We bought our house second-hand. The built-in shoe cabinet at the entry was big, dark in tone, and visually crowded the entry.
I’d done some incremental updates over the years — repainting the knobs, applying a wood-veneer sheet to the top — but this time I’m going for it: tearing the cabinet out and building a new one from scratch.
This article walks through:
removing the existing cabinet → re-papering the wall → building a new shoe cabinet
Before and after
Before-and-after first.
Below is the original entry shoe cabinet.
For the record: the upper section was empty — wasted volume. (Aspiring minimalist over here.)
I tore that cabinet out and built a new one to replace it.
I wanted a lighter tone, so I used ash (Japanese tamo) glulam panels with no stain — natural finish only.
I dropped the upper section entirely, which opens the entry up a lot.
The wallpaper was redone in the same white as before.
Result: the entry feels open and bright now.
Build steps below.
Removing the existing cabinet and prepping for new wallpaper
Removing a built-in shoe cabinet sounds like demolition territory, but it’s usually just screwed to the wall — that’s it.
Pull the cabinet off, then prep the wall for fresh wallpaper.
Removing the cabinet
The original cabinet.
Open the doors, and…
You can see the screws inside.
Those are what’s holding it to the wall.
Back the screws out with a drill driver.
And the cabinet just lifts off the wall — surprisingly easy.
The lower cabinet came off the wall the same way — back the screws out, lift it off.
(Working solo, the weight of the cabinet was a real workout to maneuver.)
The wall behind where the cabinet had been wasn’t wallpapered — they hadn’t bothered to paper that section.
So I’m going to re-paper the entire wall.
One snag: the wooden batten in the next photo is screwed AND glued to the wall, and won’t come off. That makes the wallpapering harder, but I’ll work with it — paper right over it.
Stripping old wallpaper
To prep for the new wallpaper, strip the old wallpaper off first.
For the light-switch area, pull the cover plate off first, then strip the wallpaper around it.
Filling steps and screw holes — surface prep
Old wallpaper off — next is filling any steps and screw holes with wall filler.
If you skip the filler step, every step or screw hole shows through the new wallpaper.
※ Don’t skip this — the bumps are surprisingly visible afterward.
Spread filler over the steps and screw holes, like in the photo below.
Once the filler is dry, sand it smooth.
For the wooden batten I couldn’t remove, the channel down its middle would make papering awkward, so I’m going to fill that channel.
Bought corrugated plastic sheet (pradan) at the home center.
Cut narrow strips to fit the channel.
Stack the strips into the channel, fixed in place with heavy-duty double-sided tape.
The remaining step against the wood is filled with wall filler.
Sand smooth.
Wall is now ready for paper.
Hanging the wallpaper
One of the rites-of-passage of hobby DIY (?): hanging wallpaper.
This is my first time.
Prepping the paper
I bought wallpaper online from RESTA — their “starter set” with pre-pasted paper.
The starter set comes with all the tools a first-timer needs, plus a how-to guide. I worked through the guide as I went.
Cut paper to length, peel off the protective backing, and accordion-fold it as in the photo.
Make a few of these.
Ready to hang.
Hanging it
Time to hang.
Basic flow: stick it up → smooth with a smoothing blade → trim the excess.
The paper can still be slid around while the paste is wet, so you don’t have to land it perfectly on the first try.
Easier said than done as a first-timer, though.
(Every time I tried to lift a panel and reposition, the paper tore where my hand was gripping it… would love a tip from someone who knows.)
Working in survival mode meant the action shots are sparse!
For full hanging instructions, check RESTA’s site (laughs).
For the light switch, cut around the box opening.
First wallpaper job done. Up close there are some rough spots, but I’m calling it good.
Good experience. (My parents’ wallpaper is old and I want to redo theirs eventually — useful practice for that too.)
Next page: building the new shoe cabinet.
Comments