DIY Burlap Walls

by Lindsay Fay
(IC: blogger)
2 Materials
$30
8 Hours
Easy
When I was planning out my living room, I knew I needed to add texture somewhere and I ultimately decided the walls were the perfect place! While the bottom half had wainscoting, I was able to add burlap to the top half, adding a unique feature to the room!
Before I started, my room looked like this.
I started by making the "glue" that would hold the burlap to the walls, which is basically just 1 part cornstarch to 8 parts water. You'll note there are a ton of lumps in my glue. It took me forever to figure out to add the water to the cornstarch (and not the cornstarch to the water.)
Then I pinned the burlap to the walls with pushpins. There are major wrinkles in my burlap, but that comes out when the glue is applied.
Then I painted the glue onto the burlap, working my way from one corner down and across.
I worked my way around the room, fully painting each piece in place. Once the "glue" was dry, the room was done.
One of the cool things about this project is that the burlap comes down really easily if you decide to change the look later.
I love how it turned out, and I'm so glad I took this route instead of painting. It's perfect for the finished room!
If you like it too, be sure to check at the full DIY Burlap Walls post! And if you love how my living room turned out, see the full reveal (with plenty of pictures!) over at A Butterfly House.
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published January 7th, 2020 4:40 PM
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Sandy Bocek on Jan 10, 2023
Just a comment. When we were in the military, and in military housing, we were not allowed to wallpaper. We could paint as long as it was painted back. We used fabric, sheets, whatever and adhered to the wall with liquid laundry starch. It peeled right off, and we just had to wipe the wall with some water on a cloth.
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Carla Fuquay on Jan 17, 2023
Liquid laundry starch can you explain that a little more to me please ?/ sounds like a great idea for a renter!!😁
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Sandy Bocek on Jan 17, 2023
Carla/ we cut the sheet or fabric to the needed size, soaked in the starch, then wrung out and smoothed on the walls- easier as a two person job. We did the sliding closet doors in our daughters bedroom in a cute print. Then I made pillows and a comforter to match.
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Frequently asked questions
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this is great . could I use this safely in my kitchen ?
Why did you leave seams throughout the process? It jumps out at you almost as an imperfection. I actually like the textured look of the burlap but almost looks too messy as your focus continues to each seam. Pretty finished product but just wondered.
I love this idea - all the walls in my house have orange peel texture which I loathe! I've been thinking about a lot of ways to cover it - and this is very appealing to me. And I love that there are different colors of burlap. My question is whether you thought about any different adhesives? I know that this is probably the most natural.