*Today’s post was made possible by Fancy Walls, and features gifted product for the purposes of a candid review. All opinions are my own.

This is the first house we’ve ever lived in that had a dedicated linen closet, and we’ve made very good use of it. Since the moment we moved in, John and I filled this 4-shelf space up with extra paper products (think: toilet paper, tissue boxes, and paper towels), backup bath and hand towels, medicine, pet supplies, and cleaning products. I’m embarrassed to share what it looked like, but you’ll see some “before” photos of the closet below.

I did my best to keep things organized in individual labeled boxes and baskets, but things had definitely gotten out of hand, as you can see. My only excuse is that we were focused on other house projects at the time, and this closet was pushed to the back of our minds. Well, this year I finally got it all worked out. Let me talk you through the process, including how I turned Fancy Walls wallpaper into peel-and-stick shelf liner.

Truth be told, this project actually started back in February of this year. I wanted to get it organized and edited down to just the essentials first before even thinking about tackling any pretty design updates, so I started by emptying out the entire closet. I donated a lot of extra towels to our local humane society, turned in expired medication, trashed things that could be trashed that we no longer needed or used, and moved items to the basement if they didn’t really belong in a linen closet. Next, I went out and bought inexpensive matching containers and more appropriately sized drawer systems to help make our new organization system something that we would actually keep up with.

The difference in functionality after I was finished with this initial phase of the project was, honestly, life-changing, and John and I have both managed to keep the linen closet looking tidy ever since thanks to our new labeled system and bigger matching containers. Still, I was craving color and pattern. I wanted to open the door to our linen closet and feel inspired and thrilled. I’m of the opinion that every closet or corner of your home (no matter how inconsequential!) is worthy of a little design effort, so it was time to jump into phase two of this closet makeover: namely, using paint and wallpaper.

The first thing I needed to do for this part of the project was empty the closet again (happily, this time it was much easier since we had edited things down to a more manageable collection), and then I wiped down all of the shelves with a gentle household cleaner. I let them dry, and then I painted the entire closet a new blush pink color that felt a little fresher and more poppy. I didn’t realize just how close my new color would be to the original beige already on the walls, so you can barely tell in these photos that I painted anything, but trust me that, in person, the difference is wonderful. All of the dingy trim looks brand new now, and the pink paint covered every old scuff mark on the walls, too.

Finally, I covered the tops of all the shelves with cut sections of my peel-and-stick wallpaper from Fancy Walls. This is my “Tan Branching Bonsai” pattern, and, just like always, it went on smoothly and was super easy to trim to size. I ordered custom sized panels with a bit of extra width on them so that I could scoot the pattern over a little bit on each shelf, that way they didn’t look too identical. I wanted some variation in the pattern as you looked down at the shelves.

One tip I would suggest when using peel-and-stick wallpaper as shelf liner is to use just a little bit of spray adhesive along the edges, especially the front. This will help your “shelf liner” stay in place for the long run as you slide things in and out over top. I also added soft felt pads to the bottoms of the baskets I knew we’d be moving around the most so that they won’t scratch the wallpaper over time.

I can’t get over that “before/after” graphic that I included above! The closet now feels sophisticated and considered in addition to being organized, and it has made our daily routine so much easier. I really do smile so happily when I open the door to grab meds for our pets or an extra towel. The new subtle paint color and pop of bonsai-inspired pattern feel just right in this small-but-mighty space. Have you ever considered using peel-and-stick wallpaper as shelf liner? Let me know in the comments which Fancy Walls pattern you’d use!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission when you purchase products that I recommend at no additional cost to you. This allows me to provide free creative content for you to read, save, and share. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.