Add a little personal touch to your drawers with our Prepasted Removable Smooth wallpaper or Peel and Stick wallpaper. Protect the bottom of your drawers with this quick and easy home decor hack. Your cabinets already look fab from the outside, cut and apply some wallpaper for a little surprise upon opening them. Spoonflower’s Suz Pozzo walks us through this tutorial perfect for a weekend afternoon activity.
Suz: Some projects are born of inspiration; some are born of necessity. I encountered the latter when some cough syrup spilled in a bathroom drawer, and it was not about to scrub off of the cheap off-white liner. And then I realized that cheap off-white drawer liner is not really a vibe I want in my space—so why not turn lemons into lemonade?
Spoonflower’s Prepasted Removable Smooth wallpaper in this elegant Paeonia in Coral and Mint on Navy design by willowlanetextiles saved the day. You could easily use Peel and Stick wallpaper and activate the wallpaper by just removing the paper backing. Wallpapering drawers is the perfect Saturday afternoon project: I was done with the whole thing in under an hour and thrilled with the results!
What You’ll Need To Line A Drawer With Wallpaper
- A roll of Prepasted Removable Smooth wallpaper or Peel and Stick wallpaper in your favorite Spoonflower design—I’m using Paeonia in Coral and Mint on Navy by willowlanetextiles
- Measuring tape
- Pencil or marking utensil
- Scissors
- A clean kitchen sponge
- Water
- Squeegee (optional)—Included in your Peel and Stick wallpaper order if you’re using that wallpaper for this tutorial.
How to Wallpaper A Drawer
Step 1. Measure your drawers
Measure the inside of the drawers and then add the lengths together to get the minimum custom roll size that you need to order. For my three bathroom drawers that were 17″ (43.2 cm) length by 12.5″ (31.8 cm) width each, I needed a total of 51″ (129.5 cm) length. A roll of 6′ (182.9 cm) long x 2′ (61 cm) wide gives me more than enough Smooth wallpaper.
Once you’ve received your wallpaper, turn it to the reverse side and mark the individual drawer measurements using a pencil or light marking device of your choice. I’m using a chalk marker since the background was dark enough it wouldn’t show through.
Use the right marking utensil
Step 2. Clean and Remove Former Liner
Now’s a good time to clean out your drawers and remove any former drawer liners.
Make sure to completely wipe off any water especially if you have particleboard, as it will tend to swell up if it sits in water for some time (i.e., don’t just rinse and turn over in a bathtub to dry. I learned this the hard way.)
Step 3: Cut and Adjust the Wallpaper to the Drawer
Cut out the paper, then try fitting it in the drawer to see if you need to adjust. Mine is slightly over-wide by a tenth of an inch, but you can always trim it using a sharp utility knife later.
Step 4. Activate the Wallpaper
Once you have your pieces ready, go ahead and activate them using a paintbrush roller and bucket of water (official way) or a quick dip in the bathtub (unofficial way.)
Then “book” them together and wait 3-5 minutes as per the instructions.
Next, unfold half of the wallpaper and match it up to the top corner, then continue to unfold and adjust the rest of it. Our Prepasted Removable wallpaper is very forgiving, you can easily peel it up and re-adjust it while it’s still wet.
Use a clean damp sponge to remove bubbles and wrinkles.
Using Peel and Stick?
Step 5. Let It Dry
Let the wallpaper dry completely for a few hours before putting things back in the drawers.
I planned to tidy up overly-wide edges with a sharp utility knife, but it actually wasn’t very noticeable so I skipped that step.
Your drawers are now done and look fabulous. Consider adding clear organizers to keep your space tidy, while still having your wallpaper seen.
Hi there, yes it’s a lovely idea and an ld- fashioned one – been around a long time but nice to see it freshening our homes.
I’m curious though – does anyone know of a sealant for non-waterproof wallpaper to use on a bathroom wall?
Thanks
J
Hi Jacqueline,
We’ve used decoupage on our wallpaper and it’s worked great for very small splashes. You might want to look into acrylic wallpaper sealer although please note, we have not tested this on our wallpaper. We suggest starting with a sample swatch before sealing all of the paper!
-Meredith from Spoonflower
I read, “where can I find wallpaper nowdays?” and not to cut into someone’s dime, I have NO choice but to be the ultimate penny pincher. Salvation Army, Goodwill & St Vincent DePaul are good places to start. I just purchased a jumbo roll for $2 on a 1/2 price color day. We’re moving and i get the eebie jeebies about some stuff. I will be able to do all drawers & cabinet shelves in the kitchen, bathrooms & linen closet and probably the small pantry… for $2?!! If you have guests going through your house checking/noticing it’s all the same…hmmm…what’s that about? Puff up your chest, show/tell (certain) people what you did with $2!
I am renting my apt and would love to do this to my kitchen drawers. Is it easy to remove?
Hi Cristina,
For renters specifically, we recommend our woven wallpaper which is removable. It peels off like a sticker and is also repositionable, too!
I love this idea! Where can I find wallpaper nowadays?
We have quite a wide range of options at Spoonflower–check out our selection here!
How easy is this to wipe and keep clean? I’m thinking of doing this in the kitchen. Thx!!
Hi Nicole,
Great question! It’s actually quite easy. To wipe down your drawers, we recommend using a damp sponge. We do not recommend using a cleaning product with chemicals as this can lift the color off the paper. We’d love to see photos of your drawer liners once they’re complete!