Attainable Luxury: Padded Walls

While it may seem to be a luxury, the upholstered wall can actually signal any number of practical advantages.

The upholstered room evokes a remarkable, decadent sensation upon entering. Immediately, one bathes in a quiet calm, an enveloping feeling of intimacy, as if arriving at someone’s private inner sanctum. Add these sensations to the sensuous experience of fabric-clad walls—the crisp invitation of linen, the soft warmth of velvet chenille, or the glowing shimmer of silk—and the room is elevated to a regal hospitality.

In addition to the kingly rewards, one reaps the great benefit of protection from disturbing vibrating sounds. Say goodbye to the mumbling din of traffic noise outside your uninsulated windows. Protect your sanity from the clod-hopping, horse-hoofed neighbors one floor above, save your eardrums from your teenager’s heavy metal music. Instead, sleep soundly in the cocoon of upholstery versus tossing and turning to the reverb bounding off your lacquered walls and hardwood floors.

The process of upholstering your walls is not as daunting as it seems, especially in the hands of a talented upholsterer. Be prepared though to use a hefty amount of fabric—an average room will take between 35 and 75 yards—depending on the cutouts for windows, doors, archways, etc.

There are many methods of wall upholstery but the most common requires lathing strips to be attached to the wall perimeter, in corners next to the casings, above baseboards and below crowns to allow for the fabric to be attached and stretched. After the lathing is applied, a cotton or Dacron batting ¼- to ½-inch thick from a large roll is applied.

I prefer my walls to be hung quite flat with no “crown” or puffiness. Upholstered walls were so swollen and puffy in the 1980s and 1990s that they looked a little too overly luxurious. A bit more tailored and quietly comfortable look pleases me.

Some fabricators staple directly into the sheet rock with ½-inch staples, which is not stable in real plaster walls. Remember, many Hampton homes built before 1940 have plaster walls.

Other fabricators, in a pinch, use a long folded strip of metal, which they virtually clamp the fabric into. This technique does not allow for truly taut stretching of the fabric and the metal often yields lumps, pulls and waves, so I do not recommend this approach.

After the lathing and batting are applied, the fabric, previously sewn together at the seams and appropriately pattern-matched, is stapled and stretched on the lathing, taking care not to pull the pattern out of shape, or leave any ripples. The room now is completely hung in fabric with no way in or out, then the upholsterer razor-cuts all door and window openings as close to the mouldings as possible. The staples are then covered with a gimp tape or double-welt trim, ofttimes in a contrasting color to delineate and give a punchy finish to the room.

Foremost these days, upholstered walls are required in media rooms for acoustic necessity. Media room specialists require all four walls to have a strong degree of sound absorption without sound deflection, reverb or echo.

“Media specialists use specific systems to expedite installation. The most advanced system employed now is the ‘stretched fabric system,’” described by designer Jeff Kilmer. “A simple tight channel surrounds the acoustic panels and the fabric is tucked into the panel edges with a putty knife. This process greatly reduces the amount of time and labor involved to produce beautiful upholstered walls,” he said.

Care of wall upholstery ranges from monthly vacuuming with an upholstery brush attachment to feather dusting. Scotchgarding the fabric is something I recommend just for extra protection against clumsy friends or child meltdowns.

I frequently upholster closet doors (leaving off the casing) and wrap around the door frame as well as the door. This presents a wonderfully clean and seamless appearance to the room with only a sliver crevice outline hinting at the whereabouts of the closet.

For this use, I recommend tighter weave, flat fabrics as the rubbing can cause pilling and wear. I also use thick flannel or “bump” on these doors to create a flatter appearance. The door handles are mounted over the fabric.

In Manhattan apartments, I find wall upholstery essential for bedrooms, as the city din and roar is a constant accompanying occurrence—no matter how high up or where you live in that glorious city. Harried city dwellers treasure their undisturbed sleep and there is no better way other than a good mattress and a clear conscience to help provide that.

Here in the Hamptons, those Saturday morning leaf blowers become but a soft hum with an upholstered room. And with the curtains closed, you can dreamily cocoon to your heart’s content.