Panels for Shelves

Janene Bogan
by Janene Bogan
6 Materials
$10
30 Minutes
Easy

A purchased shelf can hardly be changed any faster: You can use MDF panels and beautiful motif wallpapers to conjure up decorative panels behind which you can hide all sorts of odds and ends.


So you can make the shelf into an individual piece of furniture in your desired colors. And if you want to repaint your living room, you can simply re-wallpaper the panels.


Prepare wooden panels


The sawn MDF boards (here suitable for an Expedit shelf from Ikea) have a handle hole.


To create this, you mark the position and use a Forstner drill and cordless screwdriver.


Cut the scraps of wallpaper roughly by placing the wooden plate on the back of the paper wallpaper.


Glue on wallpaper


Spread the glue or another suitable adhesive evenly on the plate and lay the wallpaper on in an aligned manner.



Then press it on with a clean cloth.


The best way to remove the protruding wallpaper is with a cutter. 

Attach Velcro tape


Glue the Velcro tape above the grip hole . Very important: The cover must be provided with the loop tape. You shorten the strips to the desired length and glue the Velcro tape with the barbs to the front. You attach double-sided adhesive tape to the upper side.


Mark the position


So that the panels are flush with the shelf later, you mark the positions of the strips on the upper inside of the shelf beforehand. 

You now only have to align the strips with Velcro and adhesive tape to the marking and glue them in place.

Press the strips of wood firmly into place.

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Janene Bogan
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Susan Susan on Nov 17, 2022

    How do you cut out the finger hole so perfectly?

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3 of 8 comments
  • Ruthann Nissly Martinez Ruthann Nissly Martinez on Nov 18, 2021

    I don’t get it. IKEA sells door kits that you can personalize anyway you want that are much easier to open then Velcro.

  • Mary Mary on Nov 19, 2021

    Lovely. Can you use the space behind the panels? Unsure about instructions.

    • EmmaSurf EmmaSurf on Nov 17, 2022

      She Velcro'd the panels so you can pull them off, access the area then push the panels back on lining up the Velcro. However I think I'd this was a cabinet you accessed regularly the Velcro would start to loosen over time

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