Creative Decorating Ideas With Books
Creative ways to use books as decorative objects and accents around your home beyond simply books styled in bookshelves or displayed on coffee tables.
Books on a bookshelf, either stacked or filled in library-style look nice, but they are only 2 ways to use books to decorate your home.
When you decorate with books, you are rewarded with fast, easy and an inexpensive way to add style and color to any room in your home. Interior designers use them all the time as accents.
In this post are my favorite and easy DIY ideas on how to decorate with books, both old and new beyond the bookshelf. When placed strategically, stacked or covered, they can change the look of a room in an instant.
Where to Find Books to Decorate With
If you don’t have any books on your bookshelf to use to decorate with, then for a few dollars you can find books inexpensively at:
- Thrift stores
- Church bazaars
- At your parents or grandparents home
- Flea Markets
- Ebay
- School or local library book sales
Decorating With Stacks of Books
When decorating with books in any room in your home, one of the simplest ways to add impact is to simply stack them.
Stack Cookbooks On a Kitchen Counter
Don’t hide your favorite cookbooks in a cabinet, use them to add color to the space. Here I stacked red and pink cookbooks on my kitchen counter and added a DIY vase on top.
Stack Books as Risers for Decorative Accessories
Or create a rainbow effect on open shelves by stacking a few colorful books topped with a collection of kitchen ware.
Cover a Stack of Books With Paint or Paper
When you display books by covering them with paper and then add sayings to the spines of each books creates interest.
- Styling Idea: Get the free fall book printable to do this: Fall Quote Printable for Book Spines
Paint old books found at a thrift store to coordinate with your decorating color scheme or for a clean line modern look.
Stack books to add height to a low object or to raise a lamp on a table. Choose the book colors that you would like to see in the room.
This is one of my favorite ways to use books in decorating. Cover a stack of books with holiday or seasonal gift wrap, fabric or craft paper to create budget-friendly holiday decor on a sofa console table or side table.
In the fall, cover books with burlap to add a rustic texture to the stack.
Stack Your Current Books You Are Reading
If you like to keep the books you are currently reading or plan to read nearby on an end table, stack them by size or color and place a decorative object on them.
Books can become the decorations in a room themselves.
Display Coffee-Table Books on a Spinner
Place one of your favorite books as a coffee-table display. Open a book to a favorite page and place on a DIY open book spinner to create a unique focal point on a table.
Remove the Covers of Books to Make a Planter Cover
Remove the cover from two similar sized books to make a pretty cover to hide an ugly vase.
Sometimes the cover page in a book, especially in antique books is more interesting than the cover.
If this is the case, remove the covers and place two or three books on a table. Place a candle or small decorative items on top to create a pretty vignette.
How to Decorate With Book Pages
When using books to decorate, you are not limited to using the whole book or the covers.
Look for books that have interesting type and fonts on the pages and use the pages in these creative ways when decorating the rooms in your home.
1. Use Book Pages As Wallpaper
Use the pages from the books to wallpaper the inside of a cabinet or hutch. This looks best when done with the pages of vintage books.
Slightly overlap the pages until the surface is covered. Use matte Mod Podge and a paint brush to attach and seal the book pages to the surface.
2. Make a Leaf Garland or Banner
Make a festive garland by cutting out holly shaped leaves from the pages of books. You can also use sheet music to do this.
Learn how to make this book page garland and get the free leaf printable to use as a template.
3. Create a Crafty Cache Pot or Planter
These containers are made not only by using recycled book pages, but also tin cans. When combined, they make cute little cache pots to hold your pens and pencils in style on your desk or craft area.
4. Line Drawers
Use the whole page or cut the sections from the book pages you like to line drawers. Use matte Mod Podge to apply.
As you can see using books as decoration will add style, color and interest to any room in your home.
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