Black Grass

Grass cloth is a very specialised and expensive wallcovering and I learned to hang it in the 80's when the west coast designed homes were popular, the ones with vaulted ceilings, natural cedar walls and lots of grass cloth. There was a learning curve and it took me many tries and mistakes to eventually develop my own technique and today I do not feel intimidated by it. It is a rough and tough product, hard on the tools and very difficult to trim and cut, particularly around electrical outlets. The small feature wall in this cosmetology clinic had around 20 such outlets. Besides that challenge, the Dr. wanted us to cover the post in the middle of the wall, and grass cloth does not 'go around the corners' due to its horizontal natural fibers and its great stiffness.

But, with a great amount of patience and perseverance, we were able to complete the job on budget. I must say that it is quite striking as you walk in the front door. Considering we hung the grass cloth over existing vinyl wallpaper, which we had to prime first, it turned out quite well. In retrospect, I should have bartered for some plastic surgery.