Thinking about adding grasscloth wallpaper to your home? I’m sharing everything you need to know about using this gorgeous wall covering!
Until a few years ago, I’d never used grasscloth wallpaper but now I’m hooked! It adds depth and dimension to a room and instantly elevates the look and feel of the space. Today I’m sharing everything you need to know about grasscloth wallpaper from where to buy it, where to use it, whether it’s difficult to hang, and more. Let’s get to it… (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})
Grasscloth Wallpaper: What Is It?
Grasscloth wallpaper is a type of wallpaper that’s made from natural fibers such as seagrass, jute, bamboo, hemp, and raffia. The fibers are woven together to create wallpaper that has incredible texture. {These grasscloth wallpapers} are a small sampling of the variety you can find:
It’s labor intensive to produce which is why grasscloth wallpaper is more expensive than typical wallpaper. Because natural fibers are used, there is often variation from roll to roll and sometimes even within the same roll in both the placement of the fibers and the color. Due to this variation, the seam is between two strips of grasscloth wallpaper is typically much more visible than with traditional wallpaper. For example, here’s a seam in the grasscloth in my daughter’s room:
You can also get faux grasscloth wallpaper which has the look of grasscloth but it’s created with man-made materials (typically vinyl). These wallpapers typically have less variation than true grasscloth.
What Are the Pros & Cons of Grasscloth Wallpaper vs. Traditional Wallpaper
The biggest pro of grasscloth wallpaper is the sophisticated yet cozy feel it creates when hung in a room. It can truly make a room fabulous! Unfortunately there are several cons that come with it. One is that grasscloth wallpaper isn’t cleanable like other wallpapers. If you get anything on it, it will likely stain/damage the paper. So you can dust or vacuum the wallpaper but you can’t use any type of cleaner on it. Also, grasscloth wallpaper can absorb moisture so isn’t a good choice for a bathroom where there’s a lot of humidity (faux grasscloth would be an option). Grasscloth wallpaper also tends to be expensive (often 3-4 times the price) and more difficult to hang than regular wallpaper.
Where Do You Buy Grasscloth Wallpaper?
My favorite sources for grasscloth wallpaper are Serena & Lily and Decorator’s Best. Serena & Lily has a wide variety of solid colored grasscloth wallpapers and a few printed options too such as {this Gardenside grasscloth wallcovering} that I’m going to be using on the back of our family room bookcases:
Decorator’s Best sells a variety of brands of grasscloth wallpaper such as Phillip Jeffries, York, and Schumacher.
Where to Use Grasscloth Wallpaper in Your Home
You can use grasscloth wallpaper to fully wallpaper a room of your home but because it’s so expensive, it’s ideal to find a way to use less of it. One option is to add grasscloth wallpaper above the molding or chair rail in a room. We did this in my daughter’s bedroom, adding {this grasscloth wallpaper} above her painted white molding:
Room Sources: Blue grasscloth wallpaper | Gold quatrefoil pendant | Canvas surf scene art | Blue fringed pillow covers | Cream tassel end pillow covers | Blue stripe lumbar pillow | Leather weave bench | Acrylic lamp | Blue & white planter |
You could also do the reverse and paint above the chair rail and add grasscloth below it. For example, the Serena & Lily Westport store has gorgeous grasscloth in “washed indigo” (found {here}) below the chair rail. I absolutely love the variation of the blue and natural tones – it really warms up the room:
With only having this small amount wall space below the chair rail, I would guess that they were able to get away with using just a single roll of grasscloth:
Source List: Blue striped rug | Sectional | X-base side table | Tree trunk side table | Striped pillow covers | Blue lumbar pillow cover | Beaded chandelier
Another option is to use grasscloth wallpaper to cover the back of a bookcase such as I did with {this charcoal grasscloth} in our family room:
or {this patterned grasscloth wallpaper} at our local Serena & Lily store The pattern adds so much to both spaces!
Room Sources: Blue sofa | Round coffee table | Round tray on coffee table | Paint dipped vase | Round rattan mirror
Is Hanging Grasscloth Easy?
Easy? My honest answer is no. If you have a lot of experience hanging traditional wallpaper, you could probably hang grasscloth too. However if you’ve never 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 adhesive on the front of grasscloth wallpaper, it will stain it (with regular wallpaper, it wipes right off with a damp sponge). And if you’ve hung any type of wallpaper before, you know that when you’re rolling adhesive onto the back of it and hanging it, it’s tricky to not get any glue on your hands that’s then transferred to your wallpaper.
Also, since the grasscloth wallpaper 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.
Another thing that makes grasscloth more challenging to work with is that the edges of most 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 ½″ 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.
Starting Your Grasscloth Wallpaper Installation
Most of the tips for hanging regular wallpaper apply to hanging grasscloth – see {this post on wallpaper installation} for a detailed step by step. With any type of wallpaper it’s important to plan out the placement of your wallpaper panels around the room before you start. This is even more important with grasscloth since you can see the seams. It’s best to 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.
The other thing you need to consider is color variation. With grasscloth wallpaper it’s common to have 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. This might mean opening all of your wallpaper rolls and comparing the color of them to figure out the order that you will hang them to create this gradual transition.
Also choose your wallpaper adhesive wisely! It’s important to choose an adhesive/glue that can be used on heavier wallpapers since grasscloth is weighty. My favorite adhesive is Roman Pro-880 that you can buy {here}. It has a gel-like consistency that keeps it from drying out as quickly as other adhesives (which is important for me because I’m slow!) and also makes it easy to slide your wallpaper around on the wall to position it perfectly.
Is Grasscloth Wallpaper Still in Style?
Absolutely. In fact, grasscloth has become more and more popular over recent years. If you love it, use it!
I’ll see you back on the blog next week!
Jane Sears says
How do you handle the inside corners? Thanks so much!
Kris Jarrett says
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!
Mary says
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!
Kris Jarrett says
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!!
Kris Jarrett says
You’re a smart woman! 🙂
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks so much! I can’t tell you how lucky I was to to find such a wonderful walllpaper hanger – he totally saved me!
Rene' says
This is one of the most gorgeous rooms I have ever seen. I love how you bless your family with your amazing talents. 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
Kris Jarrett says
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!
Kasia says
Wow look gorgeous! And this jeans tone …lovely
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you!!
Michele @ Moonfield Interiors says
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 🙂
Kris Jarrett says
Glad you found it helpful Michele! Probably a very smart idea to hire out on this one!!
Kandace says
Any positive reason to go against the grain (pun intended) to hang rail versus traditional?
Kris Jarrett says
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!
kathy says
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?
Kris Jarrett says
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 🙂
Ashley says
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.
Kris Jarrett says
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!
Pat Mixon says
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.
Kris Jarrett says
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!
Tarah says
Thanks so much for this article. I love the look of grasscloth wallpaper and am considering it for the dining room in my new home (despite the research I’ve done that says it absorbs smells). Currently, there is a gold damask wallpaper above the chair rail and a striped wallpaper (that I don’t think matches well at all) beneath it. I am considering replacing the bottom wallpaper with a dark grasscloth and running it horizontally to save on costs. I read your comment below regarding doing so on a book case but not on a complete room. However, I wonder if I chose a basket weave if that would work. I’m trying to save on costs but at the same time I want to love what I end up with. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on this?
Kris Jarrett says
Since most grasscloth wallpaper has some variation within the roll and from roll to roll I’m worried that it might look awkward to run it vertically. But if you give it a try, I agree that a basketweave would be the best way to go!
Kris Jarrett says
I’ll email it to you!
Zhanna says
Not easy to hang. I see the color variation of this wallpaper. Corner is darker and the rest is lighter. It might be better precut and se it on the floor then to hang.
Kris Jarrett says
Yes, real grasscloth has some variation not only from roll to roll but within the roll. We actually did cut several pieces and held them up before deciding which would work the best in terms of color tone.
doris iverson says
tHANKS FOR THE TIP, I AM CONSIDERING DOING GRASS WALL PAPER FOR MY BATHROOMS AND ANY HELP WILL
BE MUCH APLPRECIATED. HARD TO FIND WALL PAPER HANGER WHERE WE LIVE, YOU R POINTS ARE VERY
USEFUL.
Paula says
What about hanging grass cloth horizontal?
Angie says
Any tricks/tips on mounting items onto grasscloth wallpaper? I have two sconces that I want to hang on the accent wall of my bedroom and likely will need to screw through the wallpaper.
Kris Jarrett says
I would use a razor to make an X cut in your wallpaper where your screw is going to go and gently peel back the wallpaper a tiny bit on all four sides of the X. Then put your screw directly into the drywall in the middle of the X. Then if you remove the screw in the future, you should be able to fold those four tiny pieces back down and use a small bit of adhesive to glue them in place and cover the spot.
Louise says
Any chance of putting grass cloth over wall paper
Kris Jarrett says
I wouldn’t because your existing wallpaper might not have been applied with an adhesive that’s strong enough for the weight of the existing + new wallpaper together.
Winnie says
Just had a “professional” hang very expensive grass wallpaper. In many areas the seems don’t touch (can get more than a fingernail between and you can see the wall color come through) and one panel all the lines started slanting downward on one side. This made that one panel stand way out from the rest because the lines had a definite slant. The installer said that he did re-apply it by flipping it. Would this overwork the grass wallpaper causing the slant?
Amy says
I have a room with this and it’s starting to unstick after many years. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Should I try wallpaper adhesive?
Kris Jarrett says
You may want to try a seam adhesive since it comes in a tube with a nozzle that would make it easier to apply under the edges of your paper without getting any of the adhesive on the front of it.
Michelle says
I am hiring a pro to install grasscloth wallpaper in my home. In my requests for quotes several indicated that my textured walls must first be prepped and made smooth in order for the grasscloth to adhere properly. My walls aren’t popcorn texture, but they are not smooth. I haven’t read anywhere on DIY blogs about smoothing walls first. What is your recommendation?