VIDEO: Historic Wallpaper Installation at The Petersen House, Ford’s Theatre

The Petersen House, Ford’s Theatre, Washington, DC

I just finished working at the Petersen House in Washington DC. It was used as a boarding house in the Civil War. Today, more than 800,000 visitors walk through the Petersen House and Ford’s Theatre every year to see where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and died.

The Petersen House is a great example of how the middle class decorated their homes during the Civil War era.  All the wallpaper in this historic home are historic reproductions. The fanciest wallpaper was always installed in the foyer and stairwell to impress visitors. The hallway paper is a copy of a French design and slightly old-fashioned for 1865. The parlors used American machine made wallpaper with a more homey feeling.

I really enjoy working on historic homes. It’s where the past becomes real for me.

VIDEO: Watch How Wallpaper Gets Installed

I’m betting 2012, will be a great year for wallpaper.  You and your friends will consider using wallpaper to redecorate.  That’s what the recent Washington Post article written by Amanda Abrams says.  Wallpaper is en vogue and has undergone a revolution of sorts. Textured paper, bold designs, strong colors and affordability is making it hot with young Washingtonians.

But many homeowners have never had wallpaper professionally installed in their home. So my video here shows you, in about 2 minutes, how I install wallpaper.  A few months ago I installed historic wallpaper in the Dumbarton House in Georgetown.  It is a Federal period historic house museum dating from 1798.  Thanks to Scott Scholtz, the curator, who made this video of my work.

Saying Thanks by Sharing Wallpaper Leftovers

November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving leftovers – we don’t want good things to go to waste. And that’s how I think about my leftovers. I don’t want the leftovers of the best wallpaper I’ve worked with this year to end up wasted. So I make decorative boxes. Even the smallest scraps can make beautiful gifts. I make all kinds [...]

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Why Bother With Liner Paper?

November 14, 2011

The recent popularity of English pulp papers in America, as represented by brands like Zoffany, Farrow & Ball, Sanderson, Osborn & Little, William Morris & Co., has resulted in the resurgence of liner paper. Actually, all of the English papers require lining. Instruction sheets that come with these papers refer to liner paper as cross [...]

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