Woot! Woot! I’m thrilled to share one of the most unique and texture-filled projects we’ve ever undertaken! This week, the star of the show is the rope accent wall. Yes, you heard that right! We’re showing you exactly How To DIY A Rope Accent Wall to add warmth and dimension to any room. After a little rough patch—and a major setback when our first attempt to paint the cabinets totally failed—we took a step back to regroup. But things are finally looking up! Our laminate cabinets have been successfully repainted in a stunning Navy (SW NAVAL) and look fantastic. Now that we’re diving into this rope wall, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

this …

Why a Rope Wall?

This week, it has been all about the Accent Wall. I knew from the beginning I wanted to bring in some texture into the space. The room is small, but it has 13-foot ceilings. The texture will add some warmth to the room. Since we already have a vertical wood wall and a skinny wood wall in this house, adding another wood accent wall was not an option. I also felt I wanted to add a very casual nod towards the nautical. So with texture in mind, I began to search.

One day, while traveling in the UK, I was searching for ideas for accent walls and came across this wallpaper on a UK decor site by a company called Direct Wallpapers.

Although this is a photograph of a rope made into wallpaper, I immediately thought of real ROPE!!! YESSSSSS. Hubs will love this! 😉  To my surprise, he did and immediately set to work figuring out how to attach it to the wall. Side note: My Husband is an Engineer. His first instinct is always “how,” while mine is to run for the glue gun, and then I am ready to go.

How to build a DIY Rope Wall:

After deciding to attach the rope horizontally, I realized it would be much easier to install the 5.5 ft x 13 ft wall in sections. We secured the rope to 1/4 inch plywood (cut into 4.5 ft wide ft x 4 ft high) with my very favorite tool, a GLUE GUN.

WARNING: This was extremely time-consuming, and we ran into a few snags.

1. The ends of the rope fray easily. So we wrapped the ends with electrical tape before cutting for each cut. We used a PVC pipe cutter to cut the rope. Thanks for that suggestion, Lowe’s!

2. We applied hot glue to the rope’s ends after cutting to prevent fraying once the electrical tape was removed.

3. Did I mention it’s time-consuming!

Next, we installed the plywood using drywall anchors to attach each section to the wall.

I’ve been asked several times about the shelf attached to the wall. Here is the link to the leather we used for the leather straps and the shelf. We haven’t decided whether to finish the edges next to the wall or not.  

We could run a piece of rope or perhaps something else?? We will figure that out in the next week. Next up is the countertop for the washer and dryer. We have decided to go with a wood counter instead of the original plan of concrete. I think I will like the wood against the gorgeous Navy cabinets.

Until next time,

-Libbie

You may also be interested in:

Slat accent wall

Coastal Accent Wall