situation, we recommended the use of a J-Channel on all the outside edges. The wider edge (1/4″) of the channel allows for tucking the wallpaper under the lip of the channel. The thin edge of the channel creates a clean line for another wallcovering or a painted finish to but against it, as shown in the attached picture.

As painting and decorating contractors in the Chicago area, we first seek to understand where a client is coming form. We do not recommend a J- Channel on every installation. In fact it is rare we do. In this particular case, the J-Channel was the perfect solution to give the clients the look and durability they were looking for.

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Installed Maya Romanoff Wallpaper

As painting and decorating contractors in the Chicago area, we are regularly asked to install wallpapers. In recent years, the demand for high-end wallcoverings has been soaring. We have had the opportunity to install many illustrious wallpapers. A recent project involved the installation of 4 panels of a deep red Maya Romanoff hand-made wallcovering to create a feature wall in a master bedroom. The pattern, called (Moon Lake) , had subtle horizontal, thin and artful stripes.

Before getting into the special challenges of this installation, I would like to take a moment and give a little background on Maya Romanoff. The company bears the name of its founder and is the largest manufacturer of hand-made wallcoverings in the United States. Since its founding over forty years ago, the company has creatively used diverse materials such as glass beads, seashells, wood, gold leaf to beatify walls all over the world. I recently had the privilege of touring their manufacturing facility. What stood out the most for me was the joy I felt from their artisans doing their artful work. Their efficiency and team coordination was amazing! Attached is a picture of a portion of their plant.

Maya Romanoff Manufacturing Facility

The installation of the Moon Lake wallpaper presented special layout challenges. It took almost as long to plan the layout and trimming as it did to do the installation. Firstly, the bed was not centered on the wall. The challenge was: how do we layout the paper in a way that minimizes the problem? The second challenge had to do with the nature of the wallcovering itself: the stripes started in one edge of the paper but ended substantially short of the other edge, in an irregular fashion. We had to decide if we were going to flit the next sheet so the stripes would but against the striped edge of the previous sheet and leave an open area between the other two edges. We decided to proceed in this way. The last challenge was to plan the trimming of the edges as to minimize the lack of centeredness of the bed. That whole process took in excess of three hours. Our client was made part of the whole layout process to ensure he was on board with the final look.

A happy client is worth everything to us. The final layout and installation did justice to the beautiful work of Maya Romanoff.

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Glazed Lincrusta Dado in Stairway 1

As painting and decorating contractors in the Chicago area, we install an array of wall coverings, including fabrics, grass cloth, string cloth, embossed and other exotic papers. We recently installed Lincrusta’s Edwardian dado panels in a house’s front staircase.

Created in England in 1877 by the inventor of Linoleum floor coverings, Lincrusta has since then adorned upscale homes all over the world. Today, Lincrusta finds a home in many restoration projects. Its deeply embossed patterns lend themselves to many styles of buildings, in both residential and commercial settings. Lincrusta is sold as wallcoverings, dado panels, friezes and borders. The patterns can be brought to life by using paints, glazes and varnish. A wide array of effects can as a result be created.

Installing a Lincrusta wallcovering is a multi-step process. To ensure the long-term stability of the installation, we first installed a liner paper, which we then primed. After carefully laying out the pattern and getting the client’s approval, we proceeded with the panel installation. At this stage, the wallcovering has a creamy color and needs to be

Glazed Lincrusta Dado in Stairway 2

finished. The oils from the manufacturing process must first be removed from the surfaces of the paper. The panels must then be primed and painted. Because the client wanted the highlight the details of the embossed pattern, we then glazed the painted surfaces and manipulated the glaze to accomplish the desired effect.

Lincrusta wallcoverings are one of our many options to help clients add a “”period” touch to their environment. Lincrusta also supports our company’s commitment to help restore the beauty of vintage buildings in Chicago.

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Bohemian Bangles Grasscloth Wallpaper by Philip Jeffries

During the past year, for the first time in our history as painting and decorating contractors in the Chicago area, our volume of installations of high-end wall coverings has exceeded our volume of decorative painting projects. These wallpaper installations have included numerous Lincrusta, Philip Jeffries, Elitis, J.R. Burrows papers among others. This trend has been building for two or three years now.

When dealing with such exclusive and expensive materials, an additional strong dose of caution is needed. First, the installation must only be handled by the most experienced of craftsmen. By that, I mean someone with a passion for precision in execution and a broad base of knowledge and experience. Many of these papers present some unique challenges. Therefore the installer must also be able to think on his/her feet in problem solving. Lincrusta is a prime example of these installation challenges. Because of its rigidity, and thickness, it is more akin to a floor covering than a wall covering. Great skill must be applied to the cutting of the material.

Big Croco Wallcovering by Elitis

Second, we take additional installation steps. For instance, we often use a liner paper before installing the wallpaper. We also prime the liner once installed. Skipping that step may ruin the liner (and a wall) if for some reason a sheet needs to be removed after it has begun to set on the liner. High-gloss, solid-color wall coverings (lacquer look) present challenges of their own: every imperfection in the walls with telegraph through the wallpaper, even with the use of a heavy weight liner. Therefore, to ensure a mirror-like appearance, the walls must be skimmed and brought to a level 5 finish, before being primed and installing the liner. These additional steps increase the cost of the project. However, they ensure a successful installation that last a very long time.

High-end wall coverings must be treated with caution and respect. Failure to do so, may result in disaster.

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