Vintage and recycled trends have never been more popular. Using the old to make new things beautiful is not only acceptable, it’s downright essential for the budding home design enthusiast or creative soul. If you have been decorating of late, or just fancy a clear out, there are some great ways to use up old scrap wallpaper for lovely new ideas.
Create a Scrapbook
scrapbook – photo courtesy of debbieoverton.com
If you have some memories to store away, why not jazz up a scrapbook into a gorgeous personalised photo album. Retailers like Hobbycraft stock plain A4 booklets with good quality thick paper which will give you free rein to decorate as you please. Lay the book flat with pages facing upwards and fold the edges of your wallpaper over in neat lines. Stick, staple or Sellotape your paper down and voila! You can also stick down mismatching cut-out squares of wallpaper before placing photos in the book to give extra detail. Add glitter, sparkles or diamantes to your preference.
Make Your Own Frames
If you want plain or painted walls but have patterned paper lying around, you could create your very own framed artwork. Taking three plain wooden frames bought cheaply and cutting out the wallpaper to fit the backing board, you can fix this down to make a feature print. Once the frames are back on, you can hang up as many or as little as you like. Go crazy with all your different scraps to create a gallery on corridors or living space walls.
Update Your Furniture & Fittings
Another good way to recycle can be to stick long rectangular pieces of spare paper to the back of bookshelves or kitchen cabinets. This makes for a bespoke look against plain or painted wood and can really freshen up a tired old piece of your furniture into a stylish talking point.
If you have a glass topped table that needs brightening up, or some bedroom furniture, stick paper underneath the table to the dimensions of the glass or glue your spares to the bottom of pull-out drawers. The trick is to keep it subtle, you don’t want wallpaper absolutely everywhere! Think small splashes of colour in places you wouldn’t expect.
Create a Feature Wall
feature wallpaper – photo courtesy of aboutabbie.blogspot.com
If you’re feeling restless for restoration but can’t stand the hassle of hanging an entire room, think about using feature wallpaper on a single wall. It helps if you have either a really bold or densely patterned roll of spare paper which says ‘look at me.’ Feature walls draw the eye to your fireplace or prize bookcases and can really make a room ‘pop.’ What you felt looked far too much covering a whole room could look fantastic in moderation.
You don’t have to confine wallpaper to the home. If you have bits ready for the tip, take them to work and make the office kinder on the eyes. You could fix up an old noticeboard with some sumptuous patterned papers, or do up the inside of office kitchen cupboard doors.
Whatever you do, be creative and think thriftily. Using the old and the new together certainly beats identikit furniture and bland old big-name brands. Join the recycling revolution, save the trees and your tired old home design.