I love shelf paper. When you discover a piece of long forgotten furniture in grannies cellar or at a junk shop it often contains shelf paper (also known as shelf liner or contact paper). It’s the sometimes aged and beautiful or sometimes dated and kitsch paper you find, as the name suggests, gripping the shelves of old furniture.

It’s mostly found in kitchen furniture because in bygone times housewives used its hardy wipe clean properties to protect the wood underneath from scratches or damage caused by food spills. Occasionally you’ll find it lining somewhere else more unusual like a knicker drawer or inside a wardrobe.

Over time it was abandoned as debate developed about hygiene issues when using alongside food storage (crumbs were found to sneak underneath, exactly the thing it is supposed to prevent) and in recent years the popularity of plastic veneers has made shelf paper almost obsolete.

But wait! Vintage shelf paper is not just for kitchen cupboards… it is the perfect way to revive old furniture or redecorate without splashing out or resorting to DIY so here’s a list of uses for the pretty printed paper you just can’t help loving.

You could use it to…

1. Dress your shelves

Yes, this is obvious given that it’s called ‘shelf’ paper but try adding it the back of your shelving instead of the shelf itself. It will totally reinvent the look of your bookshelf or unit and your choice of print and colours can change the piece to compliment any room. There’s a nice example on the Fox Hollow Cottage blog.

2. Line your drawers

If you’re a bit of a messy Nessy like me you might find that lining your drawers with pretty shelf paper helps keep things more organised and stops you from overfilling the drawers. Having the shelf paper in the bottom makes me want to keep things in neat piles with gaps in between so I can see the pretty paper every time I root around inside.

3. Revamp cheap furniture

Structurally it might be sound but you can’t help thinking it’s ugly. We’ve all bought furniture in a rush or have emergency furniture remaining from our student days. You can revamp your mundane modern furniture by covering it partially or fully with some vintage shelf paper. I’m planning something like this for my office and will post about it when the mission is complete.

4. Make a book jacket

I remember slicing up and sticking together some of my mum’s old wallpaper to make book jackets for my exercise books in school to hide the plain boring and dog-eared cover underneath. I also remember the pattern was pretty awful. Using waxy finished shelf paper to make a note book cover would be even better; because it’s wipe clean spilled juice would be no problem and you could happily carry the books in a light shower without fear of soggy pages.

5. Make your own place mats

It’s as easy as pie. Literally all you do is draw around an object that is the size and shape you want your place mats (or coasters) to be and cut it out. It’s a great way to make a stash of different wipe clean table dressing to match any occasion.

6. Keep crafting tidy

Using the same method as above you can create an ideal mat for your crafting to catch all the mess and glue. Best of all you can wipe it clean and roll it up when you’re done.

7.Upcycle some storage

Having a house crammed with goodies for my shop plus dressmaking and crafting gubbins I’m always on the lookout for more storage. One easy idea for cheap storage is to upcycle some packaging such as biscuit tins, Pringles tubes, durable boxes and sweetie tins; you can use shelf liner to cover all or these things. Either choose an adhesive shelf paper or apply with a thin layer of PVA glue before wrapping around the item.

8. Make your own photo corners

Cut tiny triangles of adhesive shelf paper and use these to secure photos and mementos into your notebook instead of tape.

9. Cover a suitcase

If you have a hard shell suitcase laying unused in your attic you could give it a new lease of life by covering it in a beautiful patterned shelf paper. Add a finishing touch by using ribbon in a complimentary colour to tie an address tag to the handler with a bow.

10. Make bunting

Select a pretty shelf paper of your choosing. Cut isosceles triangles from the paper and stick the top edge to a piece of ribbon leaving an equal distance between each and viola, pretty bunting!

Do share! If you have tried out one of the above or had another use of your own do tell us about it, leave a comment.