Thursday 21 May 2015

Cheat Marble DIY



Remember that post Fiona wrote a few weeks ago about the world’s sheer need for marble? Well, I, being lazy (and poor) desperately wanted to make the most of the beautiful texture without shelling out on real marble (or even vinyl, for that matter). Ideally, I would invest in a polished marble slab and  balance it on two of IKEA’s mint green trestle legs to create my dream desk, but until I acquire the funds to do so, I’ve scrimped on a completely free way to pimp out my desk essentials in a way to feed my marble obsession. 

I scoured the internet for the perfect marble pattern, and came up with these two images (1, 2). I’ve printed them out to fill some A4 pages and measured out the sizes I needed to cover various items, including a notebook, nail varnish, tea light, spray bottles and marker pen. I chose items that were relatively simple to cover and that will look lovely on display. I’m struggling to stop myself covering everything I own in the patterned paper, and upon moving in to my uni house, I’ve covered what was once a tacky blue headboard with 15 tennis ball sized holes in it (think adolescent boy vibes) and transformed it into a seemingly indulgent solid marble bed. 



I used the cheapest vinyl I’ve found yet - from Wilkinson’s for £5 - I’d say that’s a pretty good deal as you get a good 5 metres out of it and it’s really realistic. There are four marble patterns to choose from - I went for the subtle grey tone. The process itself was actually rather simple, with a few measurements and a clean cut, I managed to get the vinyl stuck on straight, despite ignoring the instructions and just peeling the back off thoughtlessly, thus sticking the vinyl to itself, the bed, and me (creating what I thought would be a complete mess of the job) but much to my amazement, I was able to unstick everything and start again with the same strip without so much as a crease to be seen on the end result. Long story short - it doesn’t matter if you mess up the sticking process. It unsticks. 



I also think a candlestick would look fab wrapped up half way to the top (as long as you don’t burn the paper!) as well as things like plant pots and storage boxes. Even if you didn’t feel like covering a whole item, a thin strip around the middle of a transparent container could look super stylish. 


Have you ever tried wrapping things in marble, or any other pattern? What would you choose to cover?


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