- Use it to "upholster" the walls, stretching the fabric from ceiling to floor. It looks like wallpaper, but it's warmer and softer.
- For a different upholstered look you can cover plywood panels with batting and fabric. This technique gives more depth to the wall.
- And if you want a look that's easy to change, hang a curtain rod the width of the wall and then "drape" the wall. This is a great way to deal with issues such as offset furniture.
There are several types of fabric you can use on walls, among them upholstery-weight and sheers. If you use sheer fabric on walls that are dark, you're going to want to lighten the walls so the dark color doesn't show through the fabric. Try painting them a neutral shade.
Begin stretching the fabric over the walls. This is the most difficult of the three options because you've got to stretch it just so to get the right look. This is easiest to do with a solid-color fabric, so you don't have to worry about pattern matches. You'll need fabric, a staple gun and staples, molding and upholstery trim.
Steps:
- Cut the fabric so it's 4" longer than the height of the wall.
- Staple at the top of the wall and then stretch to the bottom, being careful to keep it straight. You may even want to make chalk lines to follow. Then staple to the bottom of the wall. This is easiest to do with a solid fabric, so you don't have to worry about pattern matches.
- Add crown molding to cover the top of the wall and upholstery trim to cover the staples on the bottom. You can attach the upholstery trim with a glue gun.
- Fabric can be vacuumed clean once a month.
The second upholstering option is fabric panels, which give the room a soft texture. All that plywood, batting and fabric will muffle the sound in this room, so this is a great idea for a rec room or a home theater.
Steps:
- First create a grid. Measure the wall space and divide by the size squares you'll be using (we used 12" squares in our demo). If you need a partial square to finish out the wall, divide it so that each edge is trimmed with a smaller panel.
- Again you'll need fabric, batting, staple gun and staples, plywood panels (or foamcore and pins), grid nails and hook-and-loop tape.
- Cut the fabric and batting so the square is 2" larger than the plywood squares.
- Wrap fabric and batting around plywood and staple on the back. Make sure to pull the fabric tightly -- that's the key to a nice clean look.
- Once all the squares are covered, attach them to the wall with hook-and-loop tape or, for a more permanent attachment, liquid nails.
- Finish with grid nails on the corners for a decorative look.
The third option is draping the walls; you'll need more fabric for this option. To create beautiful pleats, buy fabric amounting to triple the width of the walls.
Steps:
- You can attach 1" lathing strips to the top or the bottom of the wall and then create pleats while stapling.
- If you're willing to do a little sewing, you can sew rod pockets in the top of the fabric (or use ready-made curtains). To figure out the length, including the pocket, cut the fabric panels so they're 4" longer than the length of the wall and make a 2" pocket on both the top and the bottom of the panel. If you can sew a straight line, you can do this.
- Attach drapery rods to the top and the bottom of the wall; thread the rods through the pockets in the panels. Depending on the size of the wall, you may have to attach several rods. Just make sure the rod on the top of the wall and the rod on the bottom line up.
Tip: You can also forget about the bottom rod altogether and have free-flowing drapery panels on the walls.
Draping the walls is an interesting way to add softness and warmth to a room. And it's really not as dusty as you may think. You can clean fabric attached directly to the wall with a vacuum cleaner. If the fabric isn't stapled down, you can wash it if it's washable -- but be careful of shrinking. You may prefer to have it dry-cleaned -- or just replace it entirely and give your room a new look again.
