My den space needed a little something to make it feel cozier, and I needed a place to store my ever-growing collection of magazines, home décor books, and framed photos. I purchased this bookshelf at Goodwill for $18.00.

First, I sanded the entire shelf then wiped off all the dust from the sanding with a damp microfiber cloth.

Using spray primer (I always buy a lot of this stuff, so I grabbed some that I had in my supply closet), I primed the entire bookshelf. I let it dry for about three hours.

Then, I painted the entire shelf a cream color with paint I had left over from a previous project. I did one coat and let it dry for 24 hours.

I used wallpaper my mom picked up at a store closing sale for $1.50. She bought four huge rolls, so I won’t be running out for a while!

I found this part to be difficult because it was hard to measure and fit the wallpaper onto the back of the shelf. I removed the middle shelf to make it easier, but in retrospect, I should have unscrewed the back of the shelf and applied the wallpaper separately from the actual bookshelf. This would have made both measuring and applying the wallpaper much easier.

This tutorial is amazing! And, had I known about this way to make a “wallpapered bookshelf”, I could have saved a lot of time!

I’m really happy with the way it turned out, and I think it’s just what my den needed!