In my plan for our entryway refresh, I mentioned that I would have a fun DIY project to share with you and I'm happy to report that, today, I am delivering on that promise (my record is awesome, #votemolly2020).
Let's set the scene. I had fallen in love with this Serena & Lily console table, the Blake Raffia Console, but not with its $1,198 price tag. The table has great lines, plus warmth and texture that's often missing from more modern pieces.
The concept of this project is, admittedly, a little bonkers. In short, I wallpapered a table. You'll like this #ikeahack if you enjoy:
wrapping gifts,
the smell of glue and
randomly starting projects at 8:30 pm following PTA meetings.
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The good news is that, while messy, this project is not insanely time consuming -- I completed this over two evenings -- and it's relatively inexpensive for the result. I came in well under $200, because I had so many of the supplies already.
Why it Worked
I think my effort was a success for a few reasons (not to mention luck and Venus is in retrograde).
First, while you could wallpaper an existing piece of furniture you already have, being able to paper each component of the table and then assemble it made for easier execution, and once completed, cleaner lines.
Second, I think I picked the right piece of furniture. What drew me to Ikea's Malm White Dressing Table was that it had no tricky curves and came with a glass top. My primary hesitation with wallpapering furniture was the durability of the finish. Knowing there would be a glass top to protect the paper was a huge plus.
Third, I went with a slightly more durable wallpaper. The paper I used is actually vinyl, not paper, and I suspect it was a bit more forgiving to work with than other options. While I used wallpaper that only needs water to activate the adhesive, this excellent blog post from Design Sponge recommended using Mod Podge anyway for a stronger bond.
With that being said, let's get down to the nitty gritty!
What You'll Need
Malm White Dressing Table - deconstructed and fresh out da box (Ikea) - $169
Brewster Faux Grasscloth Vinyl Wallpaper one roll (Amazon) - $48 I was able to forego this expense because I had this paper leftover from our built-ins
32 oz. Mod Podge gloss or flat (Amazon) - $12
Foam paint brush (Amazon) - $5
Wallpaper smoother, plastic drywall tool or even a credit card
Trash bags
Paper plate
Sharp scissors or X-Acto knife
Hot glue gun
Directions
1. Start with an open and clear space, because you'll need a little room to work comfortably while unrolling/cutting wallpaper and leaning pieces of the table up to dry. I set up shop in my kitchen and covered the table with plastic trash bags. Good ventilation is also a bonus, because Mod Podge has stronger fumes than I had anticipated.
2. Identify the pieces of the table you'll be wrapping with wallpaper: table top, drawer front, sides/legs. Everything else can be set aside because you won't be putting it together until the next day when everything dries.
3. If you're using a paper like my faux grasscloth, do some planning around the direction you want the lines, or "fibers", going in. For example, while it would have been easier, created fewer seams and used less paper to run the pattern of grasscloth lines perpendicular to the drawer face, I wanted them parallel with the long side of the drawer. Once constructed, all lines on the piece are parallel with the floor. (This point may or may not matter to you and I'm sounding increasingly OCD as you read on.)
4. Select your first piece -- I started with the drawer front -- and cut your wallpaper pieces to size. You'll want to give yourself ample buffer to line up the pattern somewhat. So, cut more paper than you need so you can inch the pattern up or down to align with the piece adjacent to it. I did not have the patience to line things up perfectly (see below) but it is possible if you put some time into it.
5. Pour your Mod Podge on to a paper plate, get your foam brush ready and start applying a generous helping of the adhesive to the paper (not to the furniture). Once it is completely coated, place your paper on the furniture front and wrap it along the back. Don't worry about covering screw holes or channels for now (see below).
6. Use your wallpaper smoother or credit card to smooth out the paper, pressing out any air bubbles and some of the Mod Podge in the process, to get a firm seal against the furniture and clean edges.
7. For corners, you can either treat it like you're wrapping a present, or more expert decopage folks can cut the paper where the corners meet and just smooth it over with the Mod Podge. That is technically the "right" way to do it but I didn't have much confidence in my decopage skills and opted for the gift wrapping approach instead.
8. Once you have an entire piece covered in paper, coat on a single layer of Mod Podge.
9. Gently lean the piece you just wrapped up against a wall. Be sure to protect the wall and floor with plastic so it doesn't adhere to your wall while drying.
10. Repeat for all remaining pieces that need to be covered.
11. Wait 24 hours to dry for all pieces to dry.
12. Review all of your pieces for problem areas. Any seams that are popping up (see below) or corners that need to be pulled a bit tighter (most of this will be on the back, underside or less visible parts of the pieces) can be secured with a hot glue gun.
13. Pay special attention to areas where the pieces will meet to make sure there is no unnecessary bulk or folded paper that would prevent the pieces from snugly joining together. Trim as needed.
14. Take out your Malm Dressing Table instructions and all the pieces and tools you had waiting in the wings. Review each piece you covered to see if you covered any holes or channels while wallpapering. Hunt for those holes based on the images in the instructions and by poking around for soft spots. Try to think of it as a game, otherwise you'll just be a little annoyed with this step.
15. Use scissors or an X-Acto knife and a small screw driver to poke and cut those little holes back into existence. Clear access to these holes is necessary to build your piece.
16. Put your piece together as directed in the instruction manual.
17. Once it's constructed, apply one more, thin layer of Mod Podge and wait 24 hours.
18. Finish with a coat of poly if you want added durability.
19. Sit back and admire your work. If you're feeling romantic, you can even have a little photoshoot like I did.
I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did. The finished product looks even more polished than I had anticipated and it's going to look great in our updated entryway. Happy glue sniffing!
