How to {Cheaply} Personalize a Bookcase

We all have at least one, if not more of them in our house. The dreaded particle board bookcase. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to assemble, and readily available at all of the big box stores. But they are so boring looking. I have one in my house in my dining room (which is also the first thing you see when you walk in my apartment). Eventually, I plan to paint it the same color as my dining table (whenever that is) using the Zinsser primer so the paint sticks; but since I know that will be in a while, I have been itching make it look more "me." This weekend I think I got there!

I've thought about putting colored foam board (from a craft store) in the back of each shelf, but didn't like that the only colors I found were primary and kind of harsh. I pinned these ideas a while ago and, to be honest, forgot about them until someone repinned them this week and I got the reminder e-mail.


 

Then the light bulb went off when I found this wrapping paper at Target this weekend...

for only $1!

I knew that the lattice design was exactly what I had been looking for. And the natural backing was perfect because I knew it would look as though I stenciled it onto the back of the bookcase.

What you will need:

A Bookcase (if the shelves don't come out, you will need to cut the foam board into smaller pieces);

Wrapping paper with a design you like (I picked mine up from the dollar aisle at Target and suggest using either a solid color or a simple repeating pattern);

Foam board (either large enough to fit your bookcase or multiple pieces to cover the size you will need);

Scissors;

Adhesive spray;

Packing tape; and

A pencil

I happened to have a huge piece of foam board (purchased at Goodwill) from a previous project I never mastered.

I laid it in front of the bookcase (after clearing out the books and decorations and pulling the mirrors off the foam board) and traced around the bookcase (taking into account the width of the edges). I then cut out the foam board with a pair of scissors, sawing along the pencil marks. Before beginning to cover it with the wrapping paper, I put the foam board inside of the bookcase to make sure it fit.

Testing the cutout foam to make sure
it fit before I covered it with the
wrapping paper.

I used adhesive spray to adhere to the wrapping paper to the foam board. I wanted the pattern to look vertical, so I ended up putting three "rows" or "strips" of the paper.

Two rows...

and three rows.

The great thing about the adhesive spray is that it is tacky but not immediately permanent, so I had a bit of time to re-position the paper so the pattern lined up perfectly. It is very important to make sure the seams align perfectly (after all, the pattern is the whole point!).

Very faint seam.

To adhere the edges of the paper to the back, I used the adhesive spray again, but also secured it with clear packing tape.

Securing the edges on the back.

Once everything was secure, I put the wrapping paper wrapped foam in the back and grinned from ear-to-ear... I love(d) it!

With the foam board fitted in the back.

With the shelves in the bookcase.

Overall, the cost was only $1 (as I had the other materials on hand) and took only about 40 minutes to create.

Just a note, that the shelves will hang out past the front of the bookcase because of the added width of the foam board. But(!) the good news is, that once the books and decorations are put on the shelves (adding weight) I was able to push the shelves back in and they stayed put!

I love, love, love this project!

What do you think? Did I pull off some of the Pinterest ideas? Hope you like this as much as I do!

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