Reed covered walls

Back in early November I came across this idea from RoomRemix for covering a wall in reeds and was instantly in love. Luckily Eric also found it cool so following the holidays we jumped in!

Okay, as Sarah the Thrifty Decor Chick says, I'm keeping it real here. My before picture includes a stack of crap on the floor and cat hair on the bed as well as the cat's bowls on the nightstand. Whatever.

Before was okay, if somewhat blah.



So the first thing we did is paint the walls. Yes, even if you're covering it with reeds you definately want to paint the wall because the color WILL show through. This is painted the Walmart interpretation of Sherwin Williams Java. I say interpretation because it doesn't exactly match the color card but I'm happy with it so I'll go with the flow.



We painted under close supervision.



We picked up the reed fencing at Home Depot for just under $24 a roll. Our wall is 8' by 15' so we needed a roll and a half. This will conveniently also leave us some left over if we need to eventually replace a part of it (say in case the cat uses it for a scratching post). Project cost is paint + $48, so not bad.

Here's what we bought. We had to ask a few people before they had any idea what I was talking about it so if you try this, know that they keep it in the garden department. They had about 10 rolls when I was there so I assume they carry this year round.



Put the nails in along the top and work your way down. I recommend small nails that aren't shiny as they'll be less noticeable. Also, since the reeds are wire twisted together it makes an ideal spot for the nails to slip into between wires and hold it well. You can see in this picture what I mean about the wall color showing through.



Outlets are simple enough. I cut them out with a pair of scissors without any trouble.



I recommend thinking out where your seams will be ahead of time. Starting from the left worked best for us since that naturally hit the center of our headboard and would make the seam easier to hide later. When putting the rolls against each other for the seam you have two choices. Just butt them up against each other or slightly interweave the ends. The seam on the left is just pushed up next to it but the seam on the right in interwoven. Personally I like the seam on the right better but luckily for you they are both pictured for your planning pleasure. :)

And here are a couple more shots of the finished project. Eventually I want to add a wall hanging over the bed which will help cover that seam and we're looking at adding a tall plant or tree between the bed and dresser which will cover the other seam quite a bit.





And, courtesy of Eric's mad picture editing skills (thank you!), here is what it might look like with a plant by the bed.