Five Creative Ways to Use Wallpaper Around your Home

Wallpaper is a great way to bring a splash of colour and pattern into your home in small doses.  It can be used to link small items with a strong design and colour that you really love but don’t want it to overpower your scheme.  It’s also a great way to revamp tired pieces that need updating.   I always save wallpaper offcuts and even have a few bits from friends when I have particularly liked the design. So here’s my top five ways to use wallpaper around your home:

1.  Wallpaper a piece of furniture

This simple little cabinet stores my home paperwork.  I love the shape but I wanted a pop of colour in this dark area of the room so I painted it white, removed the knobs, cut the wallpaper to size, pasted it to the doors, trimmed to fit and put the knobs back.  An easy, simple way to give a dash of pattern and colour to a mid-century piece.

2.  Wallpaper the back of open shelving

Photograph: Rachel Whiting- Homes & Antiques Magazine. Styling: Audenza

When I spotted this wallpaper I knew it had to be mine – do you get this feeling when you see a perfect colour and pattern combination that just speaks to you?  Anyway, the back of the open shelving in my kitchen was crying out for some oomph so again it was a simple job to measure, paste and then trim the paper.  I also lined my large saucepan drawer with the paper which cheers me up when I open it to remove a saucepan – cooking being one of my pet hates.

1930’s china cabinets lend themselves well to being wallpapered.

3.  Wallpaper a glass table

This cute little glass topped table cost me £20 for a pair at a vintage fair, I couldn’t resist them – such a bargain and crying out for tlc.  They were a dingy yellowed white but otherwise in good condition.  I spray painted this one black and then laid the glass over the wallpaper and marked round the part of the design I wanted to show and cut it out.  As the glass is opaque I couldn’t put it underneath so I have used small pieces of folded over sellotape under the paper to hold it in place.  A quick coat of matt varnish would help to protect the surface.  The wallpaper is from a lovely company called Earth Inke.  I have recently papered my hall, stairs and landing in the gold version of the design called Teasel and it’s quite stunning.

4.  Cover a lampshade in wallpaper

Now this is one I haven’t tried but there is a blog called Home Life that gives detailed instructions on how to do it.  It’s quite a simple, if fiddly, process but a great way to give new life into a tired old lamp and to bring a bit of the scandi vibe into your décor.

5.  Cover a cork pin board in wallpaper

Cork pin boards are a great invention but goodness how bland!  We covered our office board in wrapping paper but it could just as easily be covered in wallpaper.  Again it was simple – measure, cut, paste and trim to fit.

The possibilities for wallpaper offcuts are endless from covering box files to decoupage on that boring kitchen chair.  I would love to hear about your wallpaper exploits so please let me know if you try one of these ideas or if you have other ingenious ideas for wallpaper.

Jacqui x

Five Creative Ways to Use Wallpaper Around your Home- By Jacqui Brooks

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