Tag: shelves

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A $30 Instant Wallpaper Shelving Makeover

I went to Target today to grab a few groceries and like most people I know, I am nearly incapable of leaving without at least 1 additional item that I don’t actually need. Well today I came home with 2. I bought 2 of these temporary wallpaper stick-ons because we’re planning on working on house stuff this weekend and, why not?

I bought one roll of this faux subway tile wallpaper to try out in our kitchen backsplash. I’ll let you know how that one goes.


I also bought one of these fun speckled wallpaper prints to spice up the built in shelves in our dining room nook.


This nook is tucked into a corner that divides our playroom and dining room. This is what it looked like before.


I’m constantly changing these shelves around. Originally they held board games. Then they held seasonal decorations that weren’t being used and before I organized some of our China (pictured above), they were just cluttered with everything from crayons to light bulbs. So today I decided to switch things up again and find a spot for our China in one of our kitchen cabinets.


I started by clearing the shelves. Then I measured the back of the cabinets, unrolled the Dalmatian print wallpaper, flipped it to the back side and used a ruler, tape measure and a pen to mark the dimensions. Then I cut the first panel out and held it up to make sure it fit. Since 3 of the 4 shelves measure the same height, I used the first cut to trace 2 others which made the process even quicker and easier.


Then it was peel, stick and rub. They go on like big stickers and aside from carefully smoothing them to make sure you’re not stuck with creases, they are extremely easy to apply. The directions say to have a flat clean surface. I did wipe the shelves down with a damp rag, but the backs of the shelves are actually textured and the wallpaper still went on just fine. I think it also helped that I was sticking the wallpaper into a boxed in area.

Here’s a shot of the textured back and sides that I stuck the wallpaper to.


After I finished applying the wallpaper, I filled the shelves. I decided to go back with the fun books/board games look!


With our DIY Instant Photo display, shelving makeover, and that fun carved piece that I got in Puerto Rico, this little nook is so cheery now.

The wallpaper was $29.99 and I still have lots leftover. The project took me less than an hour from start to finish… and that’s with a 6-month-old strapped to my chest!

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Upcoming Mini-Project- a DIY Window Bench and Shiplap Built-ins

“DIY Window Bench and Shiplap Built-ins” – it’s a mouthful I know! You probably think I’m crazy for calling this a “mini-project” but it just pales in comparison to our backyard renovation project that we are contracting out ourselves. The multi-faceted home project that is our backyard renovation comes with lots of DIY demoing, pulling permits and coordinating architects, builders, aluminum specialists, concrete crafters, tree-trimmers, electricians, painters and more (details on all the big plans we’ve got for our 2-story backyard renovation later).

For now, I’m day dreaming about this much smaller DIY project that I have finally wrapped my head around. Ever since I saw this post from Chris Loves Julia detailing these gorgeous shiplap covered built-ins, I’ve been trying to figure out how I could fit something like this into our home.


The most obvious spot for this would naturally be this wall in our family room that our TV sits in front of (not mounted on).

Unfortunately that wall is not a candidate for built-ins or a mounted TV (not yet anyway). We call it our mystery wall because we can’t figure out what all is behind it. No amount of studfinders on this planet could help us identify the studs- or lack thereof. We discovered from looking up old photos in JP’s realtor MLS system that there was once a fireplace behind that wall and during a few failed attempts to mount our TV on it, we learned that there is also some combination of metal, concrete or brick and electric wiring that may or may not be active. And frankly, I’m just not ready to open up that can of worms (or that wall) just yet.

So with no other real “tv walls” in our home, I just set that little dream aside until I stumbled across this amazing window seat last night from House Updated and the wheels started turning.


The plan is to build something similar to the shiplap covered built-ins with the natural wood shelves from CLJ (Chris Loves Julia) combined with the gorgeous window seat and storage drawers by House Updated.

Can you see it? If not, stick around and I’ll share the final product with you soon!

The furniture that’s currently in our playroom is going to eventually be refinished and sealed so it can be repurposed for outdoor seating once our backyard renovation is complete. So we will be in need of some extra seating in our playroom once the couch and chairs move to the back (covered) deck and im thinking a window seat will be the perfect place to start.

I already found this dreamy daybed cushion from Urban Outfitters – Link here.


And the good news is the dimensions for this cushion make it nearly perfect to fit just under the window in our playroom.

So the wheels are turning and plans are already in the works to build our window seat/built-in shelves around this- hopefully it’s as comfy as it looks.

Now to decide if we should go with a black or grey cushion. Which do you like better? Comment below!


Here’s the window we’re talking about:

And also I need to pick out some baskets/bins to fit in the bottom shelf/cubbies on either side of the bench to house lots and lots of toys for the girls. Once I decide (and order those) I’ll be designing, drawing, making my shopping list, and working on framing things out over the next couple of weeks. (Yes, I said weeks. Let’s be real, that’s the quickest I can get this stuff done with a 2-year-old and a 3-month-old and a full-time dayjob)

I’ll keep you all posted on my progress!