Grasscloth on Several Bookshelves Today

Home office work station niche primed and ready for wallpaper.

Done. Grasscloth comes 36″ wide, and this niche was about 39″ wide, so it required two strips, both trimmed down to 19.5″ wide. Generally, design-wise, you try not to put a seam down the center. But in this case there was no other viable option. This seam was practically invisible.

In the photo, the seam is a little to the right of center. You always see the seams in grasscloth, and this is about as perfect as it gets.
The homeowner, who is an interior designer, did a superb job of finding a grasscloth that’s murky blue hue coordinates perfectly with the color of the cabinetry.
Unfortunately, I don’t know the manufacturer of this material.

Close-up showing the texture.

Twin bookshelves flanking the fireplace wall in the family room, primed and ready for wallpaper.

Grasscloth has been installed. It’s nice to not have the shelves in place – so much easier to get that paper up!

Bookshelf niche on the right.

Bookshelf niche on the left. Note the slight shading and color variations . These are typical of natural products like grasscloth, and are not considered a defect. As the manufacturers say, these variations are ” part of the inherent beauty of these natural materials .”
Shelves will go in these niches and decorative items will obscure these slight imperfections.

TV room bookshelf niche. Yes, t’was I who swiped the smiley face and the horse head into the primer. 🙂

Done. This niche is a tad less than 36″ wide, so only one strip was needed, hence, no seams. Any color variations you see are due to shadows.

Close-up.

Closer-up. Scissors for perspective. These days, people are loving the subtle texture and warmth of grasscloth , paperweaves and other natural materials .

The manufacturer of the grasscloth in both the family room and TV room is Schumacher . The home is in the far west area of Katy , a suburb west of Houston.

If You Buy Grasscloth, Expect To See The Seams

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Grasscloth is popular right now, but buyers must be aware that, because there is no pattern that can be matched, all the seams will be visible. In addition, color variations are to be expected.

The top photo shows a slight color difference between two strips. This is called shading or paneling. This is not a defect. It is considered “part of the inherent beauty of the natural material.”

The second photo shows a lighter colored line that often appears at the far edges of the grasscloth strips, due to irregularities in the dying process. This can often be minimized by trimming off the edges of the material. But sometimes the lighter area extends beyond the area that can be trimmed off. And if you trim off too much, you will have narrower strips, and may well run out of paper before you finish the room.

The bottom photo shows a seam where the lighter colored edges were successfully trimmed off, and a nice butted seam resulted.

Another Example of Paneling in Grasscloth

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This finely textured grasscloth is by Phillip Jeffries, a fairly high-end brand. All the bolts were the same run number. Yet, as you can see, there is a noticeable color difference between strips. This is called paneling. Here – short strips, under and above the windows, somewhat obscured by drapes – it’s not too noticeable. But imagine if you had 9′ strips next to each other on a wide wall, with this color difference.

This is not considered a defect (and the manufacturer will not replace the wallpaper). This is normal, and it’s considered part of the “inherent beauty of the natural product.”