No need to sand, and no need to worry about matching up a pattern with this particular wallpaper design since the subtle metallic flecks throughout are very random and forgiving. Just repeat the same process: roughly measure the section you’re working on, cut the wallpaper to size, press it into place on the desk face, and then trim the excess paper away from the edges. The rest of the process is a little less complicated since you’re mostly just wallpapering flat sections of the desk. ![]() I cut the old lock hole out with my razor blade. To open up the hardware holes, you can gently bore through the paper using a drill bit from the inside of the drawers. After you’ve freed the drawers with the razor blade, you can trim off any excess wallpaper around the edges of the drawers and the drawer cavity, then you’re done. To “rescue” them, I felt around with my fingertip until I found the edge of the drawer, then I cut through the wallpaper along that edge with a sharp razor blade. Once you’re done, your drawers will effectively be held hostage by the wallpaper. You can use a credit card to squeeze out any air bubbles that happen to form. With my piece of wallpaper cut and ready to use, I carefully peeled the backer paper off the top portion, stuck it to the front side of the desk (closed drawers and all) and then slowly pressed it in place, removing more of the backer paper as I went. NOTE: Yes, you can measure and cut exactly to suit, but a rough estimate works just fine since you’ll need to trim of the excess anyway. First, I removed all of the hardware from the drawers, then I held the unfurled peel-and-stick wallpaper up to the desk, figured out how much I needed to cut off the roll in order to cover the desk section I was working on (plus a little extra for trimming purposes), then I cut it to size with scissors. Here’s how I actually executed the project in case you’d like to try this at home. Luckily, we had a can of that in storage, too, so this hardware update didn’t cost me a thing. I figured I could give my collection of old metal drawer pulls a second life with a few coats of gold spray paint, and it worked like a charm. The one thing I did paint was the hardware. There was zero paint or sanding mess throughout this process. The best part of all, though, was that I could transform the desk where it sat without having to drag it out to the yard, like I would have if I had decided to paint it. I have tons of wallpaper rolls just sitting in storage waiting for a lightbulb moment like this, so I was able to get started right away. ![]() ![]() So, in the end, I decided to rely on peel-and-stick wallpaper to give me the updated finish I wanted. ![]() Like I said, I also didn’t trust myself to do a good paint job, if I’m being completely honest! This little makeover project was always meant to be more of a bandaid fix than a permanent one, so I hated the idea of spending countless hours painting the thing if I just plan on passing it along to someone else in a couple of years. I also didn’t love the idea of investing a bunch of hours into the desk since I think I will eventually sell or donate it so that I can go get my dream desk somewhere else once all of this craziness is behind us. Now, of course, I could have painted the desk, but I’m notorious for rushing painting projects, and I’m not all that great at it to begin with. Since my travel capabilities and budget are both currently restricted thanks to the pandemic, I couldn’t really afford to go out and buy a brand new desk, so I decided to figure out a way to do a DIY transformation on my desk that would get me the look I wanted without having to buy anything new. It was fine when I bought the desk secondhand four years ago, but now that I know my office will never be the bright room I hoped it would thanks to consistently poor natural light, I really craved something that looked more lightweight and and even a little more feminine. Ever since revealing my made-over home office, one of the most frequently asked questions I’ve gotten has been: “Where did you get your desk?” Truth is that I kinda made it! The desk started out looking as you see it in the quick iPhone photo I’m sharing below-covered in a dark (damaged) veneer, old ratty metal drawer pulls, and dark wood square legs that disappeared under my behemoth of a desk.
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