Happy Saturday everyone! It’s been three months since the reveal of the modern coastal makeover of my teenage daughter’s bedroom and after getting quite a few comments and emails with questions about hanging the grasscloth wallpaper in this space, I thought I’d share my experience, drama and all. Let’s knock this out FAQ style, ok? (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})
What Tips Do You Have for Choosing a Grasscloth (there are so many options!)?
Just like when you’re choosing paint, it’s important to look at samples of the grasscloth wallpapers you’re considering in your actual space. That means bringing wallpaper books home with you if you’re looking locally or ordering samples if you’re doing your grasscloth search online. I ordered my samples from Walls Republic (disclosure: they supplied me with half of the grasscloth wallpaper I needed for my project FOC but this post is not sponsored by them in any way) – the samples I received were nice and large and came in a pizza-like box. I actually ended up choosing a totally different grasscloth (one I threw in my online cart on a whim!) than the one I thought I would go with. The one I chose is {this powder blue} wallpaper!
Is Hanging Grasscloth an Easy DIY?
Easy? My honest answer is no. If you have a lot of experience hanging regular wallpaper, this is probably a DIY that you can handle but if you haven’t ever hung wallpaper before, I wouldn’t recommend starting your learning curve with grasscloth. Why? The biggest reason is that unlike regular wallpaper, if you get wallpaper glue on the grasscloth it will stain it (with regular wallpaper, it just wipes right off with a damp sponge) and trust me, it’s challenging to make sure you keep glue off of it both when you’re rolling the glue on the back and handling it to put up on the wall. Also, since the paper is so much thicker than traditional wallpaper, cutting off the excess paper where it meets the ceiling and the baseboard or chair rail is much more difficult and corners are more challenging as well.
I’m a pretty handy girl and have tackled a lot of first-time DIY projects with no problem but this one kicked my butt. Once I realized I was in over my head with a deadline for the One Room Challenge only a few days away, the stress started kicking in because at the pace I was going, there was no way this room was going to get done any time soon. I ended up calling a local wallpaper hanger and asked if I could hire him to work on the job with me, teaching me as we went along. I was so lucky – I think I found the nicest wallpaperer on the planet – he came on a weekend and taught me all of his little tricks, showing me how to do them himself and then giving me tips as he supervised me trying things on my own. He even left me all of his tools to finish the job on my own, called to check in on me, and came back a few days later to help me finish the last wall (if any of you are in the Fairfield County, CT area and want a wallpaper hanger, I’m happy to pass on his info!). What I expected to be a 1-2 day hanging job (and would have been if I had just hired out in the first place) turned into a five day hanging saga that had me breathing the biggest sigh of relief once the room was done!
What are Some Must-Know Hanging Tips You Learned?
Many of the tips for hanging regular wallpaper apply to hanging grasscloth but these are a few tips specific to grasscloth that will help you get the job done right:
- Just like with a paint job, wall prep is key. Your walls should be free of any divots or nail pops (I thought that the grasscloth might be textured enough that nail pops wouldn’t be visible once covered with it but I can totally see the one that I missed). You’ll also want to cover the walls with a primer-sealer – consider tinting it to the color of your wallpaper so that if any of your seams aren’t perfect, it will be less obvious.
- Plan out the placement of your grasscloth panels before you even start – you need to consider the centering of your wallpaper panels as well as the color variation. My wallpaperer recommended that you start the job with your focal wall, which in my case was the wall that my daughter’s bed is on. At the exact center of your focal wall, you should place either the center of a strip of wallpaper or the seam between two strips of wallpaper. As for color variation, you’re going to find that there’s some variation in color from roll to roll and even within a roll (some rolls get darker or lighter as you get farther into them). While that’s part of the beauty of grasscloth (and something you have to be ok with if you’re using it), it looks best if you transition from lighter to darker sheets gradually.
- The edges of your rolls of grasscloth should be trimmed in order to have the most seamless seams! Why? The way that all wallpaper is machine-cut is great for regular wallpaper but leaves some subtle fraying on the edges of grasscloth wallpaper. Using a straight edge and sharp razor to cut 1/2″ to 1″ off of both the left and right side of each strip of wallpaper will make it sharp and clean so that when you butt it up against another strip of wallpaper you’ll have a smooth seam.
Would you use grasscloth again?
Absolutely. Grasscloth transforms a room in a way that paint just can’t and even though it was harder to hang than I expected, I have no regrets about choosing it for my daughter’s room. And now that I have some experience hanging grasscloth under my belt, maybe I’ll give the job a go on my own next time… or maybe I’ll just be calling my awesome wallpaper hanger 🙂
Any other questions about hanging grasscloth? Leave it in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer it. Have questions about the source for anything in this bedroom? Check out {this post} that has a complete source list at the end. Enjoy your weekend everyone!!
I love Walls Republic! (and I would never be able to hang grasscloth myself, that’s one for a phone call to a professional wallpaper hanger for me)
You’re a smart woman! 🙂
This is SO something I would attempt! How great that you found mr. wonderful to help you finish up. It looks GORGEOUS! I love the blue and that added texture the grasspaper offers, well done!
Thanks so much! I can’t tell you how lucky I was to to find such a wonderful walllpaper hanger – he totally saved me!
How do you handle the inside corners? Thanks so much!
Good question! We cut the strip of wallpaper before hanging it so that it went into the corner and about an inch beyond it. After hanging it, we used a cutting tool to cut the paper in a straight vertical line right after the corner. Then the next strip of wallpaper butted right up to the strip that we cut. Hope that makes sense!
I’m considering having a natural grasscloth hung in my dining room, but saw an advertisement for a vinyl grasscloth in a home decorating magazine. Do you know how they differ? Which one would you suggest for a dining room with Schumacher Tree of Life draperies, a bamboo chandelier and Chippendale chairs? Thank you for your terrific blog. I love your style!
Hi Mary! Vinyl grasscloth is less expensive, easier to maintain (you don’t have to worry about water stains, etc.) and easier to hang than real grasscloth. The downside is that I personally haven’t seen any vinyl grasscloths that I’ve loved the look of (but then again, it’s been a while since I’ve looked!). I think vinyl grasscloth is a great choice if you can actually find one that you love but I just don’t know if you’ll find one you’ll like as much as natural grasscloth. I think either would be fine in your dining room – it sounds like a stunning space!!
What is the name/color of the paper you used? It would be perfect in my dining room.
That would have been good info for me to include in the post, right? 🙂 It was Sisal Powder Blue R1993 from Walls Republic – I love it!
This is one of the most gorgeous rooms I have ever seen. I love how you bless your family with your amazing talents. Thank you for being honest with us when you know you are uncomfortable with a project and not too proud to call in the professionals. Although I have wallpapered quite a bit and even removed wallpaper even more, sometimes especially when trying to match patterns it can cause gray hairs. Years ago a friend said she was going to file for divorce, my quiet husband listened then ask her 1 question…….have you ever wallpapered with your husband? She said yes. He ask did you work well together or say never again? She said we worked really good together. My husband said if you can wallpaper together then you don’t need to file for divorce cause that is a real test! LOL
Thank you so much Rene – such a sweet comment! And I love your story about wallpapering together – I was smart and asked my daughter to help instead of my husband – ha!
Wow look gorgeous! And this jeans tone …lovely
Thank you!!
I’ve been wanting to do grass cloth in my dining room so this was a super helpful post. I love the texture it adds! It’s so beautiful with the duvet you chose. I just don’t think I’d do it myself, though, so kudos to you if you attempt it again! Wallpaper is so hard! Sounds liked you lucked out with your guy though 🙂
Glad you found it helpful Michele! Probably a very smart idea to hire out on this one!!
Wow – that sounds like a tedious job and you are wonderwoman for hiring someone to teach you the ropes and learning how to do it right!! It came out beautifully so all your hard work paid off!!
Thanks Lisa – Wonder Woman would have gotten the job done on her own 🙂 It was definitely a more challenging DIY than I had expected!
Any positive reason to go against the grain (pun intended) to hang rail versus traditional?
Honestly I’ve never thought of that option Kandace! I have no idea if hanging wallpaper that way would be a nightmare or not. Of course you’d have to be ok with horizontal lines between the panels vs. vertical ones – seems to me that having multiple horizontal lines might not be as nice looking. Love the creative thought though!
Hi! I live in lower Fairfield County and would love the name of your friendly wallpaper-er! Would you mind passing on his contact info? I’m longing for grasscloth . . .
Sure Ginny – I’ll shoot you an email in a minute!
Hi, your room looks lovely. I was thinking of using a cream grasscloth for my master bathroom, but wasn’t sure it that looked too rustic. Also, does it have to be hung where the lines are horizontal? Can you hang them vertically?
I don’t think it would look too rustic – I think cream grasscloth is really elegant! You do need to hang it so the lines are horizontal (unless your wallpaper hanger wants to get really creative with his hanging job 🙂
I just received the Thibaut grass cloth wallpaper to put into my book cases in my formal living room and the wallpaperer is telling me I can hang it either way. Would you agree with this or is it only meant to run one way? She’s worried about the seam showing but I know that’s part of the natural allure of this product.
Hi Ashley! Grasscloth is traditionally hung one way but that doesn’t mean you can’t break the rules – I wouldn’t hang it the other way for a full room but I think it could work for a bookcase!
Hi, I was wondering if you could link to the two light colored grasscloths in your sample box? Those are the exact colors I am looking to sample. Thank you!
Hi Kristina,
Unfortunately I no longer have the samples that I didn’t use so I’m not sure of the name of those two. Sorry!
I had grasscloth installed in my half bath by a professional. Three seams appear dark like paste has gotten on it. I thought it was wet and when it dried, it would dry clear but that wasn’t the case. can this be fixed? It looks like a dirty seam.
Hi Pat! Grasscloth is really tricky because if you get glue on it, it darkens it. I don’t know of a fix if the issue is that the glue seeped out at the seams – sorry! I’m hoping you’ve been able to figure out a fix!
Love it! Great job! You could be on HGTV!! What is the name of the blue grasscloth wallpaper you used?
Ha – thank you! I don’t think it actually had a certain name but it’s linked in the source list at the bottom of this post: https://www.drivenbydecor.com/modern-coastal-teen-bedroom-makeover-reveal/ Hope that helps!