Home offices can often feel a little cold. They're hard places to dress up because when you're talking about a place where a good amount of work goes on, you're often looking for aesthetically pleasing pieces but you want to avoid it being overly decorated. You can warm things up without pillows or fru-fru frills with contact paper.
Over at Curbly there's been some makeovers going on. What once was a generic knife block and magnetic office memo board, are now soft, wooden wonders.
Wood grain contact paper was ordered online (it is carried in some stores, but you'll have to hunt!) and applied slowly, making sure to smooth air bubbles out in the process. The result are pieces that lend a little design and comfort without taking up any extra space or buying all new pieces at higher prices. Check out all the details over at Curbly and make sure to send up photos of your woodgrain makeovers!
Image: Curbly
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Comments (16)
I hate contact paper of any kind. I tried it way back in the 70s and am still scarred from the experience.
Can anyone tell me: is what you in the US call 'contact paper' the same thing that we in the UK call 'sticky-back plastic'?
@ Really?
I would describe contact paper as plastic with a sticky back, so they're probably the same thing.
"Can anyone tell me: is what you in the US call 'contact paper' the same thing that we in the UK call 'sticky-back plastic'?"
I think so. It's plastic that comes on a roll. On one side is a design and on the other side there's adhesive. It came be a bear to work with, in part depending on how cheap the contact/sticky paper is that you use.
@ Really?
Contact is the brand of adhesive back paper in the U.S.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sticky-backed_plastic
So I think that is a Yes. (http://www.fablon.co.uk/fablonkitchenbedroom.html)
vs. http://tinyurl.com/4usmhwr
When I was a kid we called it Mac-tac. Could be a brand name, though.
Genius!
When I moved, I wanted shelf liner for every shelf, and I had a lot of them. I was horrified at the cost.
I thought about wrapping paper, and going through my collection, I found rolls of contact paper that I had inherited from an aunt who REALLY liked the stuff. She also had good taste. It was quite heavy, unlike the wrapping paper which I though would last about a day, and the contact paper was water proof.
I used the contact paper I had to line all my shelves, but I didn't peel the back. I just laid the paper as you would shelf liner. It has worked very well: very sturdy.
So
I think a pattern would look better than the fake woodgrain. A bulletin board covered in nice patterned fabric is another idea.
mtlyoral, many people with counter space keep knives in a block to protect the knife surface and make it easy to safely access them. The knives are hardly hidden, even when there's small children at home. I've seen a lot of small kitchens where the magnetic board is the best option, space-wise. So long as one doesn't have the board in a place that is in the way, and out of reach of smaller children, how is this not common sense?
Who needs that many pairs of scissors??
@ameliepoulain-
Someone who crafts or sews will have a lot of scissors (used for different purposes) and needs to protect the tips and cutting edges. I keep mine in sheaths.
I've paid as much as $65 for one pair of shears. Anyone caught cutting paper with them would be putting themselves in danger.
@mtlyorel - if I used guns multiple times a day to make food, yes, I would keep them handy and in the open. Your metaphor is a little off. I don't understand why knives should be in a drawer just because they have a sharp edge. I don't have kids, and my SO isn't going to get ideas and stab me just because a knife is easily accessible. I can't think of any other scenarios in which having knives out in the open would be dangerous.
I'd never be able to get the contact paper down smoothly. If you only need a small message board use a non-aluminum cookie baking sheet.
can't get that anywhere in australia. (at least the bit i live in).
@Fernyone
They have several colours available at Mitre 10.
I recently used this wood grain paper for a different project. I live in a loft rental, and the oak cabinets just didnt go with my design. i carefully used this to cover my ugly cabinet, and it will come off cleanly when i move. people love it when they see it and they think I've stained my cabinet. Lots of effort, but well worth it in the end.