DIY wallpapered serving cart

White cart with orange and white wallpapered shelves, photo

I bought this trolley for a steal on Craigslist. You may have seen it before with my salvaged window-frame mirror. You can’t tell in the photo, but it’s banged up and rickety from years of use. My friend Peter added some reinforcement to make the cart sturdy, then I filled in the nicks with wood filler and oiled the squeaky wheels with WD-40. Finally, I made cosmetic changes — using paint and wallpaper left over from Sunset’s Menlo Park Idea House. Thanks, Sarah!

How to decoupage wallpaper onto furniture

SUPPLIES

latex primer
latex paint (I used Benjamin Moore Aura in Steam [AF-15])
craft glue (I used Mod Podge in matte)
wallpaper
painter’s tape
clear lacquer (optional)

TOOLS

paintbrush
foam brush
drop cloth
scissors
ruler & pencil
craft knife
brayer or small paint roller (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, I taped off the wheels with painter’s tape, then painted one coat of primer on the frame only. Then let it dry.

2. I applied two coats of paint (also to the frame only), letting it dry several hours in between coats.

3. I measured, marked, and cut the wallpaper to fit each of the three shelves.

4. Using a foam brush, I painted glue in sections on the cart surface.

Step 5, smooth down the wallpaper, photo

5. Then I smoothed the wallpaper down with a brayer. I didn’t have a brayer, so I used a dry paint roller, which worked. I kept adding glue and smoothing as I went. I trimmed any excess paper with a craft knife. And I let it dry for about an hour.

6. I added a top coat of glue to protect the surface of the wallpaper and make it easier to clean. It caused slight bubbling of the wallpaper, but it significantly lessened as the glue dried. As an alternative top coat, you could spray the wallpaper with clear lacquer.

7. I let the top coat dry overnight before using the cart.

Crafty Nest wallpapered cart Pinterest image

Reader Gallery

Made this project? Email your photo(s) to monica (at) craftynest (dot) com, and I’ll share your version here!

Yeri Yun's wallpapered cart, after photo

Yeri Yun's wallpapered cart, before photo

Yeri Yun who used to blog at What Makes Me Happy! painted and adhered wrapping paper from Paper Source to this cart she found at Goodwill for $5. I love the red-green-blue wrapping paper she chose.