The design wall has by far been the most valuable addition to my studio. I don't have a wall large enough to dedicate to permanently attached panels, so I wanted to make a sturdy, two-piece design wall that could be moved around the house as need be. It was important to me that the pieces stay straight and not be bendy or floppy. This tutorial is to make two panels; one I keep in front of my Ikea Expedit bookshelf, and the second panel can be pulled out when I need it. I call it 'semi-portable' because while they can be moved around indoors, they can't be folded up and used for travel.
A printable pdf of this tutorial is available on the Pellon Projects site here.
The second half lives here in this alcove. Most of it is still accessible, but it's tucked out of the way when I don't need to use both panels together.
Materials Needed:
-Legacy™ By Pellon® White Cotton Batting: 1 king size package (Optional: Substitute with 4 yards Legacy™ by Pellon® White Cotton Batting w/scrim)
-Cellofoam™ Poly Panel® EPS insulation 2 packages
-Insulfoam® R-Tech® insulation board Two 4’ x 8’ panels, either 1” or 1-½” thick
-PPG Liquid Nails®
-Duct tape
-Clear packing tape
Tools Needed:
Caulking gun
Sharp utility knife
Step 1. Place the insulation board on a large, clean, flat surface. With a sharp utility knife and a long straight edge, carefully trim off the top 12” of the insulation panel. Be careful not to damage any flooring with the knife. Wrap the raw edge with a strip of clear packing tape.
Step 2. Open one package of the Poly Panel. There are five pieces in the package. The Poly Panel will be trimmed to fit in Step 6.
Step 3. Put the Liquid Nails in the caulking gun. Starting at the bottom of the insulation board, apply the adhesive to roughly the same area that one Poly Panel will cover. Make sure to apply it near all the edges. Place the Poly Panel on the insulation board. There will be overlap.
Step 4. Repeat Step 3 with the reamining Poly Panel pieces until all five are covering the insulation board. There will be a few inches of overhang at the top.
Step 5. Use long 2 x 4s or books to weigh down the Poly Panel pieces on top of the insulation board, especially along the edges. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.
Step 6. After the 24 hour drying period, trim the overhanging Poly Panel pieces to match the height of the insulation board. Apply a long strip of clear packaging tape to seal the cut end and keep the rough edge of Styrofoam in place. The tape should cover the cut end of both the insulation board and Poly Panel.
Step 7. Cut the king size batting in half. Place one half of the batting on a large, clean, flat surface with the scrimmed side facing up. Smooth it out and then place the insulation board/Poly Panel with the Poly Panel side facing down on the batting. Trim the batting to approximately 6" around on all sides.
Step 8. Fold the long sides of the batting up onto the back of the insulation board. Lightly pull on the batting to ensure a snug fit. Add a small piece of duct tape on the center of each side as shown. Repeat for the center of the top and bottom.
Step 9. Fold each corner of the batting as shown and affix with a small piece of duct tape.
Step 10. Fold the sides up over the corner and affix with another piece of duct tape as shown.
Step 11. Use additional pieces of duct tape to gently hold the 'stretched' batting evenly.
Step 12. Using long strips of duct tape, cover all raw edges of the batting and secure it to the back of the design wall. Note: Additional pieces of duct tape are helpful to keep the corners from snagging when the wall is moved around.
Since I made them 7' tall instead of 8', I can easily get through them through doorways. Sometimes I put them together in front of a closet in the room across the hall from my studio. Combined size of the two panels is 7' tall by 8' wide. I don't know what I ever did without them. An unexpected benefit is that when they get filled up, I'm motivated to complete a project because I want my design wall back!
xo Karin
