I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I spent Saturday installing cork tile on one wall of my parent's den.
They've just moved to a new apartment on Roosevelt Island and we're in the process of doing over their apartment. My mother wanted a cork wall to hang things on, and I suggested we do over the entire wall and make a statement with the cork. I did some research online and found a company that makes peel and stick adhesive cork tiles. If you've been watching my podcasts you'll remember I installed cork tile on my own desk walls years ago, and used contact adhesive. It was sticky-messy yuck, so I was very interested in self adhesion. The tiles came and we unpacked them as directed on the instructions. They need to acclimate to the environment for 48 hours, apparently. On installation day we were a bit non-plussed by the appearance of the tiles. They were starting to resemble bowls - the corners were curling up quite a bit.
We were a bit worried that they wouldn't adhere firmly. But we soldiered on, hopefully. I gathered the necessary supplies for the job:
A laser level Pencil Ruler Tape measure (not shown) Matt knife Cutting surface And, oddly enough - a rolling pin
The first step was to establish a level horizontal and vertical line on the wall to place the first tile on.
We did this by measuring the tiles (just under 12") and the wall (20.5") and then placing the line so that the whole tiles were centered on the wall with two strips above and below them. We also placed a strip to the left of the first whole tile that was the same width as the strips on the bottom and top. Next it was just the process of peeling off the backing and placing the tiles down and rollering them to make sure they were well adhered.
It's important to keep the tiles on the line or the whole wall will start to go off as you progress down. Also, they have a bit of give, so matching all corners - not just the edge - as you lay them down is important too. Once the whole tiles had all been placed I had to start cutting. Most of the cuts were just strips of differing widths, but there were a few complicated cuts to make around corners.
The end result was a warm, useful surface that deadens sound and gives the room a finished look. The tiles stuck very well, and are still sticking. The first one was placed off square and when pulled up had stuck so well that it pulled some of the wall board surface off with it and tore the tile! We used it for some of the partial pieces...
When we get the room completely styled I'll be sure and post a picture!
Have you ever installed cork on a wall? Did you use tiles or sheets? Did you use contact cement? How did it come out?
Hello people, this week on the show it’s all about cork. Part of our renovation found us lining the walls of the office and eventually the ceiling in the kitchen with cork. It a wonderful retro 60’s/70’s treatment and it’s practical to boot! It makes a perfect memo board. The process isn’t difficult – just a little messy. Contact cement is the adhesive of choice and it’s a bit like rubber cement – apply it to both surfaces, wait for it to get tacky, then fuse the surfaces together. As with last week’s project, this is essentially a tile job, so plan out your tiles so the seams are centered on the wall for a professional look.
Hello people! Brini here again with some more ideas for your home. This week it’s all about decoupage! Yes, it’s not just for Victoriana anymore – decoupage is a technique that can be adapted to all sorts of fascinating projects.
Now I used it as a furniture finish for the surface of my desk and it’s proved to be both durable and decorative for 7 years now. It’s an easy solution for unfinished furniture and can become the focal point of a room.
What makes decoupage interesting is what you choose to apply to your surface. Now we used computer printouts of a wall paper pattern that mimicked tile. We just scanned the paper into the computer, broke out an individual tile from the pattern using a photo editing program and then printed it out 60 times. We laid the job out like a traditional tile job, working out from the center of the surface. We also planned out the job first, so we could just lay the pre-cut, pre-fitted tiles out without cutting as we went.
Now you don’t have to use tiles or even computer printouts. There are so many options for decoupage out there – magazines, newspapers, playbills, virtually any paper product can be decoupaged to a surface. Some things to remember are that edges can catch and peel, so thin paper is best, if you plan to decoupage a table or desk top it’s a good idea to cover the art with glass and plan the project out before you glue it down – the medium is notoriously unforgiving.
Hi people, Brini here with another episode for your enjoyment. This week we’re touring the renovated apartment. Don’t miss it! 
Hello people, this week on the show it’s all about cork. Part of our renovation found us lining the walls of the office and eventually the ceiling in the kitchen with cork. It a wonderful retro 60’s/70’s treatment and it’s practical to boot! It makes a perfect memo board. The process isn’t difficult – just a little messy. Contact cement is the adhesive of choice and it’s a bit like rubber cement – apply it to both surfaces, wait for it to get tacky, then fuse the surfaces together. As with last week’s project, this is essentially a tile job, so plan out your tiles so the seams are centered on the wall for a professional look.
