Customize Your Shelving With Contact Paper

Back around Easter time I decided to upgrade my dining room shelves using adhesive backed paper.  Not knowing how it would work out (or if I would even like the look) I decided to use shelf paper from Dollar Tree that I could get for only $1 a roll.  That way if the project was a total failure, I could rest knowing that I hadn't wasted a lot of money.  Luckily, the experiment was a success!  Check it out:

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Shelves Before

Here are my dining room shelves before the project.  They weren't too bad, but if you look closely you can see.....

.....cracks and scratches.  I also didn't like the way that some of the shelf backing looked as if there were gaps.  So contact paper to the rescue!

Dollar Tree Adhesive Paper

Here are a couple of my Dollar Tree rolls of shelf paper.  Not knowing how well the cut sections of paper would blend together, I originally purchased 16 rolls.  

You can click this Dollar Tree (affiliate) link to browse their selection of shelf liners and other household items.

Grid on Back

One of the things I really liked about this Dollar Tree shelf paper is that it has a grid on the back.  This makes cutting straight lines so much easier!

Note:  Can you see the ruffled edge next to the scissors?  Each brand new roll has this starteer edge which I trimmed off to create a clean line.

Step 1

Using small strips, I 'cut in' around the edges of the shelves.  It is much easier to position a large piece of adhesive paper if you don't have to but right up against any edges...trust me 😉  

At first I was trying to get right to the edge and it was a nightmare so I experimented with the smaller strips.  Not only did it make positioning the larger sheets easier, but that's how I discovered that the pattern of this paper blends super easily no matter how you cut it.  That meant that I only ended up using 5 of the rolls.  The other unopened rolls I was able to return (with receipt) to Dollar Tree in exchange for other product.

Step 2

After prepping your edges, start filling in the larger areas.

Step 3

Keep going until complete!

Here are the shelve once I finished with the paper and got everything back in place.  I was so pleased with how the project turned out that I ended up using some more of the paper on my outdoor bakers rack as well - more on that coming soon!

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I hope you enjoyed this how-to post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2019

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