We gleaned this how-to tip, about a temporary way to cover rented walls with fabric, from a reader.
We love the infinite possibilities suggested by this how-to. The end results are virtually limitless.
With Britex downtown, Discount Fabrics in the Haight, and Satin Moon on Clement (known for their decorators' fabrics) you could, theoretically, go to town shopping for color, pattern, or texture for your walls and then wrap your four walls in it without so much as a whiff of toxic VOCs.
The thing is (and we're not among the DIY-challenged) this one does sound rather difficult. So if any of you have tried it, please let us know how it went - or better yet, send pics!
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Comments (7)
Have you tried Sal Beressi Fabrics? They have a good selection and they are reasonably priced (open to the public)
They are located at 1504 Bryant Street here in the city - Near the Safeway/Petco. Tel# 861-5004
Oh, the starch trick! Yup, just like hanging wallpaper by the dip-in-paste method.
The real difficulty is that the author is recommending using cotton calicos -- which do take starch beautifully -- but these will highlight every flaw on bumpy urban apartment walls. You'd have to use cotton with a tight repeating tone-on-tone pattern, like a fake grasscloth look, in order to trick the eye into not seeing problems with the wall.
A shimmery look like those lovely satins in the picture probably won't work at all -- I'd expect damp stains, if they stick -- and heavier textures will also resist sticking.
I've never fabric'd a wall before but i've certainly upholstered them. I lived in a large loft in brooklyn where we built in walls and a second floor which winded up quite expensive and rather bumpy (art students do not good wall builders make). so, instead of painting them, i got a ton of batting at a cheap fabric shop on grand ave, some lovely teal and gold fleur de lys fabric and a staple gun. fast, easy, and helps dampen sound.
I just moved into an apartment as a temporary stop while I'm selling my old house and buying a new one. I only plan to be here for about 6 months but I couldn't stand the tired and very plain looking bathroom. To brighten up the place I decided to stick fabric to the walls with starch. I saw all the directions online and then didn't follow any of them. I used the 3M Command Adhesive poster tabs to hang the fabric at the top of the wall. Then I used a can of spray starch to spray the fabric and get it damp with the starch. I sprayed it in small sections at a time until it was wet but not dripping. Then I used a kitchen sponge to wipe over the fabric to stick it to the wall. Once I had one section wet and sticking, I'd move to another one and continue. When an entire piece of the fabric was sticking, I went back over the whole piece to make sure that everything was flat and that there were no bubbles. I was concerned about the moisture in the bathroom causing the fabric to lift off the walls but so far I haven't had any problems. If you'd like pictures, please send me email and I'll send you a link. The whole project was super easy and only cost the price of the fabric and a can of spray starch (88 cents).
Would bright color fabrics (and especially reds) bleed onto white walls, leaving a color stain when removed? Has anyone encountered this?
Good question Liz. I do not believe that the color fabrics including reds would bleed onto white walls leaving a color stain when removed. However, you can always put a thin sheet under the fabric to prevent this from happening all together. You may alternatively go with a framed fabric look. Also very pretty.
Fabric in frame cool design
So how do you attach the fabric to the walls without using glue?