This Brown Corner Cabinet’s Makeover Has the Coolest Idea for Leftover Wallpaper

Sarah EverettHome Projects Editor
Sarah EverettHome Projects Editor
I organize the Before & After series and cover DIY and design. I joined AT in October 2020 as a production assistant. I have an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri and a BA in Journalism from Belmont University. Past editorial stops include HGTV Magazine, Nashville Arts Magazine, and local magazines in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri.
published Sep 7, 2025
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Sometimes furniture pieces last so long in a house that they go through multiple furniture flips. That’s the case for Caroline Cumiskey’s (@carries_colourful_casa) corner cabinet. When she first bought it from Facebook Marketplace, it was brown. 

Then she painted it royal blue and added a geometric peel-and-stick wallpaper to the back of it. And recently, she gave it a new third look with folk-inspired florals and squiggly lines. “The unit was free, and everything was already in my house, so it was a bargain,” she says.

The blue base color stayed the same.

While a lot changed in this iteration of the cabinet, Caroline kept the bold blue color. But this time around, “I removed the cabinet’s old wallpaper and painted it pink before doing hand-painted wiggly lines on it,” Caroline explains. 

The light pink background paint color is Graham & Brown’s Capulet, and the squiggly blue stripes (in the same shade as the body of the cabinet) weren’t exactly planned. “I intended to do [straight] stripes, but the masking tape I used pulled off the paint, so I had to start again,” she says. “I wasn’t sure if I would [like them] because they obviously aren’t perfect, and I like most things symmetrical!” she says. 

The floral details are cut out from wallpaper. 

Caroline added even more detail to the cabinet by adding floral decals that she cut out of some leftover wallpaper from her living room. That wallpaper had a similar bright blue background, so she could be sure the colors would work well together. 

She used an X-acto knife to cut them out. “Be very careful with craft knives!” she says — especially when you’re cutting out something as intricate as this. 

Another one of Caroline’s takeaways? Think outside the box when it comes to using leftover wallpaper. “I hadn’t used wallpaper cutouts before in a decoupage way — only whole sheets and panels of it,” she says. 

For more ideas for what to do with your DIY project leftovers, check out these eight ingenious ideas.