Sure they could work. The only issue you may run into is if they aren't sized exactly to the wall. Then you'll have to come up with a way to deal with the blank spaces. You can make them yourself with foam board, batting, buttons and fabric so they fit the wall exactly. They would be very light and easily attached to the wall with velcro.

I think the buttons will be too closely spaced with the pre-made panels - unless that is a feature you want. It could look cool, but it would be an extremely bossy feature.

Are the any YouTube tutorials to give an idea of how easy or hard it is to DIY this project?

Hey Barn I think thats exactly how they did that.

Those squares you show are very easy to make DIY and you could make them to exactly fit the wall.

They were popular in the 60's, too. I upholstered one wall in our first apartment in burlap - huge pain to do and it made me sneeze.

As for upholstering the walls in a nursery...well, that's a disaster waiting to happen, to say nothing of a place to collect dust and cause allergies. I still remember the time my grandson took off his poopy diaper and "painted" the wall next to his crib! OMG! What an unholy mess! My SIL was taking care of the children that weekend as DD had Army Reserve duty. He called for help and I went over. I bathed the child while he dealt wih the room. I can just imagine if the walls had been upholstered. And just imagine the drool, runny noses wiped on that wall. Yikes, a true biohazard! BAD idea!

I would also be concerned about flammability. An upholstered wall would be much, much more flammable than plain or wallpapered drywall. There are flame retardant fabrics available, but there is then the issue of exposing children to the chemicals involved with that. Foam and batting are also highly flammable. The nursery in the model home is adorable, but I would do not it in a room for a real baby/young child.

I had that same thought but maybe the poster isn’t thinking the nursery which IMO would be a bad place for this

Thanks everyone. There are some points raised that leave something to think about. My biggest thing would be keeping it clean. I wouldn't want it to harbor germs. I'm not that concerned about it being flammable.

If I use the squares it would be much more temporary and can be easily removed. I'm not sure if the other way would provide an easy way to remove the wall if I wanted to.

@HeyBarn Does the method from the 80s do a lot of damage to the wall? It seems doable. Although pulling the fabric tight seems like it may be a little difficult for a wall.

If you use foamcore and batting, you can velcro it right to the wall, which would make it easy to remove.

Stapling the fabric means starting from the middle on the top and bottom and working your way to each outside corner of the walls.

My downstairs neighbor in the 80s had padded moire' walls...and he smoked. Open windows on a nice day reeked. When he moved, the new owners ripped it out, thank goodness. I imagine it was discored and dusty, to boot.

thats awful. we are not smokers so that is not a concern. we would probably have it up for a year or two so not long term.

I did wall upholstery in the 1970s in San Francisco (with a couple of business partners who ran the business), but all I did was sew the fabric together, and my partners put it up on the walls. I also made the welting that went on the walls where needed. We did one dining room in leather, and I had to make a huge welt to go around the center of the room to hide where the hides met halfway up the walls. We had to finish that job ahead of schedule because Diane Feinstein was coming to lunch (she was mayor back then), and I was told that she could not eat in the kitchen like everyone else.

We never put buttons on any of the walls - I think that is too distracting.

We also always put Scotchguard (or similar) on the walls to help make them more stain/dirt resistant, much as you would for upholstered furniture. You need an electric staplegun to do a project like that.

What do you guys think about doing a more of a tall headboard look vs. the entire wall?

similar to this

I think that is a better idea and much more manageable. Also, it will be easier to change in the future.

Much better idea! Upholstering walls is really not a DIY project, as I quickly learned. It's a lot of work which is why pros charge an arm and a leg to do it.

Agree, not to mention the amount of fabric and batting required would be fairly pricey. I like the big padded headboard idea though. :)

Christopher Lowell had a show on upholstered walls, the video may still be on line. Have you looked at the wallpaper that looks like an upholstered wall?

I had a bulletin board like that. A talented crafter in my neighborhood made it. That should be very doable.

@Kathie738 P I didn't know there was upholstered looking wall paper. I will have to do some research on that!

check tufted wallpaper

Will do!

You could go all the way to the ceiling for added drama... I would also do behind where the nightstands go...

Ideas from the 80's...use sheets for the fabric!