How to Upholster a Wall

Upholstering a wall is a great idea for the bedroom or any room in the house where you would want to muffle out the noise. Just about any room in the house can be upholstered; we will show you how.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Polyfill or batting
• Fabric
• Staple gun with staples
• Upholstery tacks or fabric covered buttons
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Fabric cords, upholstered buttons or designer ropes

1. Measure the wall that you will be upholstering. Take multiply the length by the width and height. Purchase the fabric based on your measurement.

2. Choose fabrics that can withstand a lot of wear and tear. Upholstery fabrics can be used or any fabric that is not to light or too thin. Avoid choosing patterned fabrics if this is your first time. It is sometimes difficult to match the pattern and make it look seamless even when you make cuts. If you want to have patterns, choose simple patterns and not the overly complicated ones. Buy enough fabrics plus extra.

3. Purchase polyfill or batting the same amount as with the fabric. These will go underneath the fabric. Polyfills can be optional, you can upholster a wall without polyfills to cut down on work and expense, but if your goal is to muffle out the noise, a polyfill is a must. Staple the polyfill directly onto the wall from top to bottom as well as corners.

4. Install the fabric. There are several ways or techniques to install fabrics; we will tackle two of the easiest ways here. One way is to cut several 36-inch wide fabric panels and then staple each one flat on the walls. This will give a clean look. Another style you can use is to cut several 36-inch fabric panels then gather or fold the fabric in equal 3-5 inches width then stapling as you gather and fold. This will give them a pinch-pleated look. In both cases, staple the top and the bottom parts of the fabric panels. When you reach the edge, or to connect two panels together, overlap them and staple at the seams.

5. Make cut-outs for power outlets, light switches or light sconces.

6. 
   Upholstered Button (photo credit: mag3737/flickr_Attribution_ShareAlike2.0Generic

   Complete finishing touches. Once your walls have been completely covered with fabric, finish off by adding designer roping or fabric cords and glue them using a hot glue gun over the staples. Another option is to use moldings you can buy at home improvement stores to frame your fabric panels. You can also embellish your newly upholstered wall by adding upholstered buttons or upholstery tacks on each corner.

Tips & Warnings

• Cut-out severs 16x16 inches of plywood or foam core then cover with polyfill and fabric each. Nail each square on the walls to be covered then Finish of with upholstery tacks or buttons. This will give your wall a patched look.
• You can also upholster your ceilings by gathering towards the middle as if creating a tent. Finish off with a nice ceiling medallion at the center.
• Use eye goggles for safety.

[PattyOh]

on 12/28/2007 What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.