How to makeover and style a cabinet (that can be changed easily)

I’ve had a lot of requests from friends and bloggers asking how to style certain singular pieces in their home. Whether it be a shelf, a console table, or a unique open armoire, I think this is such a great question – and a challenge for most of us. I’m guilty of styling something in my home and then months later I look at it and wonder that the heck I was thinking. And I usually wasn’t thinking and just trying to get it done and find a place for my things. I didn’t really take the time to look at how to make this piece really work well for the space in our home.

A perfect example of this is an armoire we have in our foyer. We’ve had this freestanding cabinet/armoire for several years and it’s been in a few different locations in our home. Now it lives in our foyer and I’ve always loved it. It’s pretty with iron scroll details and weathered wood but it always seems to be a little dark and just missing something. I’ve styled it several different ways with all kinds of fun stuff but it was still missing something. So I decided it needed a makeover. A thoughtful makeover. But since I change my mind – and my furniture arrangements – so often, I didn’t want to do anything too final or permanent.

So today, I’m sharing how to makeover and style a cabinet or armoire to be more meaningful and unique. And the bonus is that this can be a temporary solution. So if you change your mind, or the location of your piece, you can easily change the style. This project is a great solution for a variety of pieces including open kitchen cabinets, a bookshelf, a dining room hutch, or a freestanding armoire like ours.

Here are the materials you’ll need to makeover your special piece (without any permanant repercussions):

• Scrapbook paper – I used a different pattern of paper for each shelf. I made sure they were colorful and coordinated with the room. For my cabinet dimensions, I needed about 6 pieces per shelf. So a total of 18 sheets. Michael’s is a great place for scrapbook paper and they usually only cost about 50 cents per sheet.
• Scrap cardboard – I had a large box from a desk I had purchased so this worked perfectly. You can also pick up old boxes at most grocery, office or bulk supply stores. Or purchase foam core board at any art supply store.
• Super 77 Spray Adhesive
• Scotch Heavy Duty Mounting Tape
• An X-acto utility knife and ruler

First, you’ll need to measure the back of your closed shelves and cut your cardboard to fit. I cut my cardboard about 1/4″ smaller so it could fit in.

Next, cover one side of your cardboard with the scrapbook paper. Most of these papers have repeating patterns so try to line them up as close as possible. After you cut your paper to fit, use the Super 77 Adhesive to attach the paper. Follow these directions for your remaining shelf backs until all of them are covered.

Using the mounting tape, apply a few pieces to the back of your cardboard.

Attach each covered board to the back of your cabinet. The tape shouldn’t damage the cabinet.

I love how this piece already looks so much brighter and fun. And if I change my mind or move this to a different room, I can remove the cardboard backings and change up the colors.

Now style your shelves to match your new more colorful cabinet. Click here to see some of my shelf styling tips I shared on Kenarry: Ideas for the Home in February.

Here are a few quick styling tips:

– Size. Start by placing the larger objects first and add in the smaller pieces and pieces with varying heights.
– Color. Be sure that the color of your accessories are placed so that your eye moves around the shelves easily.
– Layer. When objects are layered or placed in front or on top of each other they create a sense of unity.
– Repetition. Use accessories that pick up similar shapes, colors, patterns and finishes. I used a metal ampersand to relate to the corresponding paper. I also repeated the sphere shape in the orb and covered ball on the small urn.

And a pom pom banner is always a good idea!

I love how this cabinet now has new life. The punch of color has really transformed it to be such an eye-catching piece in our foyer.

I hope you enjoyed this post and don’t be afraid to add some color and personality to your favorite piece. Take your time to make it your own but if you change your mind, that’s ok too – this is the perfect solution!