Several years ago, I had grasscloth installed in my living room and adjacent dining room. As you can sort of see here, we have colonial-style trim on the bottom of the wall, going all the way around the open concept 45′ x 15′ space — yes, it’s big. We wanted to add a bit more mid mod vibe, but keep it subtle considering the broad expanse, so we landed on the grasscloth. Several years have passed… and this weekend, I was hanging some recently acquired art on this wall. The bullfighter painting needed to be raised up a few inches to accommodate the new arrangement and — peek a boo — your tan lines are showing!
I have the same fading issue with my area rugs on the wood floors in this space and even on the cork floors in the bedrooms. The space under the rugs, which have been in place for a decade, are lighter than the space around. Yes, they are *sort of* like tan lines — caused by the sun. I am thinking these are the famous UV, or ultraviolet, rays that are known to cause fading on upholstery and to sun-rot draperies.
I am not sure exactly how to solve the issue. My grasscloth was not especially expensive. I bought it from Seabrook. Because I have fading on floors (in the dark bedrooms, too), I’m gonna *suggest* that the quality of the grasscloth is not an issue. Do they put UV coatings on wallpaper and grasscloth?? I do not know.
Meanwhile, I could get some kind of clear liner for the glass on my windows, I guess? That sounds icky. Or, I could get solar shades that you can see out of but stop the rays? That sounds expensive — my windows are huge. I am not going to close the drapes — we really want the sunlight, badly enough to wreck the grasscloth, I think. Sheers? Would they block UV? Maybe the “soft filtered” light they provide would be acceptable.
Does anybody have experience and/or expert advice on this?
Be forewarned: Position your artwork carefully, you’re going to get tan lines!