When I was redoing my bar, I chose this very well known Beata Heuman marbleized wallpaper for it.
I knew of it because I had seen other designers use it. I
It is a stunning paper with complex marbled design and hundreds of color options to coordinate with.
My first Choice- Lee Jofa Taplow Wallpaper
When I started looking for a paper for my bar space, my first choice was Lee Jofa’s Taplow paper. It had the yellows and oranges that I was looking for.
The marbling looks (a little) like bird feathers which is always yes for me.
Problem – At that time it was on backorder for three months and I I wasn’t going to wait for anything for three months.
2nd Choice – Beata Heuman Marbleized Paper
As I was searching aimlessly, I remembered about this Beata Heuman Marbleized Wallpaper.
The paper is dark and moody and almost every space I had seen it used, was with darker and/or muted colors.
I was planning on using it with Ben Moore Chartreuse and I was quite uncertain about it, to be honest.
It’s a showstopper and kinda iconic at this point.
Things I love about the paper –
There are many, but they are easy to articulate with pictures.
It Looks Like Peacock Feathers! Gimme that!
The Beata Heuman Marbleized wallpaper looks very much like bird feathers. It actually looks like peacock spread its feathers to show-off.
Gimme that fast!!
It’s stunning!! It was also a perfect fit for my bird obsessed life and the bird themed room in a bird surrounded house.
The abstract Design is Easy to Incorporate In Any Room
Since the design is abstract, it can work with florals, murals and many other patterns.
It wasn’t going to compete with other things in the room, including the wallpaper in the attached powder room or future bird art going into that room.
Many Many Colors to Choose From
It had SO. MANY. COLORS. to choose from!
All the colors in it meant that I could use any color on the bar cabinets and even change it down the road if I wanted. Every color in the rainbow will work with this paper!
It Really Helped Pull Together The Chartreuse & Caribbean Blue
My Schumacher paper color that’s on my walls is called “Caribbean” which is a perfect ocean-y blue.
I wanted Chartreuse cabinets under the paper.
This paper had both colors!
It had chartreuse AND it had a little bit of that ocean blue/aqua in it as well so the space could look cohesive.
It is WIDE
At 53″ wide, it is one of the widest papers I have used. It’s pretty awesome to get such a wide width for wall application, especially for such a busy pattern.
Things I don’t Love About This Paper
This list is longer and more comprehensive and more comprehensive so stay with me.
It Has a Lot of Gray
It has warm gray, green-gray, taupe-gray, blue-gray. Lot of gray!
I don’t know if you know, but gray is out – like it’s been expelled from home decor.
Although the other colors offset the gray in this wallpaper, it’s very much there.
That’s the reason why you will see it paired with blacks, grays and moody teals, is because the paper has a lot of gray in it.
The pattern is too long
This Baeta Heuman paper has a pattern repeat of 2 meters which is 7 whole feet!!!
Most wallpapers have a pattern repeat of 2 to 3 feet distance. I have seen much less (15-20 inches) for a busier pattern such as this one. That makes it easier to “find” the same pattern over and over again.
Why does this matter? I will explain below.
Or the minimum order is insufficient
The whole pattern is 7 foot long but minimum order is only 3.5 ft. So the minimum order is 1/2 of the pattern!
We have bought hundreds of wallpapers for china cabinets and we have not seen a manufacturer ship out half a pattern.
Usually the minimum order is enough to give you multiple pattern repeats in one single roll. At the very least, the minimum order will give you one whole pattern.
It is actually not possible to order incomplete pattern, as in most wall paper manufacturers won’t even sell it to you.
Why is this an issue with this paper?
Because the whole pattern is SEVEN FOOT LONG & the minimum order is 3.5 ft!!
The manufacturer is trying to price it so it’s within reach of more people, it’s very unhelpful, to be honest.
Ideally, the minimum order should have been 2 meters, or 7 foot, no less.
The paper has a Double Overlap
The paper (supposedly) is made the old fashioned way by having a 2 cm ( little over .75” in American) overlap of the design on both sides.
Meaning, the wallpaper installer has to cut off a perfect .78” slice of the paper on both sides in order to match the pattern.
We clearly overlooked this and accidentally cut a piece too short.
The pattern is 7 foot long! That means —–
Mistakes Can Be Extremely Expensive
If you make a common mistake like an mis-cut a portion, it is an automatic 186+ blunder, because you can’t find the same pattern unless you order 7 more feet of paper.
You can Unknowingly Order 1/2 pattern Which Is Useless
We accidentally did order 1 meter (1/2 a pattern) and realized our mistake, but couldn’t just order another meter. Why?
There is no way to know if it’s going to be the top half or the bottom half?
You get what you get and it may be what you already have.
It’s really unusual to be honest.
Covering a Switchplate & a Recepticle Will Cost You $400 Of Paper
A pattern repeat of 7 ft also means if you have to cover a switch plate and a plug, you will have to order 4 additional meters or $372 of paper.
Since there is no repeat of the same pattern for 7 whole feet, you will have to order 14 feet and find that design twice in that 14 feet of paper.
To be perfectly clear – all these things are very clearly spelled out in the spec sheet. I am by no means blaming the designer, but to me, this paper is unfriendly to anyone who doesn’t have an extra large budget.
Our Multiple Fails With The Paper
We made so many mistakes with this paper that I thought it was worth mentioning it.
We Miscut The Paper
As you can see in the picture below, we cut the paper without accounting for the overlap. As a result we had to settle for this seam situation.
This mistakes will require me to order 2 meters or $186 of paper. Remember the 7 ft repeat!
The Paper Got Damaged While Installing Countertops
The paper got damaged in several places when installing the stone countertop. I wanted to cry!
My client and a talented local designer Leslie Sumner gave me her leftover paper from her own fireplace project.
I did a shoddy patch job and called it a day, but I know I am not going to fix it some day, very soon. This damage requires me to order another 2 meters of paper.
Bottom line – Mistakes are extremely expensive with this paper so Proceed With Caution
The Jury is Still Out on The Paper
Believe it or not, after spending close to $600 on this iconic, legendary Beata Heuman Marbleized wallpaper, I am still unsure about the paper.
The gray bothers me. It’s a little gloomy and my Chartreuse is a little too happy.
Fixing all our mistakes will require me to spend additional $600. I have ordered some options/ alternatives, I will decide if I am keeping the paper or it’s going bye-bye.
I promise to keep you posted!