Fabric wall upholstery: an interesting decor option

A sophisticated method of adding warmth and texture to a space is through fabric wall upholstery. Whether you’re going for a traditional or modern style, fabric offers a distinct charm that paint or wallpaper just can’t quite capture. With so many options available for wall decoration—from plush velvets to crisp linens—you can customize the look to fit your own unique aesthetic.

The adaptability of fabric wall upholstery is one of its main advantages. It is a popular option for rooms where you want to create a peaceful, cozy atmosphere because it can soften the acoustics in the space. Furthermore, walls covered in fabric can add another layer of insulation, which will help you keep your home at a comfortable temperature.

Although the thought of upholstering walls may seem daunting, the procedure is actually quite simple. With the correct supplies and some careful planning, you can turn your walls into a gorgeous feature that improves the atmosphere of your room. This post will discuss how to create gorgeous fabric-covered walls and offer advice on selecting the ideal fabric for the job.

Advantages Considerations
Soft and cozy texture Can be more expensive than paint or wallpaper
Improves room acoustics May require professional installation
Wide variety of fabrics available Can attract dust and requires regular cleaning
Hides wall imperfections Not suitable for high-humidity areas

Features of using fabric for wall covering

One room can be visually divided into zones with distinct functional purposes by combining textiles with varying textures or colors. You can add a feeling of coziness and warmth to the space by using fabric to decorate the walls. This can be attributed to the material’s numerous benefits over alternative coating types.

Among them are:

  • The walls acquire a richer and more stylish look.
  • This method of decoration helps to hide all the shortcomings of poor-quality initial wall finishing:
  1. mask their unevenness;
  2. hide the wiring.
  • It is easy to upholster a wall with fabric with your own hands.
  • Textiles allow walls to "breathe", which is very important for human health.
  • Fabric for wall upholstery does not require ideal surface preparation, as is necessary for painting.
  • The material additionally prevents the penetration of noise and low temperatures.
  • Fabric wall covering can be done in a new room, rather than waiting for it to shrink, the material is not allowed to deform due to its elasticity.
  • The variety of widths of the produced textiles allows you to finish the room absolutely without seams.
  • Fabric wall covering is characterized by the absence of debris and dirt.

What rules should be followed when covering walls with textiles

There are a few guidelines you should adhere to when using textiles to decorate walls:

  • Only durable material that allows air to pass through and does not fade in the sun is used for covering, otherwise the fabric on the wall will quickly lose its original appearance.
  • The room intended for decoration with textiles should not be very hot and humid, which can lead to strong stretching of the fabric, and after drying, deform it.
  • Wall finishing should begin after pre-treatment of the fabric; it must be wetted and dried well. Most often, the material will shrink a little, so you need to measure it only after wet processing. In this case, it is worth treating the canvas with dirt-repellent impregnations.
  • When finishing walls without seams, if possible, you should start from a flat corner or that part of the wall where the resulting butt seam can be carefully decorated.
  • Ideal when the width of the material matches the height of the walls.
  • It is necessary to purchase textiles for wall decoration with some reserve. This is due to the fact that the material is short-lived and after some time it will be necessary to carry out restoration work.
  • The adhesive should be applied to the wall, not to the fabric.
  • The places where it is fixed to the wall are covered with a decorative strip or ceiling plinth.

What fabrics are used for wall decoration

Prior to hanging fabric on the walls, the necessary quantity of material is bought. Any kind and texture are possible.

Among them, the most favored textiles come from:

Advice: If none of the suggested options work for you, get regular furniture fabric that isn’t afraid of moisture and is meant for any finishing work.

  • Viscose and cotton are simply stretched. For drapery on the walls, it is best to take very light fabrics with a high density.

Suggestion: Use synthetic fabrics for finishing work as they are less susceptible to damage than natural materials.

It is important to consider the cost of the fabric before covering the walls with it, as it may be more expensive than plain wallpaper.

What methods are used to decorate walls with fabric canvases

There are numerous ways to use fabric to decorate walls.

Among them are:

There are distinct instructions for every wall-decorating procedure. Stretching fabric is the most straightforward way to decorate a space. The picture provides an illustration of how it is used.

To achieve superior wall finishing in a space, you must acquire:

  • Small wooden slats.
  • Self-tapping screws.
  • Screwdriver.
  • If necessary, dowels.
  • Construction level.
  • Any pencil.
  • Roulette.

Upholstered fabric walls provide a distinctive and fashionable take on conventional wall treatments, fusing comfort and style to make any space feel cozy and welcoming. This decor option is a great option for anyone looking to upgrade their interior design because it not only adds texture and depth but also has useful features like durability and sound insulation.

How to stretch fabric on a wall

The following is the work order:

  • Using a level, pencil and tape measure, measure and mark with a pencil the required distance from the ceiling and floor for installing a wooden slat.

Tip: To make things easier, draw a line for the rail mounting immediately around the entire perimeter.

  • These elements are attached under the ceiling and close to the floor surface on the wall with dowels or self-tapping screws, which depends on the type of wall:
  1. for brick or stone, it is better to use dowels;
  2. for drywall – self-tapping screws.
  • Along the entire perimeter there should be the same distance between the lower and upper slats, which will allow the fabric to stretch evenly and not form defects when finishing the wall.
  • The material is stretched and fastened to the slats with nails with decorative heads. At the end of the work, these caps can be hidden under a decorative decoration, which can be a floor or ceiling plinth.

Suggestion: After quickly fastening the cloth to the upper slat, it ought to be stretched throughout its width. To prevent wrinkles, stretch it evenly after that and attach it to the bottom rail gradually.

You can create a space between the wall and the fabric using the slat’s dimensions, which serve as a frame for the fabric and can be used to insulate a room.

  • Foam, thin thickness.
  • Thin polyurethane foam.
  • Minvata.
  • Felt.

The steps involved in installation are as follows:

  • Special construction glue is applied to the wall and to the surface of the insulation material.

Advice: The fabric is highly prone to absorbing moisture and dirt. Because of this, it is necessary to carefully complete the insulation process in the room to prevent glue from seeping through the material’s joints and onto the exterior.

  • To eliminate such a defect, you can use a finishing tape, hiding all the flaws behind it, gluing it to the joints of the material.

You must remember that regular glue cannot be used to install insulation when doing so. It will erode the insulation over time, causing it to distort. A similar sort of insulation is used when selecting light-colored fabric.

How to glue fabric to a wall

Using fabric glue is a very common way to decorate walls.

The surfaces must be appropriately prepared in order to perform this procedure. They have to be smooth, just like when applying regular wallpaper to a surface.

Furthermore, the following are employed:

  • Drywall. This allows you to quickly and easily level any surface (see. Cladding walls with plasterboard: how to do it).
  • Plaster. When applying such a coating, the result directly depends on the master who applies it.

There is a lot of trash after this labor-intensive and dusty process.

In order to finish the procedure, you’ll need:

  • A stationery or regular sharp knife with a thin blade.
  • A powerful iron, preferably a “grandmother’s” iron.
  • Special furniture glue that hardens only when exposed to high temperatures.
  • A metal ruler of at least one meter

  • Furniture glue begins to harden only at high temperatures, so you can immediately spread it over the entire surface. And then you can paste over all surfaces with the canvas.
  • The fabric is stretched from top to bottom. For reliable fixation, the upper corner of the canvas is attached to the surface with small nails.
  • The iron is used to iron the fabric on the surface from top to bottom so that the glue can gradually be absorbed into the back side of the canvas and harden.

Advice: The canvas should be well stretched to prevent defects from forming when finishing with fabrics.

  • The canvas is ironed several times, which will allow you to achieve the desired result.
  • After the process is completed, the remains of the material at the top and bottom are cut off with a sharp knife. But in this case, you need to act very carefully, in these places the glue may not acquire the necessary strength and the fabric will begin to fray. To avoid this, at the bottom, at the top of the wall, and at the joints of the panels, it is necessary to apply more furniture glue, which after it hardens will not allow the finish to deform.
  • The glue is quite elastic and dries completely in three days.
  • After finishing the work, the surface is checked for the presence of air bubbles on the canvas, which can form under the fabric and they will not allow the material to be evenly distributed over the wall.
    To eliminate bubbles, they can be pierced with a needle or the entire canvas can be glued to the surface completely, or some part of it.

How to drape surfaces with fabric

The trickiest way to decorate a room with fabrics is with drapes. In this instance, a lot more fabric is taken than the room’s total wall area.

This finishing technique necessitates:

  • The canvas itself.
  • Wooden slats.
  • Nails.
  • Self-tapping screws with special decorative heads.
  • Building level.
  • Screwdriver.
  • Measuring ruler.
  • Ordinary pencil.
  • Tape measure.
  • Saw or jigsaw.
  • The height of the drapery is measured.

Advice: Use the ceiling as a model for all work if it has already been decorated.

You can adjust the drapery level and align it by eye, but as high as possible, if you intend to repair the ceiling and use a tension or suspended structure on it.

  • With a pencil along a ruler, this level is drawn on the surface of the walls.
  • One edge of the canvas is fastened at the top of the wall along a previously marked line with a small nail.
  • A wooden slat is fastened to the surface above the fabric with screws and a screwdriver. The fastening step is taken no more than 30 centimeters.
  • The fabric should be well stretched around the entire perimeter before fastening.
  • The whole process moves down. The technology of stretching the canvas resembles the two previous methods, with the difference that the rail is fixed on top of the canvas.
  • The fabric is also gradually stretched and attached to the surface with a rail.
  • Excess fabric is cut off with a knife.

Advice: Measure the room accurately, adding approximately 2 centimeters to the measured dimensions, to avoid the fabric fraying at the top and bottom when finishing the room this way. Overflow is concealed and tucked beneath the rail.

A distinctive and adaptable way to give your living area warmth and character is with fabric wall upholstery. It provides practical advantages like better insulation and acoustics in addition to being aesthetically pleasing. You can easily alter the appearance and feel of your room to make it as comfortable or opulent as you like by selecting the appropriate fabric.

Although hanging fabric on your walls may seem intimidating, it’s a doable project that can drastically change your room if you prepare ahead of time and use the appropriate supplies. There are countless creative options available with fabric wall upholstery, regardless of your preference for a striking statement or a delicate texture.

In the end, fabric wall upholstery is a way to express your individual style and improve the atmosphere of your home, not just a choice for aesthetics. It’s a choice worth taking into consideration for anyone wishing to update their interior decor because of its ability to combine beauty and functionality.

Video on the topic

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Veronica Gerasimova

Interior designer, author of books on the design of residential premises. I will help you make your home not only functional, but also beautiful.

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