Bamboo and grass cloth are popular elements of Asian furniture. DIY Decorating & Design host Nancy Golden gives an old dresser an Asian look by covering the drawer fronts in grass cloth edged with bamboo. Antique-bronze hardware completes the look. Materials:
Dresser
Grass-cloth wallpaper
Bamboo (available at floral centers and craft stores)
Cellulose-free wallpaper adhesive
Paintbrush for applying adhesive
Utility knife and sharp blades
Length of scrap wood
Hammer
Nails
Knife to split bamboo
Mallet
Measuring tape
Saw
Scissors
Brads
Drawer pulls
- Cover the drawer fronts and the sides and top of the dresser with grass-cloth wallcovering. Measure the areas to be covered, and cut pieces of wallcovering accordingly. You may want to cut each piece a bit bigger than the measurements to give some leeway when setting the piece in place. The excess can be trimmed away from the edges after it's applied.
- Brush cellulose-free wallpaper adhesive on the back of the first piece of wallcovering (figure A). Set the piece in place on the drawer, making sure to get it straight, and smooth in place with your hands (figure B).
- Cover all drawer fronts and the sides and top of the dresser using the same method. Trim any excess wallcovering from the edges with a sharp utility knife.
- All the areas covered in grass cloth are edged with pieces of split bamboo. To split the bamboo, hold each piece securely on a piece of scrap wood by pounding a nail on either side of the bamboo. Insert the tip of a butcher knife in the middle of the length of bamboo, and hammer the knife with a mallet. When the tip is in, move the knife down to cut into the bamboo (figure C). Pull out the knife, and continue splitting the bamboo the same way down its length. When you come to a knot in the bamboo, twist the knife a bit to get through it.
- Measure the length and width of the first drawer to determine the lengths of the four pieces of bamboo needed to edge the drawer front. Use a saw to cut the ends of the bamboo at 45-degree angles (figure D). Snip off excess fibers, if necessary, with scissors. Place four pieces of bamboo edging around one drawer, and hammer in place with brads (figure E). The nails will show on this rustic-looking piece. Edge all the drawers the same way, as well as the sides and top of the dresser.
- Complete the dresser makeover with appropriate hardware. Nancy used antique-bronze drawer pulls.
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