Fabric Wall Panels For A Luxe Look

Want to instantly elevate a room? Add wall panels. They take an ordinary room and make it sing. BUT, if you want to take it up another notch, make FABRIC wall paneling. A beautiful fabric adds so much pattern, texture, and depth to your wall decor and makes a bold focalpoint. Here’s how I (unexpectely) decided to make fabric wall panels for our bedroom…

We recently color drenched our room in Sherwin Williams “Halcyon Green”. It’s a gorgeous, complex green-blue-gray that I adore. And while it was pretty on its own, I felt our bed wall was still missing something. I’d been browsing online for fabric to make some DIY window treatments, and stumbled upon this beautiful Chinoiserie-inspired fabric from Spoonflower.

Initially, I planned to upholster an entire wall in fabric. However. Once it arrived and my husband saw it, well, you can imagine. It was just too much for him. So, a compromise was in order. Just kidding. I waited until he was gone on a business trip and made fabric wall panels instead. Ha! Good thing he didn’t mind at all. Especially because he didn’t have to help!

Fabric Wall Panel Supplies

I have to say, making fabric wall panels is MUCH easier to me than wallpapering. Plus, it can easily be removed…unlike wallpaper. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Picture Frame Moulding
• Fabric of your choice
• Brad Nailer(I have this one and love it)
• Caulk
• Tape Measure
• Razor Blade
• Level
• Painter’s Tape
• Miter Saw or Miter Box Kit

Step 1: Measure For Your Wall Panels And Attach Fabric

Measure your wall and divide it into however many panels will work. I decided on two 29″x 80″ panels flanking one 56″ x 80″ panel. There is 15″ of space between each box. I actually taped off the panels on the wall so I could better visualize the final result. Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of that!

Once you have your panels measured, cut your fabric to match. Then, attach the fabric to the wall. Don’t worry if the edges are slightly uneven – we’ll fix that with moulding.

I put a brad in each top corner, pulled the fabric tightly to remove any wrinkles, and added brads all the way around. Here’s a dark cell phone shot of how it looked:

And a close up of the fabric edge. I told you this paint is a chameleon!

Step 2: Build Picture Frame Moulding Boxes

Once your fabric is up, it’s time to build the picture frame boxes. Use your miter saw to cut the mouldings at a 45 degree angle to make a box.

Go ahead and paint them before installing. You don’t want any paint on your fabric! I chose to paint all the trim in a gloss finish. The walls are a flat finish.

Step 3: Install Picture Frame Moulding

Now, the trickiest part: hanging all that moulding. Since I was working alone, I leveled each piece of trim and then taped it in place. This allowed me to nail the wood on without it getting wonky.

Because I didn’t cut all of my fabric exactly square, I just trimmed off the excess using a razorblade.

Step 4: Caulk

It’s not fun, but it makes a world of difference. Fill in all those nail holes with a touch of caulk. Then go along the outside edge with a bead, smoothing as you go. You can also fix any corners that don’t match up 100% – oops!

Let the caulk dry completely, then go back over with a small paintbrush to cover any white. You now have beautiful fabric wall panels!

Fabric Wall Paneling: The Final Result

What an impact the fabric wall panels make! Now our room feels cozy and rather cottage-ey. I just love the large statement panels – such a great focalpoint! Even though the wall color changes dramatically throughout the day, the fabric wall panels still look lovely and add so much depth to the room.

Something was still missing though, so I added these rattan plug-in wall sconces . I love the way the woven shades look against the wall color and panels. I camoflauged the cords with these paintable cord covers. Much better!

So, what do you think? Will you be adding fabric wall panels to your room? Happy Nesting!

PIN IT FOR LATER!