When I was growing up, this glass door bookcase lived in the home of an elderly neighbor housing a collection of beautiful hardcover books. My sister and I always considered Miss Matthews a surrogate grandmother, and I was delighted to inherit this and some other furniture pieces when she passed away a few years ago. Though this bookcase wouldn't work in my library, I knew it would be perfect to house my DVD collection. Unfortunately, over time I came to hate the visual noise of the DVDs on display; this weekend I finally decided to do something about it.
For months I toyed with the idea of backing the glass doors with fabric to help eliminate the visual noise of all those DVD spines, but couldn't make up my mind about a color or pattern so I did nothing. This morning I was cleaning out the hall closet and discovered a sheet of poster-sized parchment paper I bought for a DIY lighting project I ultimately abandoned. The moment I saw the paper, I knew it would provide just the solution I needed for my DVD cabinet dilemma.
I cut the sheet of paper in half and trimmed a couple of inches off the bottom before installing it behind the glass. Because I don't want to put unnecessary holes in the wood of the door, I used packing tape to secure the paper rather than staples or tacks. After taping the paper to the doors, I closed them over and took a step away to check the results.
Though I liked the idea overall, I felt like the paper alone was too large an expanse of plain white for my taste. I debated different solutions, then remembered a roll of silver wrapping paper left over from the holidays. The paper was too shiny to use alone in the cabinet, but filtered through the parchment paper, the subtle design adds just enough pattern to the glass to make it work for me. Admittedly the soft silver shine is hard to see in the pictures above, but I promise it glows ever so slightly in person.
Since this solution cost me nothing because I shopped from my own hall closet, I may still keep my eyes open for a graphic fabric to use instead of the paper in the future. That said, I am pleased with the results of this quick and easy DIY that has eliminated a design dilemma that has been nagging at me for months. Sometimes it is good to remember that it is often the little changes and projects that have the most impact on how I enjoy my home.
Images: Colleen Quinn
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When my kids were little, I used flat matte black paper behind the glass in the entertainment center so they wouldn't know about the dvd player/VCR (and thus feed it a sandwich . . . ). Amazing what a little fool-the-eye ingenuity can attain.
@mosaicwench We crammed a disused pacifier between the sliding doors of our stand. Held the doors tight until his fingers got strong enough to pull it out.
I've been wondering what do to about our dvd collection. My husband and I are movie lovers, but I'd rather have shelves than a big cabinet, maybe individual boxes for groups of dvds?
Long term, the adhesive from the packing tape is bound to damage the finish. Looks good, but you may want to consider a different method attach the paper.
I did this a few years ago with an ikea piece I had...best idea ever.
Would the remote signal go through the paper to the entertainment center electronics behind the glass doors? I store DVDs in Container Store woven wood boxes. The DVDs can be stored sorted and arranged as finely as you like, out of sight yet accessible, near the player.
P.S. I use L-shaped bookends on their sides to keep the DVDs in order inside the stacked, lidded boxes.
Home Depot carries this peel in stick that looks like stained glass. You might want to give it a try. I don't think it will damage anything.
Knowing about the silver pattern, I really like this! (It would have been disturbingly plain without the subtle pattern.)
I could also see that window film from Home Depot (many patterns) used this way, or rice paper (which can come in patterns that are sort of lace-like) with spray-mount, or gift wrap with spray-mount, or you could mount little curtain rods inside above and below the glass and gather fabric on them...
This turned out nicely. I agree the plain was a little too drab. We live in a furnished villa, and every cabinet has glass doors. Not terribly storage friendly, especially since baskets and aesthetically appealing storage containers are hard to come by here. We lined our china cabinet with wrapping paper, too. It has been a lifesaver and a great storage piece now that you can't see what it looks like inside.
Oh, and we used wide masking tape to secure our paper.
this turned out very nicely, but I agree with design1211, the tape you used is going to eventually destroy the finish. But painters tape might preserve the finish better (though it wouldn't be clear).
Interesting! I've been looking for a solution for my own media cabinet, which is really just a small bookshelf, sadly without doors. It's a wonder that there isn't more written on this site about it, I imagine lots of other people have dealt with the same issue.
That is a lovely little cabinet, especially considering the sentimental attachment. Great solution! Who doesn't like "cheap as free"?! Upon 1st glance, I thought you had frosted the class, which might be another option to consider.
I used fabric. Naturally... :o)
I did this with my street level window glass... so simple, cheap, awesome, and washes off if you change your mind next year!! Totally will fuzz everything out so colors from your dvd cases will probably still read through but in an abstract kind of way!
http://lifehacker.com/399731/increase-your-privacy-with-16-diy-window-frosting