Wall coverings have come back into fashion, and nothing else adds more style or colour to a room than the right choice on your walls. Wall coverings remain the easiest way to add high impact in the least amount of space, and potentially for the lowest cost. While wallpapers can be extremely expensive and can require professional installation, increasing the cost, there is another alternative.
Fabric wall coverings are a stylish and potentially inexpensive way to add the wall covering trend to your home without breaking the bank. If you choose the correct wall covering fabrics and follow a few simple steps, this is a project that you can tackle yourself.
Table of Contents
Choosing Your Fabric
The first step is choosing the fabric to use. To begin, the fabric should be lightweight. Cotton and polyester fabrics tend to work best; heavy velvets and brocades will not stay on the wall. Look for a fabric that fits your budget and your decor; take your time to be sure you choose something you really like. Of course, the technique you’re going to use to put it up peels off with no trouble, with no damage at all, so if you choose a fabric you’re not crazy about you can easily change it whenever you’d like.
Measure Your Walls and Buy Enough Fabric
Be sure to measure your walls at least twice, and double-check your math before making your final purchase. You will want to be sure you have more than enough fabric to cover your walls. Have your fabric salesperson help you with the calculations once you have made your choice; an expert will be sure that you allow for selvages and repeats so that you’re not disappointed later.
Gather the Rest of Your Materials
You will need a fair amount of liquid fabric starch, a paint roller with a roller cover and tray, fabric scissors or a rotary cutter, and push pins.
Clean the Walls
You will want to give your walls a good wipe-down before you start hanging your fabric. Wall coverings do not adhere well to dust or dirt, and they may be visible if they cause lumps and bumps. Be sure your walls are clean and smooth.
Cut Your Fabric to Fit the Walls
Once your walls are clean, use good fabric scissors or a rotary cutter to make clean cuts into your fabric. You will want to cut panels to fit the wall top to bottom. Hang the fabric panels on your walls using your push pins, placing a pin every half-metre or so. You will want to secure the fabric exactly where you want it to be, so be as precise as you can.
Continue hanging panels to cover all of your walls, being sure to align the pattern between the panels if necessary. Once you have all the panels hung and are satisfied that everything looks good, use your fabric shears to cut holes for wall outlets and light switches as needed.
Take one last double-check and be sure to replace any pins you removed to make your cuts.
Apply the FIrst Layer of Liquid Starch
Using your paint roller, apply liquid starch in small sections of about one metre. Liquid starch dries quickly so you’ll want to work in small sections. Carefully remove the pins in your section, roll the starch onto the wall underneath, then repin the fabric in place. Work from the ceiling down, smoothing the fabric with your hands as you go.
When you have finished the first section, continue on to the next, then to the next panels, working vertically until all the panels have been given the first coat of starch.
Apply a Topcoat
Once the first layer is dry, apply a second coat on top of the fabric being sure to focus on the seams and edges of the fabric to ensure proper adhesion. Allow the topcoat to dry thoroughly before trimming any excess fabric.
That’s it. You have successfully completed your own fabric wallcovering do-it-yourself project. When you are ready to remove the fabric, simply peel it off the wall. Starch is water-soluble, so remove any residue with a dampened sponge, good as new.
Hopefully, this tutorial encourages you to tackle your own project at home and enjoy a fresh, updated style.