TO TELL THE TRUTH

Do you believe that honesty is the best policy?  We are working on teaching that to my 4-year old son right now.  #mommyprobs  Practicing what I preach, today I am going to tell you the truth about a recent DIY project of mine.  I am going to share with you the good, the bad and the ugly I don’t really love how that turned out!

Several months ago I removed the doors from the upper cabinet in our Guest Bath.  We have plenty of storage space in the sink cabinets so it was nice to use this as a place for decorative accessories and it also helped open the room up!

When we moved in I had the cabinets painted a classic white which is so versatile but lately I have wanted to add a little something more.  I felt like the cabinets needed some punch!  But how do I go about it…paint them a contrasting color, paint the backs a darker color or maybe use some kind of wallpaper on the background?  I wanted a wallpaper look without the permanence so I chose to take it on myself. 

I have seen so many tutorials on the web about painting or using fabric or cardboard on the backs of cabinets and bookshelves.  I don’t claim to be the greatest of crafters but I can handle this right?

Photo: A Lo And Behold Life Blog

Photo: Centsational Girl Blog

I bought plain, white mat board and a fun stencil from Hobby Lobby and decided to paint it charcoal gray and white. 

Here is the good news…it was really inexpensive to do and only took about 2 hours (with dry time).  I started by making the background gray and then stenciled with white. 

Once it was dry, I cut it to the appropriate size and attached it to the back of the cabinets.

EEK!  I would say I nailed the contrast and punch look that I was going for but to be honest it is a little too loud for my house.  The Aztec Ikat pattern is definitely on trend but it belongs in a house with a lot of vivid color and more modern style.  And I like to think of myself as a fun-loving person with a passion for life but when it comes to my personal interior décor style I am captivated by neutral combinations.

Back to the drawing board…womp womp.  I’m not going to lie…I hate redoing these projects but I just can’t settle or live with this.  Knowing the process was easy I went about it similarly except instead of painting I found some nice wrapping paper at The Container Store and covered the board with it using spray adhesive.  The paper has a metallic finish and a more subtle pattern.

Not only was the outcome better in my opinion but it took less time (45 minutes) and created much less of a mess.  Which one do you like better?  Thanks for letting me be honest about my crafty projects that don't always go as planned!