How To Line A Drawer With Contact Paper

Sometimes the best thing about making over a piece of furniture is in the details. Like the addition of the sweet little tassel I added to my bedroom dresser I just posted about. But also in other ways like the addition of decorative paper to line the drawers. It is not needed, but it sure gives your eyes a treat every time you open a drawer seeing a pop of color and a pretty design.

I use gift wrap mostly when lining drawers, but wallpaper works well too, as do book pages, maps, and other large pieces of paper. Home Goods is my #1 source for finding pretty rolls of gift wrap at bargain prices. I have 2 stashes of it in my house since I can't fit everything into one location :-)

Lining a drawer with paper is not hard, but I know of a super easy way that doesn't even require the use of a measuring tape.

How to Line a Drawer with Decorative Paper the Easy Way

Try this trick the next time you want to line a drawer with decorative paper. No measuring tape needed.

1. Turn the drawer upside down on a work surface.

2. Lay the gift wrap over the drawer. Use the straight edge of the gift wrap to line up the paper at the front of the drawer. Cut the paper around the drawer to get at a workable piece of paper that is a little bigger than the drawer.

3. Fit the paper into the depression around the bottom of the drawer.

4. Fold over the excess paper on the sides and make a crisp crease with your fingers.

5. Fold the excess paper around the back edge and make a crisp crease.

How to measure and line a drawer with paper the easy way

6. Remove paper and cut along the side of the drawer creases with a pair of sharp scissors.

7. Since the inside of the drawer has the back and it is hidden on the underside, you need to add the approximate thickness of the drawer back above your crease on the back of the paper (this sounds harder than it is, but once you do it, it is a no-brainer). When cutting the back, add the thickness of the drawer back and then cut a straight line using your crease as a guide to keep your cut straight. Since the cut is in the back of the drawer, if you cut a bit unevenly you won't even see it.

Lining a drawer with gift wrap or wall paper tutorial

Variation: Use the side of a straight edge and craft knife to cut your paper along the creases.

Use decorative gift wrap or wall paper to line the drawers of a dresser

Note: If your drawer has a center runner under it you can still get the approximate size for the paper needed to line the drawer by fitting the paper while working on it from the underside of the drawer. Follow the same steps even if the runner is making the paper raised in the middle. Once you fit it and made the creases, turn the drawer over and place the gift wrap inside the drawer fitting the front, back, and one side in place.
One side will have to be fitted. Use the edge of a ruler to move the gift wrap in place to push the excess up against one side. Crease this excess, remove the paper and cut along the crease.

What more drawer lining inspiration? See how I lined my desk drawer with the pages of a font book: How to Line a Drawer with Book Pages

I learned this drawer lining trick when I worked in retail display many years ago. Do you have any tricks to make something much easier than the traditional way of doing things?