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Last Updated: July 13, 2018 By

A Simple DIY Cabinet Update With Pergo

So my friends, it’s official. One room in our house is D. O. N. E. done! It’s our dining room and the last item that I crossed off of my to-do list was lining the back of our built-in china cabinet:

 

As you can see from the “before” pic below, our china cabinet is very simple, has some New England charm, and didn’t necessarily need to have anything done to it. But the crystal and white china stored inside faded into the white background and I wanted to add a backdrop that would allow them to stand out more while also adding some warmth and decorative interest to our room. 

I’d been planning this little project for months and was originally going to use barnwood to line the cabinet back. I found a great barnwood source, spent over an hour going through all of the wood to pick out my pieces, and then had the guy total my cost up only to find that it was going to cost over $200. So I left empty-handed.

I considered other materials, including pallet wood, wood panelling, and grasscloth wallpaper but ended up with something totally different – I’ll show you what I used and what I did with it! (post includes affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here}) I ended up going with this:
Yep, Pergo. I fell in love with the tones of the Grey Yew Pergo (samples are available in Home Depot stores but it is an online-only product found {here}) and one $53 case was enough to cover my entire cabinet back.
Installation was pretty simple. We cut each Pergo board to the width of the cabinet and then added four strips of double-sided Duck Tape (bought on Amazon {here}) to the back. (You could also use Liquid Nails or some other type of glue adhesive but I wanted to use something that would cause less damage if I chose to remove the Pergo in the future)
The first board was placed at the bottom of the cabinet and then we worked our way up from there. The Pergo boards interlock with each other so there are no visible gaps between the boards (sorry for the grainy iPhone pic!):
The final board needed to be ripped lengthwise as well as being cut widthwise to fit the remaining space. I’m really happy with how it turned out:
 
 I love this scalloped gold bowl!
 

I also changed out the small brass knobs on the glass cabinet doors to 8″ oil-rubbed bronze pulls (Restoration Hardware Lugarno pulls):

The dining room finally feels complete! (To see images of the rest of the space, see {here})

It’s about time that I finished off at least one room – can you believe that we moved into our house a year ago as of next week? 

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Comments

  14. Burlap Luxe says

    June 11, 2014 at 10:07 am

    Love the outcome. I too look for materials that finish a design style! I backed a unit with outdoor siding T1-11 then painted and distressed it, loved the effect it gave a kitchen cabinet.
    Your piece has the right dramatic rightness!

    Xx
    Dore

    Reply

  17. dennyb31 says

    June 11, 2014 at 10:42 am

    Fabulous!!! Love the look and the thriftiness (is that a word?). Looks great, Kris, as always! I have a china hutch waiting for a backsplash treatment and still haven’t found the right thing – I’ll probably go with a semi-permanent wallpaper…

    Reply

  20. Vel Criste says

    June 11, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    It’s a whole new cabinet Kris!!!! LOVE IT!!!!! I have a huge RH china cabinet that’s overcluttered already and needs lighting, that’s what I really need to add to it. But glad you’ve got one room done… for now! 😉

    Reply

  24. Debbie J. says

    June 12, 2014 at 9:25 am

    Looks fantastic, really made a huge difference. Your china and crystal looks beautiful, too. I really love the chandy – is it from R.H., please?

    Reply

  26. [email protected] says

    June 12, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    What an amazing idea! It makes such a difference and totally makes your china pop. I have a similar cabinet and was going to line it with wall paper, but I really like the look of this. Also, it looks pretty easy to remove in case you change your mind (you never do that, right??)

    Reply

  28. Tracey Bradshaw says

    June 12, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    Love it – has given me some great ideas for updating some bookcases that need to be “de-orangified” and I want the inside backs to be a different finish to the shelves. I can’t believe how much the genuine barnwood was – makes it extra special to know someone tearing an old bard/building down these days!

    Reply

  29. Tracy Laverty says

    June 13, 2014 at 7:25 am

    What a clever idea! The room looks fantastic. I can’t believe you moved in a year ago and your home looks so done! We moved into our home over a year now and I know I have a lot more to go. Great job Kris!

    Reply

  34. Elizabeth says

    August 8, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    I love this idea!! Affordable and can be changed in the future if you want. The dining room is absolutely beautiful!

    Reply