Adding Pizzazz to Book Shelves

Remember the TV cabinet we made from kitchen cabinets? I wanted to put something inside on the back to kind of finish them off. They were fine as they were but I thought they could use a bit of sophistication. I have seen several different ways to do this as well as different materials used and techniques to accomplish it. It was easy, so easy I can't believe I didn't do it sooner!

First, let me say I am sorry that I don't have a better tutorial for you here. I only had minutes to do this project and I didn't take time to get the best pictures. But here goes! I bought fabric I fell in love with thinking it was the perfect thing, um not so much. It over powered the decor items and was the first thing your eyes went to. Not what I wanted.

What I learned from that mistake is that you need to think about what you want to accomplish with your 'background' (back of the shelving area) rather than just using something because you like it. Do you want something soft to blend in or contrasting to stand out? Add a pop of color or be a soft neutral? Perhaps audition sample colors from something you already have for color or pattern; a sheet of scrapbook paper of fabric. 

In my TV cabinet I wanted something soft that would not over power the glass items I placed on the shelves. Also the smokey tint on the glass doors would mask or change any colors so I decided on something neutral. 

I found wrapping paper on sale that is a soft silver and white. I removed the shelves, measured the back and added an inch or so to the width. See the little round white circles the blue arrows are pointing to? I don't have them evenly spaced!

 I planned to use double sided tape to attach the paper but found it would not stick to the painted cabinet back. So I got out these velcro tabs I have had forever - super sticky - and they worked perfectly. You can't really see in the pic but I put the 2 pieces of velcro together and placed it on the cabinet back where I wanted it. Then I cut the paper a little larger than the size of the cabinet back and carefully lined it up then pressed it onto the velcro tabs. I only used them at the top.

I pushed a crease into the paper in the corners using my fingers then using the tip of a pair of scissors I cut off the excess. And that's it, that's how easy and fast it was! I replaced the adjustable shelves and put my decor items back and admired how much better my TV cabinet looked! 

Here's before and afters. The pics I took with cabinet doors closed didn't turn out well enough to see what it really looks like. Its hard to photo smokey glass in low light. 

And the third space on the right of the cabinet that I didn't take a before of.....

Now my total cost for my TV Cabinet is about $15 for the paint and $2.99 for the wrapping paper. I'm loving it!

Here's a few links for other ideas; a link using fabric in the back of shelves, fabric attached with starch link, and using rustic wood link.

Here's some wrapping paper I bought for another project for another day. See how it looks against the wood color? I think it will be great!

I link at these parties. 


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