It’s Spring at the Stenner Farm. I planned on organizing the kitchen pantry in January, but I put it off. It’s finally time to do this thing! Do you love the look of wallpaper, but have commitment issues, like I do? Here is a fun and cheap wallpapering project you can complete in 2 hours with wrapping paper! The entire wall project cost under $10 dollars. I tried it, and I love it. It’s on the back wall of our pantry. Disclaimer.. I would not use this material in a high traffic area. The wrapping paper project would be great for smaller spaces that don’t get a lot of traffic, such as behind the laundry machines, back of a closet or first apartment dining room, before you have sweet and sticky children. I would not use this method in a toddler’s play room.
We purchased the century old farmhouse on 4 acres 17 years ago. We loved getting out of the neighborhood and giving our 4 young kiddos more room to play. The old farm house was on the small side for a family of 6, and it was an extreme fixerupper. The smallest room was the kitchen, and yes it was smaller than our first apartment kitchen. We made it work with the tiny little cabinet for a pantry. Storage was limited, but we were planning a kitchen addition that would connect our detached garage. It took us 15 years of planning, saving and watching DIY videos. My husband finally pulled it off and did most of the kitchen addition work himself. He built my dream pantry from scratch, with lots of help from Home Depot. We just enjoyed our 2nd holiday season in our new kitchen, and this pantry has been a storage dream. I decided that I wanted to organize it a bit better with containers and also add a wallpaper accent on the back wall. I have wasted years of my life removing old and outdated wallpaper. I wanted a pattern, but nothing permanent. I’m on a budget and have trust issues with traditional wallpaper, so I decided to try something new. Wrapping Paper!!!
First up, I found this fabulous roll of wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby for $4.99. Hobby Lobby Wrapping Paper I also purchased 2 packs of poster hanging Command Strips from Home Depot for $1.98 Command Strips at Home Depot We pulled out our measuring stick and craft knife. That is it for supplies! Unbelievably cheap and easy. Step one is to measure your strip of wrapping paper. Make sure you are cutting your lines straight and have a piece of cardboard or spare wood under your paper, so the knife doesn’t damage your floor or cutting surface. I decided that I was not going to remove the shelves and just paper around them. This actually made the job much easier to measure the smaller strips.
Then, place a poster hanging Command Strip in each corner. Yes, for each long strip of wrapping paper, I only used four Command Strips, one in each corner. Remember this is not a high traffic area, and it will not be glued flat against the wall. Start in the top right to secure the corner, then move to the bottom right. These Command Strips are forgiving so you can readjust them. Thank Goodness!!
Once you have the right side secured, use your hands to unroll and flatten the paper to the top left corner. Once that is complete, you can secure the bottom left corner. Surprisingly, it lays flat with no bubbles, creases or folds. What?!? How amazing is that? Again, Disclaimer… I would not use this method in your toddler’s playroom, because they will rip it down. This is for low traffic or hard to reach areas.
Once your paper is rolled out and secure, use the craft knife to trim the corners and edges. These knifes are sharp, so be careful. I love that it leaves a clean edge. The first strip of paper is complete, so you can measure and line up the pattern for your next piece.
Who doesn’t need a cute little goat for a wallpaper assistant? He was trying to eat the paper, so he got fired. Oh Kid Rock, it’s time for you to go outside with your siblings. The vet says we can stop bottle feeding him and transition to the outdoors soon. It’s been fun, but way too much work to have a new born in the house again.
If you are short like me, you may need a ladder to get the job done. Throughout this project I had my fireman husband’s voice in my head, “measure twice and cut once”. He is usually right, but we won’t let him know that. Side note: I really appreciate how he built these shelves. He secured the corners without having a strip of wood down the middle. Hooray for easy access corners that will hold a lazy susan!
The wrapping paper project was complete in under 2 hours. Easy Breezy. I would recommend Hobby Lobby’s paper or something a bit thicker than normal. The high quality paper may have helped with the smooth roll out of the paper covering. Now it’s time to organize and decorate.
I purchased this wooden Pantry sign on ETSY and decided that I wanted to spray paint it black. I already had the spray paint, and this took only a few minutes to paint and dry. I added 2 of my poster hanging Command Strips to the back of this sign and hung it on the wrapping paper. My sign is very light weight, so it worked. You may need a different hanging method for a heavier sign.
This is our pass through grocery door. The back of our car lines up perfectly with this door, when it’s pulled into the garage. The key to this being successful is having your garage cleared enough to pull the car in. Some days it is, and other days it is not. My husband built this door with left over trim and wood pieces from the addition build. The door hardware kit came from Home Depot.
It’s nice to be able to slide the groceries in on the floor from the garage. I saw a pass through pantry door on Pinterest years ago and knew we had to add it someday.
When organizing the pantry I kept similar items together. Hello Caffeine. It was the most important tool in this project. We go through two pots of coffee each morning on the Stenner Farm.
I did splurge on the spice containers. Although not necessary, it did feel good to have consistent spice jars. I bought them on amazon and the link is here: Spice Jar Set of 24. I completed the spice jar project before the wallpaper. That is why I searched for a cheap method of papering. Nobody wants to spend a ton of money in their pantry. The spice shelf was a vintage piece we had, and I painted it white with left over trim paint. This is the first time I have ever had my spices in alphabetical order. Hooray!
I’m attempting to use glass more than plastic, and I love the Walmart sealed jars for the dry goods. I did use one plastic bin to hold the oils and all others were the patterned fabric bins I found at Dollar General. This was a fun, quick and cheap pantry refresh. I was planning on tackling this project in January, but it ended up being added to the Spring cleaning list. Better late than never. Glad to have it done before we head outside to the Spring gardens. I hope you have enjoyed this post. I’m honored that you have come here today to check it out.
Blessings to you and your family!
Lana
XO
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