Upper East Side, NY
specialist finishes, Decorative painting
Context
The bathroom had been wallpapered around 30 years earlier and was suffering from extensive mildew damage. Having lived with the room for so long, the client struggled to imagine replacing it with something different and was reluctant to lose details that had become familiar over time.
My involvement
I was brought in through a designer to find an alternative to replacing the room entirely. Rather than introducing a new scheme, I proposed recreating the existing wallpaper and border as a painted finish — preserving the character of the space while creating a more durable result suited to a bathroom environment.
Before – mildewed paper and misaligned border
Key Moments
- Recreating the original wallpaper design by hand rather than introducing a new finish
- Working with a custom multi-part stencil to reproduce the decorative border accurately
- Matching the faded colours and details using a preserved section of the original wallpaper
- Adjusting the placement of the border to improve the proportions of the room while remaining faithful to the original design
- Extending the painted finish across the vanity so existing cabinetry could remain in place
Outcome
The finished room retained the character the client had lived with and loved for decades while resolving the practical issues caused by age and moisture. The client felt the result captured everything they loved about the original – and even improved on it.
