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 tabletop with some designer wallpaper.
Get A Designer Look: Decoupage Furniture With Wallpaper
Upcycling with wallpaper is a great alternative to painting a table top. 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 decoupage 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. Form wallpapered mirror frames, to the kitchen bin, a kitchen splashback even our stairs are wallpapered with a Marimekko design.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What you need to decoupage table top 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
1.. The first thing to do is to make sure that the top of your table is clean, dry, and dust-free.
2. The next part is the most tricky part of wallpapering a tabletop, measuring the wallpaper. Unless you have a particularly skinny table, the table top will be more than one wallpaper roll width wide.
The table was in fact 2 wallpaper widths wide. However, because of the way the wallpaper was patterned we cut 3 widths of wallpaper. To make sure you didn’t notice any difference in the way the pattern matched up.
What patterned wallpaper you use will affect how you cut the paper to fit the table. I find a smaller busier print is easier to pattern match.
Top tip: Center your wallpaper roll in the middle of the tabletop and measure the length. Using a rotary cutter and mat cut the wallpaper.
3. For the next step, you will need to work out the measurements of the 2 strips of wallpaper eaither side of the middle strip. Carefully make sure that the pattern of the wallpaper matches up with either side of the center strip.
These 2 strips would be as wide as the centre piece. Make sure that you allow for an overlap over the edge of the table. The wallpaper can be trimed at the end. It’s better to have too much wallpaper then not enough.
4. 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 one side for a couple of minutes.
5. In the meantime also paste the table and leave for a couple of minutes. This will provide an extra key for the wallpaper.
6. Next, lay the 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.
7. Then, take the second strip of pasted wallpaper and lay it on the table next to the middle piece carefully lining up the patterns. Trim off any excess width with wallpaper scissors and wrap the wallpaper around the side edge of the table.
Again smooth out air bubbles with a wallpaper brush.
8. Then, 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.
Top tip: Make sure that you use crystal clear varnish and not just clear varnish. As clear varnish can leave a yellow tinge. Infact I recommend testing the varnish on a scrap piece of wallpaper first to make sure it doesn’t yellow the wallpaper decoupage tabletop.
Wendy’s battered old table looks like new with its fresh decoupage tabletop. 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.
She has enough wallpaper left over to make a wallpaper lampshade to match.
Wallpaper is not the only material that can be used to upcycle tabletops. I created a piece of Marimekko wall art by decoupaging a table top with paper napkins. I also transformed a boring IKEA table into a map table with a gift wrap decoupage.
Maria V Oliver
Great project. Beautiful wallpaper. Where can I get it. Thanks
Claire Armstrong
Thank you. I got it from wallpaperdirect it’s the Albany Shangra Larange.
Cara
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.)
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, I will pass on your suggestions.
Val
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?
Claire Armstrong
Thank you. Yes the table was sealed with a varnish, a couple of coats. That protects it from everyday ware and tear.
Doober
It’s cute but I would have added trim all the way around the edge of the table.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, and thanks for the suggestion.
lisa
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?
Claire Armstrong
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.
Susanne
Such a creative makeover!! I love that bold pattern you picked 🙂 Thank you for joining us at Create and Celebrate!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much!
Sam - Raggedy Bits
Such a clever idea Claire! Love how it totally brightened up your table!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you Sam!
Jen
What a cool idea. I’ve never thought to do that. Thanks for sharing!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, it works really well.
Marla
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!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much, and thanks for all the shares.
Grandmas House DIY
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!
Claire Armstrong
That’s awesome thank you!
Angie ~ ambient wares
What an amazing idea, Claire! The design is just beautiful and so very clever! Pinned & sharing. Thanks for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, it is Avery simple way to transform a table.
Julie
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.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Julie. It works really well.
Helen at Pleasures of the NW
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much.
Teodora
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!
Claire Armstrong
Yes wallpaper is great for transforming furniture, I bet your wardrobe looks great.
Brenda Young @ UniqueJunktique
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!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you very much!
Katy SkipTheBag
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!
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, it certainly brightens the place up.
Debrashoppeno5
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.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, yes it’s really easy to wipe clean.
Michelle
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
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, Michelle. I love using wallpaper on lots of things not just walls.
ReFab Diaries
LOVE everything about this refab! Thanks for such clear instructions. (visiting from #wastelesswednesday)
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much. I try to show how simple it really is.
Mother of 3
What a fun idea! I love the idea of using wallpaper to re-purpose furniture. Pinned.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you and thanks for the share.
Carol ("Mimi")
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.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you, it’s my friend Wendy’s table and yes she’s very creative.
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled
Very cool, Claire! Total makeover of a plain table. Visiting from Grandma’s House party.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much.
Sandra L Garth
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.
Claire Armstrong
Thank you so much and I will be there.