Grasscloth Furniture Makeover: A Six-Step Tutorial

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a wonderful week! We’re just a couple of short days away from the weekend! 🙂 Today, I’m excited to share my grasscloth furniture tutorial with all of you. Within this guide, I’ll show you the six easy steps that I took to transform my very basic media console into one that looks bright and beachy, not to mention much more stylish! It was incredibly easy, very budget-friendly and the finished piece has truly transformed the entire look of our living room!

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Our media console which we bought about five or six years ago was pretty, but it had more of a rustic look, which doesn’t match our current decor. The brown tones in it were also making our living room feel drab given the room only gets natural light late in the day as the sun is setting. So my goal with this transformation was to brighten this piece up and give it more of a coastal look.

Project Materials

• Sandpaper (I used 150-grit but the grit level may vary depending on how much sanding your piece requires)
• Microfiber cloth
• Paintbrush (I used this one but I recommend any by Wooster or Purdy)
• Paint roller frame and covers
• Paint pail (I use this one by Purdy)
• KILZ primer
• Paint (I used Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace)
• Grasscloth wallpaper (this roll that I bought is a steal!)
• Card stock (to make a template for the grasscloth)
• Wallpaper glue (I used this one from Roman Adhesives)
• Razor
• Drywall square
• New hardware

Grasscloth Furniture Tutorial

Step #1 – Sand

I lightly sanded the entire console with 150-grit sandpaper. From here, I vacuumed the piece to remove all of the dust. I then gave it a final wipedown with a microfiber cloth.

Step #2 – Prime

I initially thought that I’d need just a single coat of primer on this media console. However, as I primed it with KILZ primer it started taking on a yellow tone. I think the primer may have reacted to the acid in the whitewash. Because of this, I ended up having to apply three full coats of primer. So if your piece is whitewashed, I highly recommend fully sanding the whitewash off before priming. Otherwise, two coats of primer will definitely do the trick on most pieces of furniture prior to painting.

Step #3 – Paint

I let the final coat of primer dry overnight before applying two coats of paint. I didn’t bother painting the doors since I knew I’d be applying grasscloth to them.

Step #4 – Size & Cut The Grasscloth Wallpaper

You may have seen my “A Grasscloth Furniture Makeover: From Basic to Beachy” post a couple of months ago where I added grasscloth wallpaper to the backside of a shelf. I loved how the grasscloth gave my hall tree a stylish, coastal look so I wanted to carry that look over to this media console. The shape of the panels on the cabinet doors and sides of the console are so pretty, and I knew that adding the grasscloth to these panels would really make this beautiful detail stand out.

Because of the unique shape of the panels, I did have to get a bit creative when cutting and sizing the grasscloth to fit inside of them. I didn’t have any card stock on hand but luckily my mailbox was full of junk mail that day :). So I cut pieces of card stock and taped them together in the shape of the panels. I figured the size of each of the four panels on the console might not be 100% uniform so I used painter’s tape to stick them together. That way I could easily unpeel and readjust for each panel.

I then placed my roll of grasscloth wallpaper on a wood board so that I wouldn’t cut through my floor. From there, I placed my card stock template on the grasscloth. I then used a drywall square to guide a razor in a straight line around the outer edge of my template. This template and cutting technique worked perfectly. With that being said, I highly recommend taking this approach if you ever need to cut grasscloth in an odd shape.

Step #5 – Apply The Grasscloth Wallpaper

I then used a paintbrush to add wallpaper glue to the backside of the grasscloth. From here, I applied the grasscloth to each of the panels.

Step #6 – Change out Hardware

The existing knobs on our media console were a little “plain Jane” and I wanted hardware that would complement the beachy vibe that I was going for. I found these beautiful knobs on Amazon and I think they go perfectly! They are nice and bright, and the touches of blue tie in perfectly with the denim rug that we have in our living room.

The Finished Media Console

What do you think of the end result?! If you’re willing to put in a little bit of time, this was a very easy project that anyone could tackle! I truly hope that this grasscloth furniture tutorial inspires you to save money by refinishing furniture, rather than buying a brand new piece. Plus, it’s so fun to compare the before and after photos! 🙂

Styling Details

Since this console sits directly below our TV, I had to style it with items that aren’t too tall, otherwise I’d block the TV screen. I’m a big fan of pretty coffee table books on any console table and I always try to incorporate stems, flowers or a plant of some sort. I love how this wicker chain link not only adds texture, but it also fills in some of the extra space between the plant and the picture frame.

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