A little facelift (a.k.a. Part 2, finally)

At long last, here is Part 2 of my paper decorating project. Just as a refresher: I have a bunch of "designer cardstock" that I wasn't sure how to use. After a little bout of inspiration, I decided to use it to help prettify the permanent aspects of my not-so-permanent space (to make it a little more me) and to make functional but unattractive aspects of my space look a little less cluttered and more cohesive. I shared Part 1 last week - updating old shelves.

For Part 2, I decided to tackle the ubiquitous clear drawer unit. I'm pretty sure every university student had one of these at some point. It's super useful, but not all that aesthetically pleasing. In my current space, it houses all my hair/skin products and other miscellaneous toiletries. It's a necessary storage component but again, not all that attractive, and unfortunately, due to the clear drawers, it makes the space look cluttered:

This is especially problematic because you see this unit from the hallway - not a pleasing first glance into my space. So I thought I'd try to use my cardstock to hide the clutter and improve the look of the unit, even if just a little bit.

First, I flipped through the book and chose three complimentary patterns.

Although it's hard to tell in this small sample, the middle pattern isn't randomly dirty; it's distressed faux woodgrain.

Then, I emptied each drawer, cleaned it, and measured the front.

My original plan was to cut out a piece of cardstock in the shape of the front of the drawer and modpodge it to the inside of the drawer, like so:

Unfortunately, after completing the first one, I noticed that the modpodge wasn't drying clear. Instead, it looked streaky and gunky and in general, pretty gross.

Luckily, I had decided to wait until the first one dried before completing the other two drawers, so I quickly came up with a new plan. Also in my favour was the fact that I had traced the original shape onto the other pieces of cardstock already, so I only had to do the painstaking measuring once.

My new plan involved attaching the cardstock to the outside of the drawer, instead of the inside. This solved two problems. (1) No clear drawer in front of the paper to show modpodge gunk. (2) Having the paper on the outside of the drawer means that if any product spills, it won't ruin the paper.

So, armed with my new plan, I cut out the remaining cardstock (including a new one in the original design) and modpodged them to the outside of the drawer. I went about this in the same way as the shelves - modpodging the back of the paper and the front of the drawer before attaching them together; waiting 15 minutes and applying a top coat of MP; and then waiting another 15 minutes and applying a second top coat.

 Here is the finished result:

I really like the way it turned out. Obviously, it's still not the most glamorous piece of furniture, but it is a necessary evil, and I think, a much more visually appealing evil, now that it's had a little facelift. What do you think?

Before & After