Spring Cleaning: Master Closet Part III, A WE Cork Wall.

 

More spring cleaning in the master closet with part III and today I bring you a WE Cork wall.  And holy moly my goodness, oh my word, it is glorious.  Glorious.

Yes.  That's right.  A wall of WE Cork bark panels.  So yes, I took down all of the shelves because I am a loon but it was so worth it.  So.  Wow.

 

Yes, all this came down.

As I've mentioned before, I am a fan of cork.  A huge fan, in fact.  Ok, I'm big on materials in general but cork is stupendous, especially these cork bark panels, and I'll tell you why momentarily.

I must mention that my WE Cork wall is part of a Hometalk shoppable tutorial and while this post is sponsored and I did receive the panels as part of it, I would breathlessly cover the whole house in them.  Please note, these opinions are all my own.

To backtrack and catch up a second, here is spring cleaning master closet part I with the Photowall mural and part II with the Stikwood ceiling.

So cork, right?  It's truly an exceptional gift from nature.  And I love it.

Not only do I love the way cork looks, as a uh ahem, child of the 70's or ok let's go with lover of 70's design, cork wins every race.  

Don't get me wrong here though.  There is absolutely nothing dated about cork in the least.  It's unquestionably a modern material, ripe for a zillion modern applications, and as it's sustainable, it fits the times now more than ever.  

As such, I am here to sing its praises from the rooftops.

Go, check out WE Cork's website, you'll see how cork can be used from flooring to walls to even bags.  I want all of those bags.

Cork is, as I said, sustainable, but it's also renewable; it's environmentally responsible.  It provides excellent sound and acoustic benefits, it's soft, comfortable, hypoallergenic, anti-fungal, stable, moisture-resistant, resilient, lightweight, easy to work with, and a major plus for me in the case of our closet, it's insulating.

Every single box is checked in the positives column.

See, given this flipper was brutally neglectful in his insulating duties, this particular shelved wall exemplifies his neglect the most of any wall in our house.

It is downright freezing in the winter and in the summer, you can practically cook an egg on it.  Ok, the latter is a bit dramatic but you catch my drift.  As a perma-cold human, nothing like grabbing a shirt in winter, moving it to another room, and shaking the cold out of it for five minutes.

You can tell where I'm going now, right?  My goal with this wall, as part of the whole spring cleaning master closet, was to not only make it the best wall in the house but also to insulate without having to open up the wall in any way.

WE Cork's bark panels to the rescue.  Check and check.  And check for I looove it too.

Why order from WE Cork?  They are super nice people, oh my gosh.  WE Cork is a family-run business out east in New Hampshire and just the coolest folks.  I probably scared them with my uncontrollable cork enthusiasm but thankfully they trusted me despite my weirdness!

Ok!  First, measure measure measure measure.  I was looking at about sixty square feet for this wall.

The box of ten panels, about sixty three square feet, arrived on our porch along with a quart of WE Cork's recommended contact adhesive, 3M's Fastbond 30-NF* and I was out-of-my-skin excited.

Now, I've used many a contact adhesive in my time, but never the Fastbond so I will admit, I was anxious.  Kind of a bit extra more so having watched a demo of the product on YouTube, but, contact adhesive is contact adhesive.  Right?  This is just stickier.

Ok!  Let's install!  So easy!

WE Cork's cork bark panels are wonderfully large at two foot by three foot so they cover a lot of surface in one panel.  I started at the top left with a full panel.  

I outlined the panel on the wall with a pencil for contact adhesive spreading guidance, that's what the arrow is pointing at.

With a chip brush,* I cut in the Fastbond, leaving a bit at the top and side un-glued to make it easy for positioning.  That video did have me mildly paranoid about the stickiness level.  

Next, with a little sponge roller,* roll the contact adhesive on the wall then on the backside of the cork bark panel.  And now we wait.  The Fastbond is good to go at about thirty minutes and you have up to four hours of open time.

When it's ready to go, do a little positioning and then merely push the panel onto the wall.  That is it.  Could not be easier, I swear.  

Grab yourself a rubber roller, like the laminate roller type,* and firmly but not aggressively, no need for the latter, roll the panel to ensure a nice grip.  Voilá!

To cut a panel, which might seem scary but it's completely not, measure measure measure, then map it out on the backside.  Here's a hot tip that helped my temporary forgetfulness:  place a little piece of painters tape at the top of the panel.  This way you won't get mixed up about which end is up, which direction everything goes.

 

Grab a cork-backed straight edge* heh more cork and with a very sharp utility knife* (even the cheapy ones are fine) start slicing.  Go slow and do not go through in one pass.  Do multiple slices until it separates.  Too, make sure the cutoff end is on the outside in case the knife slips.

 

Test fit your cut piece, then apply the contact adhesive, and keep going!

Watching this come together, I was seriously weak in the knees bursting.

Isn't it outstanding?  I swear, it's the best wall in the house now.

Already I've noticed that our bedroom is quieter at night which is incredible.  I was expecting a quiet, peaceful closet despite our crappy windows but the whole room is now more peaceful.  I mean, jaw-heckin'-drop.

 

drool....

I can't say I am looking forward to winter in any way, shape, or form as a spring/summer lover, but I have to say, bring it and our no longer frozen attire.

Most of all, I am going to exist permanently in this little closet now.  The WE Cork bark panels are so luxurious, they're exquisite, stunning, just stunning.  The coup de gras of my closet design, absolutely.

Thank you, Chad, Tina, and WE Cork, thank you.  *curtsy.*

There are a few more projects left in here, notably the shelves as they get a makeover next so be sure to come back for that!  ETA:  Here are the shelves!

*The 3M Fastbond 30-NF contact adhesive, laminate roller, chip brushes, sponge rollers, cork-bakced straight edge, and utility knives are Amazon affiliate links.  Mwah, thanks!  Please see the "boring stuff" tab for more info.