Corrugated Cardboard Wall

Here’s a wall treatment that’s inexpensive and easy to do, but looks rich, earthy and dramatic all at the same time. What is it? It’s simply a roll of corrugated cardboard, woven togethr in a pie pattern. The corrugation provides horizontal or vertical lines depending on how the cardboard is hanging, and the result is a textured checkerboard. So if you’ve always thought you lived in a box, now you really do.

Where to buy corrugated cardboard:

I found many sources for corrugated cardboard on the internet. I used papermart.com. They have rolls in various widths. I bought the 24 inch wide roll; a roll of 24 inch wide cardboard that’s 250 feet long (way more than you’ll need) costs about $25.

How to do it:

1.	Determine how wide you want your cardboard strips. My wall from floor to ceiling was 96 inches tall, so I chose the 24 inch cardboard because that came out to 4 strips up and down exactly.
2.	Cut the roll of cardboard into strips that will cover the heighth and width of the wall.
3.	First nail the cardboard strips that are vertical, i.e., going up and down. Each strip should butt up against the next so there is no wall showing through. Place a nail at the top of the strips only. You want the rest of the strip hanging loose because you’ll be weaving cardboard in and out of them.
4.	More than likely, your last strip at the end of the wall will not be 24 inches exactly because walls widths are not made in increments of 24. That’s okay. Just cut the strip to fit. Cardboard is so easy to work with.

Once all the vertical strips are nailed in place, you can start weaving the horizontal strips over and under the vertical ones. It helps to have someone holding it up with you. Start with the top horizontal strip and weave that first. Nail or staple gun the cardboard into the wall every few feet to secure it.

HINT: When I first did this wall treatment, I found that I had cut the strips too short, not allowing for the weaving over and under that required more inches. For example, if the wall was 96 inches tall, I really needed a strip that was about 99 inches. But no worries for you. Either you can cut your strips a little longer and then trim them at the end. Or you can just cut a new piece and add it when you’re finished. This wall treatment is very forgiving. If there are any mistakes, or you happened to fling spaghetti sauce on any portion, you can cut that part out and put in a new segment of cardboard.