January 23, 2012

✥ Reader Feature: Literature Wallpaper! ✥

I am happy to share a cute little blog with you all today! Jen, a newish blogger, from A Place to Call Home  agreed to share her Mudroom Makeover with you guys!
I am super excited to introduce you to Jen because she is such a sweetheart! I have loved getting to know her better and I'm sure you will like her too! Her and her hubby have made over almost every corner of their two story home- while, of course, keeping a budget in mind.
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Hi...I'm Jen. And I write at A Place 2 Call Home. I'm so happy to be here today to talk to you about my mudroom.


This is our mudroom that's filled with tons of organization, as well as fun style.


We used an expedit bookcase from Ikea to give us plenty of storage.


Since the room is small, I wanted it to have big personality, so I added this vintage book page wall.



This is an old ikea tv stand turned bench. I painted it, added some boxes. Then I got a piece of foam from Joannes and hot glued this pretty and fun fabric to the foam.


This bookcase is super organized so that life is simpler. The metal boxes hold recycling. The fabric boxes hold everything from toys, scarves to flip flops. Up top we have a glass jar for loose change, and a place to put our keys when we get home.


And I painted the door green because its a mudroom and I thought it should be fun, right?

If you like my vintage book page wall, here's the how to. Its probably about the cheapest easiest DIY project ever.

Get some Modge Podge. I usually use the matte clear glue. Its the yellow one.

I love vintage books, so that's why I think they are perfect for accent walls. You can find vintage books at garage sales, thrift stores, the free pile at the library, and lots of other places too. Most of my books were free. And since the book will cost you close to nothing, and you don't need much glue, this project really is great for next to nothing.

I love the color and discoloring on antique books, I think it really warms up a space.


Simply take off a page and use a paint brush to wipe on the glue. It doesn't have to be perfect. I use foam brushes because they are pretty inexpensive and I like that they are thicker and can spread the glue faster.


Once you put the glue on the page, and stick the page onto the wall, you can run your foam paint brush over the edges of the page so it sticks down. You may notice that some parts are sticking up, you can just lightly dab or brush on a little paint to those areas. I just make sure its stuck to the wall and no edges are curling. This is why I use the matte glue finish, because it dries clear and you cant tell I put glue on it.

Vintage pages are so versatile-

Here they are all lined up, they look neat and more modern.

AT - wallpaper wall - Hungry Mother restaurant in Cambridge-1

Here the pages are barely sticking on the wall. It looks much more shabby chic and romantic and over the top in a great way

This is a great mix of both those styles. I love that they used bold black and white images too. If I were to do another vintage page wall, I think I would go for this look.

So now that you know there are different ways to put the paper on, here's what I did. I put some of the papers vertical while others horizontal. I haven't really seen too many other people who did this, but I just thought it added depth.  I also overlapped pages to give it a more layered look too.



Think about the book you are ripping your pages from. This book page wall was created using two books. One about marriage and one about mothers and daughters. I had lots of great titles and words on the wall that made me feel like it was special to our family.

Do you have a favorite number? Or a number that's important to your family? Maybe the number of your house, or birthday or the date that you were married? I tried to incorporate these numbers into the wall too. I used chapter numbers and page numbers to sprinkle in a little bit of family history.


Thank you so much Becca and From Gardners 2 Berger readers, I hope you'll stop by my blog A Place 2 Call Home to check me out. I'm all about cleaning, organizing and decorating. Hope to see you soon.
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I love Jen's wall treatment, don't you? I have seen a couple of rooms wallpapered with book pages, but I wouldn't have the nerve to do it! Not only has Jen done this book page wall, but she also has a bathroom "wallpapered" with a MAPS. 
You should definitely check out the before and after post, it gives  me a lot of hope abut what can be accomplished in a home with determination and hard work!