Get A Designer Look: Decoupage Furniture With Wallpaper
My friend Wendy’s dining room table is not just for eating on, she and her sons also paint and craft on it. The table is well used and as a result full of scratches, marks and even a great big dirty iron burn. It was time to do a decoupage table top revamp.
Wendy wanted a bright and colourful look for the table with a mid-century modern vibe to fit in with the rest of her decor. The best way to achieve this was to decoupage the table top with some designer wallpaper.
Wallpapering a tabletop is a great alternative to paint. Lots of wallpapers come with a special wipe clean coating. There are loads of fantastic bright and colourful designs to choose from to give you a unique piece of furniture.
Also when you tire of the table top it is so easy to strip the wallpaper off and change the design.
We have used wallpaper to decoupage loads of things around the home even the kitchen bin and the kitchen splashback is wallpapered.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.
What you need to decoupage tabletop with wallpaper
- Wallpaper – You will not need more than a 1/4 of a roll of wallpaper. The wallpaper used for this table was Romo Makela Quince and oversized poppy design with a mid-century modern feel.
- Wallpaper paste and bowl for mixing paste.
- Wallpaper paste brush
- Wallpaper smoothing brush
- Rotary cutter and mat
- Metal meter ruler
- Wallpaper scissors
- Crystal Clear Indoor Varnish
How to decoupage table top with wallpaper
- The first thing to do is to make sure that the top of your table is clean, dry and dust free.
- Next is the most tricky part of wallpapering a table top, measuring the wallpaper. Unless you have a particularly skinny table, the table top will be more than one wallpaper roll width wide.
Our table top was in fact 2 wallpaper widths wide. However, because of the way the wallpaper was patterned we cut 3 widths of wallpaper. - Next, you will need to work out the 2 strips of wallpaper either side of the middle strip. However, you will need to make sure that the pattern of the wallpaper matches up with the center strip. These 2 strips will be thinner in width but you still want them to be wide enough that they overlap the table edge slightly.
- When you are happy with the 3 strips of wallpaper you have for the tabletop. Make up the wallpaper paste to the instructions on the packet. Then using a wallpaper brush paste the back of your wallpaper. Fold over and leave to oneside for a couple of minutes.
- In the mean time also paste the table top and leave for a couple of minutes.
- Next lay your middle strip of wallpaper on the top of the table and carefully move into position so it is in the centre. Using a smoothing brush smooth out the wallpaper and remove any air bubbles.
- Get your second strip of pasted wallpaper and lay it on the table next to middle piece carefully lining up the patterns. Trim off any excess width with wallpaper scissors and wrap the wallpaper round the side edge of the table. Again smooth out air bubbles with a wallpaper brush.
- Repeat with the final strip of wallpaper on the other side.
- Leave the wallpaper a few hours to dry. Then to provide extra protection to your table coat the decoupage table top with 2 coats of crystal clear varnish.
Center your wallpaper roll in the middle of the table top and measure the length. Using a rotary cutter and mat cut the wallpaper.
Wendy’s battered old table looks like new with its fresh decoupage table top. The wallpaper she chose really compliments her mid-century modern decorating style. It still amazes me what a difference a bit of wallpaper can make.
You should check out my other wallpaper tutrials:
Marimekko wallpapered stairs
How to make wallpaper lampshades to match your decor
DIY splashback with wallpaper
Nice idea!
Your friend really needs to lower her artwork though, it’s all hung way too high. Art should be hung at eye level, centre of the piece should be at 58″ high. Meanwhile, the light fixture should be hung 30-34 inches above the dining table. (And she shouldn’t loop the cord, looks too messy.)
Thank you, I will pass on your suggestions.
Lovely idea, especially as it’ll be relatively easy to get off in the future for a change of paper maybe. Can I ask if you sealed it as my table gets lots of use daily and things get spilt etc. I wouldn’t want cup circle stains on it etc.. Any ideas?
Thank you. Yes the table was sealed with a varnish, a couple of coats. That protects it from everyday ware and tear.
It’s cute but I would have added trim all the way around the edge of the table.
Thank you, and thanks for the suggestion.
Great idea! I have been looking for an easy way to cover kitchen table so I can finally get rid of the tablecloths! Not ready to buy a new table and don’t have space to tackle a messy refinishing job. How would you remove the wallpaper if you wanted to change pattern?
With a little coaxing, the wallpaper should peel off relatively easily when you want a change. My friend has a wallpapered table in the kitchen that she has for a few years now and it still looks great.
[…] from Pillar Box Blue generously made over her friend’s worn table in a single afternoon. Adding bright color and […]
[…] from Pillar Box Blue generously made over her friend’s worn table in a single afternoon. Adding bright color and […]
Such a creative makeover!! I love that bold pattern you picked 🙂 Thank you for joining us at Create and Celebrate!
Thank you so much!
Such a clever idea Claire! Love how it totally brightened up your table!
Thank you Sam!
What a cool idea. I’ve never thought to do that. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, it works really well.
What a great idea to repurpose an old table and make it look new again. It looks great. Shared on twitter & pinned! Congratulations on being featured on #WasteLessWednesday blog hop. Have a healthy, happy& blessed day!
Thank you so much, and thanks for all the shares.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us at the To Grandma’s house we go link party! You will be featured tomorrow morning on my site when the new party starts!
That’s awesome thank you!
What an amazing idea, Claire! The design is just beautiful and so very clever! Pinned & sharing. Thanks for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday!
Thank you, it is Avery simple way to transform a table.
This is fabulous, Claire! Thank you for sharing @Vintage Charm!
Thank you so much and thanks for hosting.
Now I feel so silly. I’ve been bunging a table cloth on our table for years as it’s in a much worse state than your friends table was. Now I know I could make it pretty with wall paper, sounds like a fabulous idea.
Thank you, Julie. It works really well.
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Thank you so much.
This is a nice project, I have just painted the chairs from the dining table, I might attempt to cover the table top with wallpaper. I used wallpaper to cover some plastic windows on our wardrobes and it looks rather nice. I love the pattern of your wallpaper!
Yes wallpaper is great for transforming furniture, I bet your wardrobe looks great.
Beautiful wallpaper choice, love the color and pattern it’s just perfect for MCM and a really great tutorial as well! Thanks for sharing your project at #FridaysFurnitureFix!
Thank you very much!
Wow! That’s really all I need to say, but I cannot believe how much of a difference this makes. It would have never crossed my mind to wallpaper a table, but it looks fantastic! The flowers really make the green chairs stand out. It almost makes me want to scour thrift stores and garage sales for tables I can do this to. I love it! Thanks for sharing at the #wastelesswensday blog hop!
Thank you, it certainly brightens the place up.
This is a great idea. It adds color to the space, revitalizes the table and it will be easy to keep clean. You can’t do better than that.
Thank you, yes it’s really easy to wipe clean.
I never would have thought of using wall paper to decoupage a table top, but it looks so good Claire. Love the idea of how easy it is to change the look if you get bored. It just makes it so much more fun
Thank you, Michelle. I love using wallpaper on lots of things not just walls.
LOVE everything about this refab! Thanks for such clear instructions. (visiting from #wastelesswednesday)
Thank you so much. I try to show how simple it really is.
What a fun idea! I love the idea of using wallpaper to re-purpose furniture. Pinned.
Thank you and thanks for the share.
That’s so pretty, what a great idea!
(ps. Hello, I’m visiting your blog from #wastelesswednesday 🙂
Thank you and thanks for visiting.
The table is so bright and cheerful, now! I think the new tabletop goes well with the artwork hanging in the room. It’s obviously a space occupied by creative people.
Thank you, it’s my friend Wendy’s table and yes she’s very creative.
Very cool, Claire! Total makeover of a plain table. Visiting from Grandma’s House party.
Thank you so much.
The tablescaper in me would love to do this on our dining room table. Better yet, I could just get another table and have at it. I hope to see this in our line up at Celebrate Your Story this week.
Thank you so much and I will be there.