covering the naked cabinets

After taking the doors off of our cabinets, we were left with this.

A lot less oak, but a lot more... pressed laminate? Not sure, but it wasn't that nice to look at. So I looked up tutorials for covering the backs of cabinets and found this one by Pretty Handy Girl. (What did I do before Pinterest?)

You can look at her post for the full tutorial, but I started by cutting out foam board to the exact size of each shelf.

I made little masking tape tabs to pull them back out. Once the foam board is in place it kind of suctions itself to the back of the cabinet, so that tab saved me from clawing my fingernails off trying to get them back out.

Once the foam board was cut and I had tested to make sure they fit right I ironed my fabric. Then I cut them to about two inches wider than the boards on each side.

Try to line up the pattern when you cut out your fabric. I laid out my boards on top of the fabric just as they would appear in the cabinet only with three or so inches in between them. That way, vertically, the pattern stayed on track.

Then, I cut notches in each corner of the fabric so that it would fold over the edge of the foam board easier. I like this better than the "wrapping the present" method. It's less bulky.

After that, tape time! It would have been much easier with packing tape on a tape gun, but a buttload of masking tape will do. I made sure to pull the fabric taught around the board.

Then, I just popped them in place! It adds visual interest, that's for sure.

Putting the plates in really brought it all together.

Even though this was a more expensive "decorator weight" fabric, with sales and coupons, I think this yard cost about $8 at Joann's. Add that to the foam board, and this project only cost $11! And if we decide we don't like it, we could have the panels out and the doors back up in about 20 minutes.

It'll be a nice way to live with our kitchen until we're ready to make some more drastic changes.



This post is featured on The Pinterest Challenge: Winter Edition with these lovely ladies:

Check them out!

Megan from The Remodeled Life

Kate from Bower Power

Sherry from Young House Love

Michelle from Decor & The Dog