Fabric Draping on Walls?

Question

I'm looking to redecorate my bedroom and was considering draping fabric on the walls rather than painting.

I'm trying to achieve a sort of boudoir/chamber feel with rich colors and patterns. I have a couple problems though: a) my landlord won't allow me to drill into the walls (I was thinking about using curtain rods) and b) I can't find much about decorating with fabric online.

Has anybody ever done this? If so... is there an alternative to curtain rods? Are there poles or stands that I can drape fabric too and place in front of my walls? I'm so lost and I need help!

To view what sort of look I'm trying to acheive:
http://www.labarc.com/Black/InaraShuttleInterior.jpg

Answer 1

Ah, Inara's shuttle from Firefly, that's a very nice look. :)

Far more important than the method of hanging is the type of fabric you're going to use. For the amount of material you use in this kind of decoration, you'll want to have the absolutely lightest fabric that you can possibly get. Inara's shuttle looks to be decorated with crushed velvet, but that's probably too heavy for your use. You may want to use something similar to the sheer material from www.rosebrand.com - That kind of material will sit lightly on whatever you choose to hang it with because it's only a half pound per square yard.

However, considering that you will need to have a large amount of fabric to achieve the look you want, your project can get expensive very fast. You may want to try a JoAnn fabric's if there's one near you, or a discount fabric store. You can also use cheap bedsheets from a major discount store like Big Lots, but make sure they're lightweight. For this project, though, I'd recommend buying a fullbolt of cloth, which usually gives you a discount.

To achieve the top portion of the "curtain" look, take an eighteen-inch width of the material (make sure to hem it or it'll eventually fray). Cut it so that it's about ten feet longer lengthwise than the wall you want to decorate - IE, if you have a room that's ten feet long, make it twenty feet of an eighteen inch width. This will stretch 7 yards to create the tops of two walls (you can make it wider if you really want, though). Loosely gather the material with a ribbon (I recommend using a wide gold or silver ribbon) at intervals about two and a half feet apart, you can also tie the ribbons into loose bows. You should have about four "gathers" in the material when you're done. Make sure to leave about five feet off each end, making the last gathers to match the corners of the wall. Finally, at each "gather" of material, punch a small hole into the very top of both fabrics, and hem it. As an alternative to hemming each hole, there are round metal punches that you can purchase at fabric or hardware stores that will accomplish the same thing.

This will create a place that you can hang the material from eyehooks screwed into the ceiling, very near the wall, or into the wall near the ceiling. The excess material at the ends will naturally make "curtains" hanging down in the corners, similar to the picture. If your landlord's a MAJOR stickler about any holes at all in his walls or ceilings, you can also use adhesive hooks - although frankly, small eyehooks are much less damaging than adhesive hooks, and much less prone to falling down. For the entire project, honestly you can get away with only sixteen to twenty tiny holes in the ceiling, which can just be patched up with white-out or plaster if you move out.

For the wall-covering portion of the material, you can normally use the fabric straight off the bolt of cloth, though you'll again have to hem it. The bolts should be 1 yard wide. Punch and hem a hole into each corner of the cloth, and hang it vertically. These vertical drapes of fabric can be hung from the same eyehooks that you use to hang the top portion I talked about earlier. If you use a bedsheet, punch the holes at three foot intervals. This will give the material a natural draping look due to gravity. If you use a bolt of cloth, the layers will naturally overhang each other.

I have to stress that this project MUST be done with a light fabric. Anything heavy, like velvet or heavy curtain material, will cause stress on the hooks and possibly damage the ceiling, regardless of if you use adhesive hooks or eyehooks.

It would be rather difficult to achieve this project with vertical poles unless you had a lot of them.

This has gotten way too long, hope it has something you can use. :)

Answer 2

It's a lovely idea but keep in mind that effect can visually shrink a room in a hot second. If you use fabric, I would suggest a medium/dark color (to make the walls appear to "recede") - solid or VERY muted pattern.

Thin curtain rods would work best, I think, and they don't require any major drilling.

But you also might want to consider using a "suede" finish paint instead (medium-to-dark color). You can still achieve a similar "boudoir" look by spending that money on rich-looking drapey bedding, extra pillows, and a few throws.

Answer 3

Sorry the photo is too dark to see but here is how you can create a draping fabric look without drilling holes. You can find Command hooks by 3M at the craft store and home improvement store. They have new decorative ones or you can get them plain white. They attach to the wall with adhesive that is removable without damage to the wall. You will need to make a button hole in the fabric to hang it through the commmand hook. You can either sew it by hand to stop the fabric from fraying or use the button hole setting on the sewing machine or use a glue product by Aileeen's that stops fraying and you cut a hole and seal the edges with the glue. Manipulate the fabric until you get the hang that you desire and you can add embellishments to the edges like bouillion fringe, gimp, mop fringe, or whatever you like and that matches your decor.

Answer 4

A year or so ago, I saw a decorating show on HGTV where the host decorated a room in just the style you are describing.

Now, my husband did find some hooks in a local hardware store where the nail would be pounded into the wall at an angle. And while the hooks were small, they were sturdy. I used them to put up a small shelf for bric-a-brac. Perhaps you can use some variation of that?

Good luck!

Answer 5

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axSZ3

Probably the easiest way would be to use a cable system to hang them. The cable acts as the rod. The ceiling could be done the same way gathering the ends into the middle. I don't know what size the room is but you could use fabric on the ceiling as it will be longer. Good luck!

Answer 6

Perhaps this style as well...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloggingberlin/489889680/