How To Easily Apply Beautiful Fabric To A Wall!
The idea for this 'Dining Room Accent Wall' has been on my mind for quite awhile. The mirror was a DIY project from 2013. Then I added the picture framing on both sides of the mirror. I have toyed with the ideas of painting the framing black and of leaving it white. Then I found out 'How To Easily Apply Beautiful Fabric To A Wall!'
Thinking that the black trim would actually make the wall look longer and tie the frames together with the black framed mirror, I bought more black paint. One thing or another has kept me from it. The other day, with our nine-month- old granddaughter here, I bit the bullet. Between naps and a little help from Dave, I started painting.
Doesn't it look better already?
So, For months, I've been looking for fabric to adhere to the wall inside of the picture framing. The other day, my search paid off and I found some fabric that has the tan, brown, and black, which I think will pull it all together. Incredibly, it was in the clearance aisle!
The fabric needed to be some kind of floral because there are so many lines in the mirror, the crown molding, the picture framing, and these walls are not perfectly square. I think a striped or geometric fabric would call attention to the imperfection.
I considered using spray glue on this project but opted to try the liquid laundry starch application instead. There are a lot of directions out there on how to apply the fabric to the wall with laundry starch. It looked pretty easy.
It just so happened that I had 'Laundry Starch' from a previous project; so that is what I used. You can make it easier on yourself by buying the liquid starch.
Following the package directions, 1/2 cup cold water was added to 1/3 cup of the laundry starch and mixed well. Then, boiling water was added to the starch mixture in the measuring cup up to the 2-cup mark. When that was mixed well, it was poured into the boiling water in the pot and, again, mixed well.
The starch didn't completely dissolve in the water, so I put the pot back on the stove and heated it until it was completely dissolved. At this point, it had thickened and didn't look like water anymore, as you can see in the picture.
The sponge was saturated with water, squeezed dry, and then dipped into the liquid starch. The fabric was laid out on the counter top, and the sponge was dipped into the starch and applied to both the back and front of the fabric. I had left a generous 5 or 6 inches of excess fabric on each side and just saturated the middle of the fabric the entire length.
Then, the fabric was booked just like you would 'book' wallpaper. It was easier to carry it to the wall that way.
The fabric was saturated with the starch, but not dripping.
I didn't even cover the floor!
Next, one end of the booked fabric was opened, centered, and applied to the wall at the top of the frame, using the sponge to smooth the fabric. When the fabric was positioned perfectly, the fabric was pushed into the corners and edges of the frame.
This plastic piece is actually for smoothing frosting, but it worked perfectly to push the fabric into the corners and sides of the framing. A painter's spatula would also work for this purpose.
At this point, I let the fabric dry for awhile. When it was almost dry, a metal ruler was used to push firmly into the edge where the fabric covered wall met the frame. Using a utility knife, the fabric was cut.
When it was difficult to cut with the knife, a new blade was exchanged for the old one. Two new blades, (both ends, a total of four sharp blades), were used for this project.
To pin this, click here ►Dining Room Accent Wall.
I like the end result a lot, but at this point, the idea of painting that little bit of wall around it with a flat black paint has crossed my mind. What do you think? The question was posed to MyHumbleHomeandGarden's Facebook page, and there are different opinions. Maybe this Dining Room Accent Wall is finished, and then again, maybe it's not quite. But, in any case, we know 'How To Easily Apply Beautiful Fabric To A Wall!'
