You know those projects that you keep meaning to do, but they end up staying on the to-do list for a near eternity? This project was just that for me. It’s been on our list since the day we moved in, and I’m not sure what took us so long (oh yeah, maybe because we were busy doing other projects?) Anyway! It’s done now and I love (LOVE) it. It’s the perfect little pop of color and pattern for our corner built-ins that are located in the living room half of my bedroom (yeah, our bedroom is split into two rooms and one of them has couches… weird, I know).
So- I had planned to paint these built-ins a rich teal color (similar to our kitchen cabinets), but I thought a pattern could be even more fun. One day I was making a project with rubber cement, and I started wondering if it could be used on a wall to adhere fabric, since it’s so easy to remove. We tested it (see below), and I’m so happy that we tried this weirdo idea because it worked perfectly!
Supplies: Fabric scissors, X-Acto knife, rubber cement, and cotton fabric.
1. Cut your fabric to the approximate size need, leaving an inch on each side. Coat your surface and the back side of your fabric with the rubber cement and let it dry completely. Starting with the middle of the fabric, place it on the middle of the surface and smooth outwards with your hands (don’t worry if you put it in the wrong place, you can peel it off and place it again).
2. Once the fabric is smooth, use the X-Acto knife to trim the extra fabric off the sides.
3. Enjoy your new shelves!
We tested the idea last week. Honestly I had no idea if it would even work, but it did! After a few days we peeled off the sample fabric and it wiped clean like it was never there. The existing paint inside the built ins was high gloss- this is probably one of the reasons it was so easy to remove. I guess you can file this one under “renter friendly.” Yay for that! It’s also much quicker than painting and you get to fabric shop. (my favorite part!)
Here’s the finished project. I’m so happy with how clean and simple they look!
Done and done! I love how a little project like this can update a space and add personality. Sometimes it’s the little projects that make a room special. Hope you have a great weekend! Elsie
Credits // Author and Photography: Elsie Larson, Project Assistant: Laura Gummerman.
79 Comments
I love this! It’s so pretty.
-Anna
http://www.floralled.com
Gorgeous
Very pretty fabric, I´ll save this idea!
Wow- that look so very pretty!!!
We just moved and I am collecting ideas for what to do with my new room…
Feeling very inspired* Thanks
Have a winderful weekend:
http://lasagnolove.blogspot.de/2013/09/have-wonderful-weekend_27.html
Greetinds from Germany,
Bambi
I have a very similar hutch. I painted the inside of mine with chalkboard paint but I love the fabric idea too!
I LOVE this color & pattern. So perfect!
I adore this project, and you KNOW I love fabric shopping. I am about to move a bookshelf downstairs to our living room but it’s a tad shabby. This is going to be a perfect spruce! Thank you! The bookcase is Ikea, so you know that sucker was going to be tough to paint…thanks for the fabric inspiration!
Wow, that’s such a cool idea! Love it.
SO cute! What a great little pop of color! Definitely a good way to revamp your shelves! 🙂
http://sometimesgracefully.com
quick question!
you said to coat the surface and the back of the fabric with cement glue and then let air dry.
(this is where it gets dumb lol!) but, so after we cover them with cement glue with let them dry separately and then one the glue is dry THEN attach or cover both and attach?
i know you explain it sooo simply but im like huh?
sorry and thanks! (:
LOVE THIS!
-les
lovewhatyouread14.blogspot.com
What a grand idea, it would work with contact paper, or wrapping paper too!
Absolutely gorgeous! I gotta remember this for later.
Greetings, Elina
cupcake-kissesxo.blogspot.com
OOOH! Super neat!
xo,
rn
http://www.rachelnicoleblog.com
SO cute. I always see people painting the inside of the shelves, but never with fabric! Great idea.
neha
http://nehamade.blogspot.com/
What a great idea. Love this!
xx
youngmildandfree.com
So you actually let the rubber cement dry on the fabric and surface before you place it and smooth it out?
Fascinating. I would never think to use rubber cement. I wonder if it’ll stay up after a while, but I guess you could easily tack the edges down again. I really like your fabric choice.
Wow, that adds so much to the shelves! Great look!
I love this!! I’m at university and definitely looking at ‘renter friendly’ ways to personalise my little room, you’re creativity never ceases to amaze me x
http://www.uni-of-life.blogspot.com
These are lovely!
Love,
Stephanie May*
http://www.maydae.com
Wowwww this is beautiful!!!! I adore that white color along with the bright patterns. Very pretty indeed.
I like.. pretty pop of color!!
That is so pretty! I love that it’s renter friendly. I have a corner that could use some sprucing up.
I plan to buy some shelves this weekend, I will have to do this now!
xxx
http://www.bloglovin.com/kerryshabitat
So cool! What a great idea for renting and I’m filing it away…
EWM
Fantastic idea! I’ll have to remember this.
Nice content, enjoyed reading
Awesome idea, I had no idea that rubber cement could hold up fabric onto a wall! I rent, so I’m going to test a few walls in my apartment to see if rubber cement will peel off of it easily. Thanks for the tip!
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
Love this idea, might try this with my coffee table!
Very nice! I will try this — one day! Lol
Thank you so much!!
elsie
Hi Lisa- that sounds cute!!
xoxo- elsie
Hi Les!
The glue is so sticky, even after it is dry….. you can still stick fabric to it! 🙂 Hope that helps!
elsie
Jay!
Contact paper is already self-adhesive. It would work without the rubber cement.
I’m not sure if wrapping paper would work (because I haven’t tried) but I am assuming it would!
xoxo- elsie
This is awesome! It really brightens up the space.
Erin
Hey Jenna!
Yes! It stays very sticky and it’s easier to work with after it has dried! 😀
elsie
I’ve also heard of using liquid corn starch and fabric for a renter friendly solution! This one seems to have worked great though!
Leah Faye
a clover and a bee
You girls keep yourself so busy with so many other projects, it’s OK if they sometimes get delayed! At least the turn out is great. I thought this was wallpaper at first (before I read the title), but fabric is a much better idea because there are SO many fun, unique prints out there.
That is awesome!!! Great idea. It’s look so pretty and very cute, it sure does add a personal touch and it really adds some colour. Great job ladies, keep up the good work!! 🙂
In love with this idea!
http://poorjessieann6.wordpress.com
We have a living room half of our bedroom too!!
Wow, such a cute project! I see you also have Daisy by Marc Jacobs 😛
So pretty.. 🙂 its great coz you can personalise it to suit your room decoration and own taste 🙂 Great idea
This is awesome! I just did a similar project with a bookshelf that had a removable bakcpanel, so i just stapled the fabric around that. Then i took on the next shelf and realized the panel would no way come off…
THANK YOU! For showing your project! I can now take on my shelf with much more confidence that installing the fabric with adhesive is possible! Big thumbs up for you guys and greetings from Estonia!
Nice inspiration. Great day.
http://www.fashiondenis.com/
That’s beautiful! My sissy has two sets of built in shelves so I’m definitely mentioning this to her.
xo Lisa | Making Life’s Lemons
Looking cool! xx
http://www.kaisaphoto.com
This is cool! 😉
I do really love every tips from you! Keep rockin’!
lovely! 😉
I really like it, when fabric is integrated in a furniture like a shelf.
that’s awesome! how you guys can get the ideas like this? i love it! 🙂 http://lovesimplegreen.blogspot.com/
Love this look!
http://talisatalksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/moa-green-balm.html
Was one bottle of rubber cement enough for that whole area? I love this idea!
What a great project, fantastic idea!
http://www.beblacknblue.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.beblacknblue.blogspot.co.uk
This is such a cute diy love the vintage appeal
http://www.allinasoiree.com/
Very pretty! looks easy but I am sure would be hard to get as much precision but at least now I know that it is feasible. Great post guys!
http://ivysmaquillagecove.com/
gorgeous!
http://bobsyouruncle-x.blogspot.com
Awesome idea. 🙂
this is so gorgeous! i have similar white shelves in my apartment, and i think this would be a great addition! thanks for the inspiration, as usual <3
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blospot.com
That’s awesome! I’ve been meaning to do mine with paint, but I like this idea so much better since there’s so many cool patterns out there. Thanks ladies! 🙂
Love this idea there are so many boring units in my house that will be getting this treatment! xx Emmi
http://emmihearts.blogspot.co.uk/
Wow, it looks great!
oh fun, i really love the look of this! fab job!
xx
YES! This might be my favorite project ever!
This is really a great idea! I love that it doesn’t damage the wall.
Thanks!
-Karina
http://www.seeingbeautyblog.com
Had to do a double take when I saw this in my Feedly this morning! I have a near identical cabinet I painted white last year, in a near identical corner. I’ve been planning to do your family photo backdrop project on it!
Ah, it just looks incredible! SO easy to do, as well.
Rosie x | Every Word Handwritten
I’ve always wanted to try this! Excellent advice with the rubber cement.
So cute! I really love that pattern, too!
The Rambling Fangirl
This is such a sweet look that could be modified to any style! You should gather all your “renter friendly” ideas in one spot. Just an idea, cause all of your ideas are so great!
what a great idea!! It probably sounds overly ambitious, but I’m curious if I could do this to a whole wall for an accent wall..?
Oh my goodness, this is the best idea ever – so cute!
xoxo,
Laura
http://lauraisthriftingthroughlife.blogspot.com/
LOVE the teal and orange together 🙂 Can’t wait to try this on the open shelves in my kitchen, thanks for the great idea!
Dawn from I Think We Could Be Friends.com
Literally have been behind on projects and even reading blogs for ages, just moved into my new house and this is PERFECT for a cupboard I was thinking about throwing away. WOO!
Such a fun idea! I feel like your home is so fun, seems all regularish at first glance but with so many colourful fun touches, yey!
Great idea to jazz something up with some colour! Love it!
Lulu xx
http://www.luluslittlewonderland.blogspot.com
I will most defintely be making this idea sometime. Sometime when I finally get a real appartment and can actually start doing stuff like this and not just admire the hundreds of inspiration photos I’ve saved over the years 🙂 Thanks for sharing! 🙂
/Cindi
This works with liquid starch, too! For my sister’s room a few years ago we found a butterfly material and cut out the butterflies, dipped them in liquid starch and stuck them up to the wall. After it dries, it’s stiff. Then when you don’t want it on anymore, you just peel right off. Easy and cute!
I recently tried this out at home, and here’re a few things I learnt that hopefully might be useful to everyone else doing similar projects:
– Might not work on some surfaces. As mentioned in the post above, the existing surface was high-gloss paint – the proj worked for this surface, but might not for others. I lined fabric on wooden IKEA shelves.
Rubber cement on wooden surfaces is sticky and super easy to rub off. It didn’t peel off quite as easily when adhered to fabric that already had a layer of rubber cement on it, though the bond was quite strong. If I left the wood alone and tried to adhere just the rubber-cement treated fabric to the shelf, it didn’t stick as easily. In the end I put wet rubber cement on my fabric and adhered it to the shelf while it was still wet, and it stayed. Also another reminder to test out your fabric on the surface before you do anything!
– This project’s originally meant to be rental-friendly, but it can be done with the long-term in mind too! If you’re going for the latter, you might want to consider getting waterproof fabric, or waterproof yours, as well as get fabric that is of some thickness at least. Basically, you want something that will last – so fabric that you can keep clean, one that won’t trap dust, and one with less chance of fraying. My fabric’s thin, though, so unfortunately I overlooked that. But I’m going to try laying out contact paper on the shelf I already lined, and I’m going to waterproof another fabric with turpentine and soybean oil.
It might take a bit more time and effort, but weigh your situation (pros & cons) carefully, b/c it’s worth making something that lasts. Haha just a note from one novice to another 😉