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hey there! I'm monica 

I pride myself on making amazing style and design accessible for everyone, regardless of location, budget, or ability! My design philosophy is rooted in authenticity + attainability - If I can do it, you can too! My work has been featured in countless publications, but I take the most pride in homeowners that have been personally inspired by my DIY ideas and have tried something in their own homes!

learn more about ME + MY BIZ

We’ll be getting back to our regular Fab Find Fridays next week, but today we want to share the project that won Round 3 of CWTS! We love it so much and I’m kind of jealous that Monica gets to enjoy it every day. (The next big project better be at MY house. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Enjoy!
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What areย girls to do whenย they CAN’T SEW andย are part of a fabric challenge? Hmm… well, we’re kind ofย lovin’ wallpaper lately, so we thought we’d use fabric in a non-traditional (and non-sewing) way!
Fabric Wallpaper
I had ordered some fabric a few months back, but never used it.ย  Amazingly there was just the right amount to cover the width of my office wall.ย  While we’re talking about my office… thisย  is a judgement free zone, so go easy on me about the state of my office.ย Yikes!
There wasn’t enough fabric to cover the whole wall, so we came up with the idea to put board and batten below the fabric.ย  The big decision was what color to paint the moulding… Grey, White, or Yellow.ย  We kind of hold to a “Go Big or Go Home” mentality, so we went with yellow! Darn that the color paint we bought wasn’t made correctly and looked like Sunshine Yellow, not a cool muted color.
Once the paint was dry (ok, well almost dry) it was time to start working on the fabric.ย  We measured the height and cut accordingly.ย  We left about 6″ extra that we trimmed later.
This is NOT a glamorous process… it’s a lot of holding & pinning and really would be great with two people, but with only one ladder, Jess got to give advice from below and take awesome pics of me!
There are lots of methods for hanging fabric, but we thought the pin & staple was our best option.ย  We used pins to get it lined up correctly.
Somehow we forgot to take a picture of the stapling process, but it’s simple… just staple along the edges. After stapling, we used a razor to trim the edges.
Once again we were wrapping up a project at midnight… Jess is awesome at styling, so before she headed home, sheย got to work on the desk accessories.ย  The Love sign is something we made for our etsy shop, but I kinda love it, so I haven’t listed it!
The next morning we finished all the painting and got to work on the rope.ย  Unfortunately, rope doesn’t come in many colors…just rope color.ย  So, we decided to stain it grey.ย  I had no idea my table stain would get so much use! It gave the rope just the look we were going for!
We used a hot glue gun to adhere the rope around the outside edge.
We liked the idea of adding a cool detail, and we also had to hide the staples!
We couldn’t be happier with the finished product!
The total cost was under $50.00 (and most of that was for the gallon of paint we didn’t even use!)
It totally looks like wallpaper and at a fraction of the cost.
ย I’m so glad this challenge inspired us to finish my office!
So, how’s that for a fabric project from two girls that can’t sew?

Linking up to: TT & J, Show & Tell Saturday, Tips & Tutorialsย Tip Me Tuesday, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase

The comments +

  1. You girls are fab.

    Thats all there is to say about that.

    Love your guts
    mandi

  2. TracieB says:

    Looks Fantastic girls! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Unbelievable. The colors are wonderful and the fact that it was fairly easy and so inexpensive is just icing.
    Absolutely love this room!

  4. This is amazing!! I love the fabric details and totally wish I had the guts to do something like this in my own home! BRAVO!

  5. Janelle Speca says:

    as soon as i saw this fabric i knew it was monica!!! it looks amazing and i so want to try it!!!

  6. Laurie says:

    Wow! What a huge difference! Looks fantastic!

  7. Cheri says:

    I googles fabric wallpaper earlier in the week. Imagine how thrilled I was to see this post while blog hopping my fav blogs. Love it. I was thinking of using the starch method with the fabric. Any advice?

  8. Marlene says:

    Love it! I will be decorating a nursery soon and think this idea is perfect for the focal wall! Do you have any other suggestions aside from rope to cover the staples? I’m thinking ribbon in a girls room, but not sure how that would work with hot glue. Hope I get to try this out!

  9. This is fabulous!! I love the fabric and paint choice! I am following you girls, and pinned this project so I can do this someday! Love!!

  10. Melissa says:

    Where does one find such wonderful fabric!?

  11. Anonymous says:

    can you tell me what that fabric is? Gorgeous fabric and fantastic outcome!
    another melissa…
    melissalee1@bellsouth.net

  12. imklvr says:

    Girl! that’s fabulous! Stunning! Awesome! And I’m gonna copycat you so fast it will make your head swim! My daughter and I are moving to a HOUSE (in an apartment now) and she is giving me 2 rooms all to myself..one for crafts, one for sleep. Guess what I’ll be doing in my craft room! Thanks SO much! I already have the fabric too!!!

  13. @TracieB

    Thanks so much Tracie. It was so easy to do, which makes it even more fantastic! ๐Ÿ™‚

    -Jess

  14. Jenn says:

    OMG – are you serious! This is seriously amazing. I can’t believe the difference.

  15. Such a brilliant idea! I love the transformation so I pinned this on Pinterest. Btw, I am admiring all the creativity here. Hope you can swing by later at 5 pm, PST to join my Creative Bloggers’ Party & Hop.

  16. Oh wow, that looks AMAZING!! I’m totally jealous. I tried to wallpaper with fabric a couple of months ago, and had a total DIY failure because my walls are so heavily textured, and the fabric I wanted to use was quilters cotton fabric which is thinner than decorator cotton fabric. I had to take it off and skim coat the wall to lose the texture, and I haven’t gotten the nerve to try the “wallpaper” process again. But now you’ve inspired me to move it to the top of my “to do” list!!

  17. MommaHen says:

    …Now, to find some totally FAB fabric!! Love this!

  18. Love it!! I have seen it done with batting underneath, but never just plain fabric. Good to know it works just as well! It looks fantastic!

    ~Angela~

  19. debbie says:

    yea i heard it works with the fabric starch. Even had it on Nate Show. Worked great for him. It looks beautiful. New to ur blog, following TheletteredCottage facebook post to you. ๐Ÿ™‚

  20. @debbie We thought about trying that, but since I wanted it to be more on the permanent side, we went with the staple gun. We were actually guests on the Nate Show episode this season where he used the starch and sheets on the wall! We were impressed!!

    Thanks so much for visiting!

    Monica (and Jess)

  21. Hi there, I was wondering do you know of other ways to hide the staples other than rope? Don’t get me wrong, your office is BEAUTIFUL, but my husband isn’t on board with the rope. Also, how much yardage of fabric did you use? Thanks again!!

  22. It is LOVELY!! Congrats on making top 6 over at Not Just a Housewife! WOot:-)

  23. Maury says:

    This is incredible! What an awesome idea. I’m a new follower and found you from Not Just a Housewife! I hope you’ll follow me back but no pressure.

  24. AmyAlves says:

    Wow! That was a lot of work! It looks amazing!!!

  25. Wow, this is super impressive! Congrats on making the Top 6! ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. Janet says:

    AWESOME!!!! I’d never seen your blog till I came from the Not Just A Housewife contest results. Definitely deserve a win IMHO.
    cradtythriftydecoratingwifemom.wordpress.com

  27. maike rinaye says:

    this is great :). Well done!

  28. Phenomenal! I love it! I am now looking around my house, trying to find a wall where I can do this too!

  29. Please do share the fabric design(er)…it is fabulous!

  30. Anonymous says:

    Awesome. Great choice of fabric and paint. Neat idea with the rope. I’d like to see the outlet covers painted so they don’t stick out.

  31. dragongirl says:

    WOW! What a wonderful ‘improvised idea’. You girls are great! I’m glad you made it onto the Real Housewives contest list so that I found your blog and can follow you. Thanks for your creativity and for sharing.
    @Britney Cosentino – I bet using trim board – painted or stained would also look good and might please the husband??

  32. okay, ladies, i have to subscribe via email ‘cuz you’re getting lost in my google reader & i’m missing all the fun!

    love the fabric, the look, the post, the sign….gosh, am i gushing or what?

    must go wipe the drool….

  33. Kimber says:

    I love it…it created a wonderful focal point. I would worry about fabric becoming dingy over time…but I guess you could just change it out if that occurred.

  34. Margie says:

    I love this non-permanent idea! We are currently renting and not wanting to decorate when we’ll just have to undo it when we buy soon…however these white walls are DRIVING ME CRAZY!! Quick question…what weight is the fabric? Do you find it droops over time? And how close together should the staples be? Thanks!!

  35. Crown Lover says:

    Like everyone else, I’d like to know the name and manufacturer of the fabric. I first saw it on Nate Berkus months ago and have been looking for it ever since. Where were you able to find it? All your projects are fabby, and I’m a big fan of yours. Made several deer silhouette canvases for Christmas gifts. They were a big hit. I always gave you two credit for the stunning idea. Keep up the good work.

  36. This idea actually sparked a new project for my room. I used this idea, but instead of using it as full wallpaper, I cut the fabric to the shape of a giant tree in the corner of my room. I love it! I wish I could share a picture for you!

  37. Anonymous says:

    love the fabric you used! Can you share where you got it??

    Tracey

  38. Anonymous says:

    love the look! what happened to the computer and files?

  39. bubbletoes says:

    I love everything you guys do! I put fabric in a reading area in my home…I used hot glue..I know, sounds kind of low rent but it worked. I tried it on a little area first left it for a couple of days and pulled it off…came off perfectly and so did the hot glue. I didnt need anything to cover the edges, I had folded them over prior to gluing. When I did this in my guest bathroom a couple of years ago, I used fabric roping (its fancy? in the sewing department?) and went all the way around.
    So, if you give it a try, I think you’ll agree, hot glue is great. Oh and the fabric I used is heavy weight upholstery fabric.

  40. […] Then the outside edge was covered by a grey painted rope which was meant to hide the staples too. Although the process needs a lot of attention and perhaps time too, the result is remarkable. You may enjoy of a new place with a total different ambiance. You may also think of using this project for other interiors or even in the case you want to cover a wall which has suffered an accident.{found on eastcoastcreativeblog}. […]

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