Do-it-yourself soft wall panels

Soft walls in the interior are not a new direction, but an echo of the aristocratic chic and sophistication of past centuries, actively revived by modern designers. This little-known type of decoration looks really amazing and unusual, but at the same time it performs not only decorative function: thanks to its unique qualities, soft lining will certainly interest both practical housewives and caring parents.

What are soft wall panels made of?

You can distinguish two main types of soft panels for walls: made by yourself / design studios and factory. Decorative material of this plan has the form of a three-layer “sandwich”. The following layers are characteristic of factory soft plates:

• Basis - PVC panels. They are light weight, high strength, good adhesive characteristics.
• Filler - polyurethane foam. This is a dense porous high-volume material, characterized by fire safety, excellent heat and sound insulation properties, low weight and strength.
• The front side - ecoskin - artificial material that is comparable and even superior in its characteristics to genuine leather. Its positive properties include hygroscopicity, breathability, abrasion resistance and absolute safety for health.

If we consider soft panels, made by ourselves or by design studios, the materials used will be as follows:

• The base of the soft panel is plywood or hardboard, characterized by safety and environmental friendliness. The thickness is selected depending on the size of the element.
• Filler - foam rubber or synthetic winterizer. Apply depending on the design idea and the dimensions of the plates.
• The front side is leather, leatherette or fabric. The latter should have increased strength and resistance to ultraviolet rays.

The difference between factory soft panels and self-made panels is quite significant. It is worthwhile to make out where and when it is appropriate to use such a finish.

Recommendations for use

There are three main options for using soft walls in the interior.

• Very often soft walls are mounted in children's playroomsto protect children from possible injuries in a collision with a wall. For these purposes, not the entire wall is sheathed with soft panels, but only its lower part. It is natural that in this case bright colors are used. The environmental friendliness and safety of such materials meets all standards.

• The second use case is allocation of a certain zone in the interior. For example, in the bedroom above the head of the bed. The color scheme of soft walls should be in harmony with the rest of the decoration and with the furniture in the room. Such a design technique will bring a feeling of softness, warmth and sophistication to the room.

• Use as a full wall finish. In this case, you should carefully select the texture and color of the soft panels, as well as the design, so that in the end you do not get a pressing effect.

With care, you should choose soft finishes for small rooms and rooms with low ceilings. An illiterate design decision can visually reduce space.

Advantages and disadvantages of soft walls

The main advantages of soft panels for walls include the following properties:

• Heat and sound insulation. The effect will be fully present when it comes to a fully sheathed wall or room. If soft panels are used only as an element of decor and occupy a small area, then there is no need to talk about complete isolation.
• Noise absorption in the room. Walls with soft finishes dampen sounds, rather than reflecting them back into the room.
• Easy to clean. This mainly applies to panels made of leather, leatherette, eco leather. Such materials do not accumulate dust and wash well. Cloth walls will be more difficult to maintain.
• Ease of installation. This primarily relates to purchased panels. To make a soft wall covering completely with your own hands, you will need patience and certain skills.
• The ability to hide poorly plastered walls or communications behind the decoration.
• An interesting design decision. If tired of the classic repair, soft volumetric panels will be able to give a special touch to any interior.

The disadvantages of soft walls are not so many:

• High price. The panels themselves and installation work will be quite expensive. Doing it yourself will reduce the cost, but you will have to spend on the material.
• Fabric panels do not last long. If the material is incorrectly selected, then it can lose its shape and color over time.

There are substantially more advantages than disadvantages, so anyone who thinks about repairing and updating the interior, it makes sense to consider the option of using soft walls to decorate the nursery, the bedrooms or living room.

Installation of factory panels for walls

The soft finish is attached to the previously prepared base. The plane must undergo plastering, sanding and priming. After that, the walls are marked according to the level. This will help to avoid distortions and shifting of decorative elements.

At the installation stage, two important factors should be considered:

1. Panels are not recommended to be cut to fit under walls. This will affect the appearance is not for the better. You can sheathe the wall, starting from the middle and leaving the same gaps in the corners. It will look much more aesthetically pleasing than cropped material.
2. It makes sense to start work from above. In the case of trimming, the lower edge can be hidden skirting board.

Gluing requires liquid nails, acrylic glue or PVA. The latter is applied to the entire surface of the plates, other materials point or narrow strip along the edge. Soft panels are applied according to the marking and pressed for a while to set.

Important! Cutting plates do a hacksaw. Preliminarily, from the right side, the skin or fabric is detached, the necessary part is cut off, the upholstery is pulled and fixed with a stapler from the inside.

The installation process of the factory product is quite simple, making soft walls and fixing them with your own hands will be more difficult. But the second option provides more opportunities: there are several options for creating and fixing home-made soft walls.

Wall Cladding

This method is based on the installation of a wooden rack frame, between the planks of which the filler is laid, and leather or fabric is stretched on top.

Important! The fabric is cut with allowances from 50 to 100 mm on each side. It is not recommended to choose a material with lines or a large pattern: during the installation process, image elements may shift, which will negatively affect the overall appearance of the finish.

The fastening of the upholstery begins from above, after making 2-3 folds. This will avoid tearing the tissue. Work is carried out using a furniture stapler. The tension should be monitored so that no wrinkles or sagging form in the future.

Tip: to simplify the process, a rail is fixed on the lower edge of the fabric along the entire length of the fabric, which under its weight will give natural tension in the vertical direction.

After this, the sidewalls are fixed. The bottom is attached last. To achieve the original decorative effect, additional pulling elements can be used: slats, furniture buttons and more. Doing this method with your own hands will require accurate technology compliance, but the effect of the work is worth it.

Production and installation of soft walls in the style of Capitone

For this option of do-it-yourself casing, not a rack frame is used, but a base in the form of plywood or hardboard. In this way, you can decorate the entire wall or make individual plates of various configurations.

• They start with the marking: places are marked for holes through which then a tightening will be done. Traditionally, they are staggered.
• Holes are drilled, and then a soft material is mounted on the glue - foam rubber or synthetic winterizer.

• Then, with the help of a furniture stapler, the upholstery is attached in a tense state.
• At the final stage, the button is made tightened with buttons, usually covered with similar material.

Important! Threads are selected of special strength, as a rule, kapron.

After the soft plates in the style of Capitone are made, they are fixed on the wall. For such soft walls, it is better to provide fastening on the dowel-nails along the edge, and then close the fasteners with decorative strips.