beadboard wallpaper cabinets tutorial

Update 9/22/09: Rhoda is also having her beadboard wallpaper party today that I'm linking my laundry room cabinets and tray to. Go see what everyone else is wallpapering :)

Basically, I just followed Rhoda's wonderful, precise directions:

I measured to fit the inside of the cabinets (I would leave a little room on the edges because it seems to expand a tiny bit when it gets wet)

I used one of the lines in the beadboard that was closest to the measurement I needed so I could cut as straight as possible:

This worked wonderfully, because the holes that were drilled were not the size I needed, so I just papered right over them:

I just got them wet for about 30 seconds in the sink, let them sit for a few minutes (I guess it's called booking??) and then flattened them out onto the cabinet (I didn't even prime or sand the cabinet before papering) and smoothed them out with my hands. No special tools required! I let them dry overnight,

The next day, I primed them, then painted them Rustoleum Heirloom White (you can buy it in the quart cans next to the spray paint at Home Depot) with a roller brush. Spray paint would work too, but I had this left over from my hall cabinets:

Poked the knob through the bottom hole, put the hardware back on, and there we have it! Simple, painless, and beautiful! It gives the cabinets such a custom look:

A few notes:
Lowes has some paintable wallpaper, but in my opinion it doesn't look like real beadboard. I had it in my project pile to use, then I saw Rhoda's and the wall doctor stuff looks so much better. Back to Lowes it went! Spend the extra ten dollars on the Wall Doctor brand wallpaper. I got mine from the Home Depot, but you can also get it at Graham & Brown.

Some of you have asked about using it in high traffic areas, or on kitchen cabinets, and I would hesitate because it's kind of a foamy texture that hardens up a bit when you paint, but look what my nail can still do to it

I have pictures of my boys running their cars over it and decided it wouldn't do well in our kitchen...

BUT think of the other possiblities: look at what moonkat99 over at the Garden Web forums did to her ceiling, y'all! It's gorgeous!

Here it is before:
And after: who would ever know it's wallpaper??

I've got a few more projects in mind for my big ol' roll of leftover wallpaper :)

It's DIY day over at Kimba's!