Fall Kitchen Shelf Styling Using Wallpaper
How to use leftover wallpaper to create decorative backdrops in open kitchen shelves or in bookshelves in any room that will coordinate with your room’s decor or color scheme. If you don’t have open shelves in your kitchen and would like them, you will also learn how you can add them to your kitchen in minutes.
As someone who loves to decorate their home I have found over the past few years that one thing I truly enjoy decorating is finding new ways to restyle the open shelves in my small kitchen for each season of the year.
There are not many surfaces – horizontal or vertical to decorate in my kitchen without causing the room to look like a cluttered mess.
So I keep the counters as clutter-free as possible for the kitchen to function for our needs. For decor I focus on styling the open shelves in a different way each season and from year to year so they never look quite the same.
No Open Shelves? How to Create Open Shelves in a Kitchen
My kitchen didn’t come with open shelves, I created them by simply removing 2 cabinet doors that were awkward to open because a counter peninsula got in the way.
Above is the before photo of my kitchen before I did a top to bottom kitchen makeover of the room. See the cabinets above the white microwave on the counter? These are the doors I removed to create my open cabinets.
You can read all about how to easily remove cabinet doors yourself on a temporary or permanent basis.
How I Styled My Open Kitchen Shelves for Fall
I have found styling the shelves with items I own is all the “seasonal” accents I need for my kitchen. What I crave is color and a cozy feel. I no longer need to buy seasonal fall decor to decorate every surface to be happy.
This year when styling the open kitchen shelves, I went dark and more moody than I have in the past to cozy up the white shelves. I couldn’t be more happy with how the fall styled shelves came out.
Previously when decorating open shelves in my home to add more interest to them I have used cardboard covered with fabric to fit into the backs of bookshelves.
I have also used foam boards and gift wrap to add more drama to open kitchen shelves in my previous home, but I have never used classic wallpaper to cover up the back of open shelves until now.
When searching in my decor stash for items to style the shelves in the blue, orange and yellow fall color scheme I am using this year, I found a few large remnant pieces of grasscloth wallpaper in a dark tan color that I bought at a rummage sale for $6 a few years ago. It was a great find.
I knew right away that it would look great lining the back of the open shelves. I kept my fingers crossed that there would be enough left and there was.
You may remember when I used this wallpaper to make picture frame mats for the photo gallery wall in my living room as well as make a DIY foldable decorative screen to hide the fireplace in summer a few years ago.
Now when getting a long view of the kitchen from the living room where the gallery wall hangs, the two rooms have a coordinating color accent that I like seeing.
Do Blue and Brown Go Together?
If you are familiar with how a color wheel works when deciding on what colors to use together to decorate your home, you will see that blue and brown are opposite on the color wheel. This makes them what is called “complementary colors” that naturally work well together.
When pairing dark blue and rich brown in decor creates a vivid contrast that looks especially nice when used as a cozy fall color scheme for any room.
How to Add Wallpaper to the Backs of Open Shelves or Bookcases
Adding wallpaper to the backs of shelving can be done in an hour or two depending on how many shelf backs you want to cover. Having a sharp pair of scissors or a kraft knife will ensure your cuts are smooth and not ragged.
supplies needed:
- On a piece of paper, draw a rough sketch showing how many shelves there are and number each shelf.
Measure the back of each shelf. Note: When looking at the shelves they may appear the same height, but the size may vary a tiny bit so you need to measure the width and height of each to make sure the wallpaper you cut covers the entire back on each shelf.
Write down the measurements on your sketch in the shelf order from top to bottom.
2. Cut wallpaper to size for each shelf. Make sure to mark the number of the shelf on the back of each piece so you place it in the right shelf.
3. Once paper is cut, add a strip of removable double-stick tape to the back so the paper adheres well to the back of each shelf. I used double-sided RedLine tape that I had on hand, but you could make tape rolls from any tape you have to attach the wallpaper to the back of each shelf.
You can even use sticky Glue Dots sold at craft stores to attach the wallpaper to the back of each shelf. Just make sure they are the removable kind if the paper is only going to be up on a temporary basis.
4. Use your hands to smooth the paper making sure it is adhered well.
5. Now it time for the fun. Style the shelves to create a new look with your favorite items.
Open Kitchen Shelf Styling Tips
When figuring out what to use to style the shelves, I shop my house for items with seasonal colors and textures.
- I start arranging the items by leaning plates along the back of each shelf.
Handy Tip:
To keep plates from sliding down after leaning them against the back of each shelf, attach a Glue Dot, a small glob of hot glue or a small foam sticky tab in front of the plate to keep it from sliding.
- I like to add a mix of plates, dinnerware and decorative items to keep the shelves from looking too utilitarian.
Shelf Styling Tips
- Start with a blank slate. Set everything aside and clean the shelves.
- Leave space between items so the shelves don’t look cluttered.
- Instead of lining up all of your objects in a row, try creating depth. You can do this by placing some items deeper into the shelves and other closer to the front.
- Small bowls can act a vase to hold a decorative sphere or ball.
- I use stacks of plates as lifts to hold a decorative item to vary the height of the items along each shelf.
- If using cookbooks, stack them horizontally and vertically. Place items on the stacked books for added interest.
- After you have the items on the shelves, take a step back to make sure if you have distributed color throughout the shelves. For instance, make sure if you have a blue item on the upper right side top shelf, that there is another item on a lower shelf that is blue and on the left side. Doing this helps everything look cohesive.
- Stand back and edit and move as well as remove items as needed until you like what you see.
- Know that you can rearrange the items on the shelves at any time, styling open kitchen shelves is not once and done decor. It can be changed on a whim, for the addition of something new or a need.
Remember styling is personal, so do your own thing to create a mix on your open shelves in kitchens or bookshelves in another room that will make you smile every time you pass by it.
Decorating Resources
- Grasscloth Wallpaper – similar
- Blue/White Dot Plates – local furniture store, could not find a link
- Brown Spongeware Plates
- Pumpkin Ramekins and Dishtowels – HomeGoods
- Stone Plates and Dinnerware
- All other items on shelves are from thrift stores
- Double-Stick Tape
