Decorate with newspaper
🪑 Una forma sencilla y económica de renovar tus muebles
A while ago, I bought one of those simple and minimalist Ikea pieces of furniture for a small room where I needed some extra storage space. Since it was a very functional piece and I planned to keep it in a quiet corner of a room I barely used, I didn’t really mind that it wasn’t particularly attractive.
For a while, it served its purpose perfectly. But recently, I started using that room more often and thought about how to make the furniture look a bit more appealing within the room’s decor.
đź“° Discovering the idea of decorating with newspaper
While searching for ideas, I came across a solution that caught my attention: covering the furniture with newspaper. I discovered plenty of examples of recycled decoration using paper—everything from walls and small objects to furniture and even handmade pieces like lamps, trays, and picture frames. If you enjoy DIY projects with reused materials, check out how to make decorative boxes using paper pulp step by step.
The goal was to find a simple and inexpensive way to “modernize” that furniture piece and make it more attractive without spending too much money.
It turned out to be a very easy way to change its appearance—and it didn’t take much time either. In less than a day, I had completely transformed that plain and simple piece of acrylic and wood furniture into something far more stylish.
🧰 Materials needed to decorate with newspaper
To decorate with newspaper or cover any piece of furniture, you’ll need the following materials:
- Newspaper: you can choose between regular newsprint or glossy magazine paper. If you prefer neutral gray tones, use regular newspaper; if you want more color, go for Sunday editions with colored pages.
- Scissors, cutter, and a ruler.
- White glue, available at any craft or hardware store, mixed in the following ratio: one part glue to three parts water.
- A medium-sized brush.
🪄 Step-by-step: how to cover furniture with newspaper
To cover furniture with newspaper, start by applying a layer of the diluted glue mixture onto the surface you want to decorate. Dip the newspaper sheets into the glue-and-water mix, then carefully apply them to the furniture surface.
Next, apply another coat of glue over the paper-covered surface. Once dry, you can apply a protective varnish, although the glue itself forms a thin plastic-like film that offers some durability.
Personally, I recommend applying several thin coats of diluted glue over the paper and finishing with one final layer of water-based varnish for extra protection.
✨ Alternative option: vinyl with newspaper print
Recently, I discovered a material that can make this process even easier: a decorative vinyl sheet with a newspaper print design. The advantage of using this vinyl instead of real newspaper is that it’s self-adhesive and doesn’t require additional protective layers. If you’d like to experiment with other finishes, check out the article The world of wallpaper, where we explain the differences between decorative paper and vinyl coverings.
