Upholstering Walls with Fabric

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When we think of wall treatments, our minds almost immediately run to paint and, for some of us, to wallpaper. When Hildi drew up her battle plan for this bedroom, however, she proclaimed nyet to both options, and decided instead to cover all four walls — plus the cathedral ceiling — with sky blue fabric.

Using fabric to cover walls and ceilings has a long tradition throughout the world. It is not a project that most homeowners would want to rush into without carefully considering the pros and cons, but it is certainly one that most do-it-yourselfers can handle once they put their minds to it.

Fabric allows you to introduce colors, patterns and textures into a room that paint and most wallpaper cannot provide. On the other hand, cleaning fabric-covered walls may present some challenges. I would not use this treatment in a kitchen, or in any room where active kids would be frequent visitors. Regular vacuuming would be wise, as would choosing a fabric that could be cleaned with a soapy sponge. Dark colors and complex patterns would also hide dirt and stains better than light, solid colors.

Shopping List
Fabric
Staple gun and lots of long staples
Bias tape or other trim
Glue gun and glue sticks

Design Options

Hildi and her two partners attached the fabric to the walls and ceiling with staples, and then covered the staples with some trim. This is the easiest approach for those whose walls are covered with drywall. If you have plastered walls, however, stapling would be a challenge. In this case, I would suggest attaching some lath strips to the wall, and then stapling the fabric to the wood.

Some decorators like to treat fabric like wallpaper, and attach it to the walls with liquid starch. Only lightweight fabric, such as muslin or tulle, should be used for this approach. Wash the walls thoroughly, then spread starch on a wall with a sponge or paint roller. Press the fabric onto the wall, and then rub the surface with a sponge, working the starch into the surface as you smooth it. Once the starch dries, go back and trim off any excess fabric. You can remove the fabric by dampening it enough to loosen the starch and peeling it off. Wash the starch off the walls with soap and water.

If covering entire walls with fabric is too much for you, consider using fabric as wainscoting, covering the bottom part of a wall. For this approach, I would attach lath strips along the top of the baseboard and along the wall about 3 feet above the floor. Staple the fabric to the lath. Trim the top with cap molding, and cover the staples at the bottom with a matching piece of flat molding. Paint or stain the trim pieces before attaching them. Another option is to use fabric as a border around windows and doors or along the top of the walls.

You could cover only one wall, or only the ceiling, with fabric. You could also use different fabric for each surface. Create a padded effect by first stapling batting to the wall, and then covering it with fabric. Just keep in mind that fabric can get quite expensive.

Prepare the Fabric

Measure the width and height of all surfaces you plan to cover to determine how many square yards of fabric you will need. Buy a little extra, too — say, 5 percent. Iron the seams out of the fabric.

When stapling fabric to walls, you almost cannot have enough (clean) hands. You want the fabric stretched tightly in every direction, with one hand left free to pull the trigger on the staple gun (and, for this job, you may really appreciate owning an electric staple gun). In the Trading Spaces episode, the two homeowners doing the work found themselves looking for a third set of hands to help them out. So, grab at least one helper and your staple gun and plan to start at a corner.

Attach the Fabric

One of the trickiest parts of the job will be keeping the staples in a straight line. You want the line to be as straight as possible, because you will be covering the staples with some bias tape or other type of fabric trim. Drive the staples so that they form a straight line, both horizontally and vertically, and you will find it much easier to conceal them later.

Begin at the top of the wall and move horizontally along the wall. Drive staples every couple of inches. With the top attached, move to the center of the wall and begin working out from there, stretching the fabric tightly before driving each staple just above the baseboard. Maintain this routine up and down corners and around doors and windows. Once you have finished covering one wall, trim any excess fabric with scissors or a utility knife.

Add the Trim

Bias tape in either a matching or contrasting color is a handy way to cover the staples. Cording, welt or another type of trim could be used as well. Use a glue gun to attach the trim, working carefully to create a neat, straight line.