Warhol Kitchen

You never know when inspiration will give you a big, sloppy kiss on the lips. I was at the museum store at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Andy Warhol retrospective when I noticed that all the Warhol posters were 40% off. While a normal person would think, “Wow, I should get one and frame it,” I (who am not normal) thought, “Wow, I’m going to buy every poster they have in stock and decoupage them onto my kitchen cabinets.” You have to admit, the kitchen is an eye-popper.

Not having decoupaged since junior high, I wasn’t sure about the best way to attach the posters to the cabinets. So I did a search on Yahoo and found the country’s leading authority on decoupage, Durwin Rice. I e-mailed him for advice, and he kindly gave me some great pointers. His book New Decoupage is also a great resource, and it’s fun to read besides. The amazing thing about decoupaging the kitchen cabinets is that they don’t look decoupaged at all. There’s no crackly, wrinkled finish. It looks like the artwork was actually printed on the cabinets.

1. Measure the cabinet face and cut the artwork to the correct size.

2. Clean the cabinet face with a household cleaner. Fortunately, my cabinets are flat white laminate, without architectural details.

3. Using a sponge brush, paint an even coating of Elmer’s Glue on the cabinet. Yes, regular old Elmer’s Glue.

4. Soak the artwork in lukewarm water to relax it. (Slip a Valium in the water to relax it even more.) Seriously, this is the step that I was nervous about, but soaking really does the trick. Otherwise, the paper is stiff and difficult to work with.

5. Place the wet paper on the cabinet. Use a soft, wet brayer to squeegee out the bubbles. Using wet fingers to smooth out the paper also works. Be sure your hands are wet or you’ll snag and pull the paper. Use a wet sponge to mop up excess glue and water.

6. After letting it dry overnight, apply 2 to 3 coats of acrylic polyurethane (I used Benjamin Moore Low Lustre).