Strengthening Systems
We recently did an installation for a client on an accent wall and the wall ceiling was sloped, so it was really tall on one side and average height on the other. At the bottom of the tall side, the clients were going to be installing a banquette and it was going to come out about halfway to under the window sill.
During the initial site visit, I did my thing, I measured the wall at the highest height and found that it was 160”, which is over 13’ tall.
Then, I got to the website and reviewed our ordering options. I always have the client or the designer order but I help determine the wallpaper quantities. This type of pattern has a repeat, but the company sells the wallpaper in “rolls” that are pre-determined panel lengths, unlike more traditional wallpaper. And the longest length panel that a roll came in was 12’.
This is where and when I made a mistake. And I didn’t double check my work. Thanks to this moment, I have since tightened up my systems with more double- and triple- checking measures. I let the client know that they needed to order five of the 12’ rolls. For whatever reason, it didn’t cross my mind that 12’ was not going to be long enough! I am human and I make mistakes and that helps me get even better at my work.
When I arrived three months later to the job site, I stared at the wall noticing two things: (1) my 8' ladder was not going to be tall enough and (2) the 12' long rolls of wallpaper were not going to be tall enough to cover the entire height.
Mike and I had a short and sweet and drama-free (hallelujah!) conversation with the client where we confirmed that the 12’ rolls were the longest that she could have ordered, and she was totally okay with us patching in where we needed to, and working around where there was going to be a banquette at the bottom. And we were able to borrow a really tall extension ladder to get to the top of the ceiling! These are the hero moments.
This project takes the cake for how long we have spent to install one wall! We focused a long time on the layout. Not to mention the small motifs all looked similar but were not exactly the same. There was actually a 48” repeat (that is a really large repeat!) so there were only 3 repeats on each roll.
We hoped that we could install the first three rolls with a little temporary missing space at the bottom and then prayed that the ceiling line sloped down 48” so we could start at the top of a sheet again and then use the remaining wallpaper from those last two rolls to patch in the empty spaces.
Needless to say - the ceiling did not slope down 48” by the time we got to the fourth roll. So we ended up with a little triangle that we patched in at the top. And then. Oh man, on the fifth roll, we thought we could use the bottom of the roll and get a full unaltered drop. Once we creased it to trim, we realized it was going to be just a little shy of the bottom. Ugh, but we couldn’t un-crease it. So we went with another patch.
All in all - this wallpaper was incredible to work with! Thank you, Chasing Paper! We were able to find the right piece to double cut into the space at the bottom (win!) and also discovered where the top and the bottom were perfect matches (win!). We were given the opportunities to strengthen our troubleshooting skills (win!) and the wallpaper was the perfect material for this type of work (non woven, sturdy ink, wipeable, essentially seamless in both the horizontal and vertical direction - wins!).
HERE IS THE THING. We learned so much about how to be even BETTER wallpaper installers WHILE delivering an amazing installation. This story is not about how to be perfect but how to learn, be imperfect, and give incredible experiences to ourselves and our clients. Our client was blown away by her wallpaper. She loved the overall result and didn’t ask or care about what needed to be done to make it happen. The product illuminated the room because of the process and the care that was put into it. That is what the client felt when she walked into her house and looked at her beautiful wall.
Finished product! Wallpaper made by Chasing Paper in the pattern Sunburst.