While I chose to strip the outdated wallpaper throughout the house, the living room walls are covered in grass cloth, which I wanted to keep. The grass had mellowed over the years to a beautiful, rich honey color. It provides a nice neutral background for paintings and other objects in the room.
I searched the internet for articles about how to repair grasscloth, however nothing addressed my concerns:
- Tattered corners. The entrance from the entry hall into the living room had torn and worn in places at the corner. It looked shabby and run down.
- Seams. Some of the seams had raised up, apparently where the glue had either weakened, because of humidity or not enough glue.
- Small stains. In a few areas there were stains. In one spot it looked like they had painted the ceiling and allowed the paint to drip on the walls.
The tattered corners were the most rewarding part to fix. The surrounding wallpaper was in good shape. Some of it was pealing slightly, but overall it was only the corner that was unsightly. I have toured many fine homes around the world and had often noted how fabric walls were edged with some type of trim. This might be a braid or, in the case of really sumptuous houses, a carved detail covering up the fastening of the fabric. It gave me an idea. What if I covered the bad corners with braid. I went to eBay and found a dealer (trimsqueen)with a wide selection of braid. I picked a color I felt would compliment the grasscloth.
Using a glue gun, I carefully reattached any pieces that were loose and then glued the braid to both sides of the corners. The braid instantaneously made the wallpaper and the room look better. It was easy to apply and the cost was not much.
For the seams I used a slightly different approach. Many of them were near the ceiling, so rather than trying to balance on the ladder with a potentially dangerous hot glue gun, I used a fast setting crazy glue. This allowed me to apply it, hold it in place for a few seconds and then leave it. The seam problem was solved.
Stains were each unique. I used a vinegar/water solution to clean some of them. I was careful not to get the grasscloth too wet, as I did not want the glue to loosen. What I thought were paint drips were actually drips of plaster. I was able to remove them with the same vinegar/water solution. At some point they had repaired the ceiling and dripped plaster on the wall. There are a few slight ghost squares where pictures had previously hung, but they are minimal and will probably fade in time.
I saved a lot of time and money by doing minimal work to freshen up the grasscloth. After applying a fresh coat of paint to the ceiling I am very happy with the living room.