Cabin[et] Fever!
August 8, 2008 by admin
CvilleStyle reader HeatherM wrote in to tell us about her most recent project. She transformed her kitchen cabinets from dull to delightful with some colorful paper and a little creativity. Here is her story with before and after shots of her now stylish shelves.
Cabin[et] Fever! by HeatherM
As I moved into my new apartment (note: new to me, not to be confused with new construction), I was excited to make it feel like home: hanging pictures on the wall, placing delicate soaps and color-coordinated hand towels in the guest bathroom, setting out family photos, etc. As I unpacked my dishes, determined to start off with an organization that would make Martha Stewart weep, I was slightly deflated to discover the dark, dingy, 80’s-looking wood on the inside of my cabinets. “No problem,” I thought. “I’ll just find some cool, patterned liner paper to spruce it up!”
But alas, my efforts were thwarted as my online search proved unfruitful. Serendipity led me to the cvillestyle.com website where I was inspired by Haidee’s post, “Paper the Powder Room.” The post talked about wallpaper vs. fabric, but it got me thinking spatially about the back of my kitchen cabinet, not just the shelf. And surely you see the back of the cabinet more than the shelf itself! This is brilliant, why didn’t I think of it before? Knowing there is a plethora of paper goods stores in town (Caspari, O’Suzannah, Rock Paper Scissors, Novel, etc.), I set out with renewed enthusiasm.
Ultimately, I decided upon a rich brown paper with turquoise branches, accented with gold birds (from O’Suzannah, 4 rolls @ $5 each) for the majority of the space. Then I mixed it up with a turquoise and white graphic paper from Caspari ($5 for 1 roll). I used a plain tan liner paper from Bed, Bath & Beyond for the actual shelf (2 rolls at $6 each). Using my handy exacto and a cutting mat along with some Artist’s Spray Mount ($18), the job was complete in no time!
Now every time I open up my kitchen cabinet, I smile, wondering what my next project will be!
BEFORE
AFTER
Way to go, HeatherM, on a project well done! Your shelves look awesome. I love that you used paper instead of paint. Saves time and lets you change it up whenever the mood strikes! Any other readers out there with a creative project to share? CvilleStyle wants to hear about it!
Heather - what a great idea! I love the colors too. are you in the business? someone should seriously consider reaching out to you to tap your creative talents. Hats off! -Elizabeth in Boston
Great post HeatherM!! I’m stoked for the ideas for my own cabin(et)s.
Heather - Your cabinets embody the true Martha spirit and yet demonstrate your innate sense of style, design flair, and creativity! I’m curious — did you use regular paper, wall paper, contact paper, etc? I found a few nice-looking patterns of contact paper (water resistant) in our local hardware store in the past (one is a faux old world Italian tile that I used to paper the bottom shelves) but nothing as beautiful as yours.
Thank you for sharing your illustrious ideas!!
Allison - Boulder, CO
Hi Allison, I used regular wrapping paper (not water resistant at all) — I figured it would be ok since the plates won’t actually be touching it. But wall paper and contact paper are good alternatives! Wish I could see a pic of the faux old world italian tile paper you are talking about — it sounds great!
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