Creative Ways to Decorate Wood Tables with Decoupage Collage

Geometric Design

• Cover the table's surface with geometric shapes for a simple, contemporary design. Artist Lisa Congdon created 2-inch circles with a specialized hole punch out of origami paper. Experiment with triangles, rectangles or other shapes by placing them on your table and judging what you like best. Use one color or several matching colors of decorative paper. Apply decoupage adhesive on the top and bottom of each shape with a paint brush. Start sticking shapes along the outside edges of the table and allow them to dry for approximately 20 minutes. Work inward, placing each additional ring of shapes. Once all shapes are applied and dry, add two coats of adhesive on top to finish the table.

Board Game Design

• Lee Meredith on Craft Stylish discusses how she made a collage table using a vintage game board. If the game board has a paper overlay, gently peel it off with the help of a letter opener or knife. If you accidentally rip the page, you can assemble the pieces back together as you paste them to the table top. Apply the game sheet or thin game board to the table with a decoupage adhesive. Surround the game board with pictures from magazines, calendars, postcards, scrap-booking paper and other sources. Overlap pictures for a continuous flow. Meredith recommends applying a polymer gloss finish to the table's surface once all additions are dry.

Rainbow Tile Design

• The Craftster site demonstrates a rainbow tile decoupage project for a square or rectangular table. Depending on how big your table is, decide if you want four, six, eight or nine tiles. Measure the table's dimensions. For each tile, cut out equal-sized squares of Bristol board so that the tiles will cover the table's surface. Assign a different color to each tile. For each tile, cut out 50 to 100 squares or rectangles of its corresponding color from magazine pages. The magazine cutouts do not have to be the same size or the same shade of that color. For example, if you are creating an orange tile, segments from an orange carnation, fire flames, kumquat and sunset can be used. Cover each Bristol board tile by pasting the corresponding color cutouts with a glue stick. Apply an adhesive to the table to glue the tiles in place. Once dry, cover the tiles with a decoupage adhesive or gloss finish.

Functional Table

• Grocerylists.org shows an example of a decoupage table covered with a collage of actual grocery lists. The creator decided to make this table, using lists from the past, to help her make lists in the future. Consider making a decoupage collage on a small table that fits your purposes. Maybe you are a writer who is constantly writing down ideas for future story projects or a student who is taking an intense course that involves many theoretical concepts. Apply a thin layer of adhesive to the table surface and arrange sheets of notes, diagrams, sketches and brainstorm sessions. For an outer coating, use a decoupage spray to prevent ripping the pages.