Six Ways to Decorate with Books

Adding a personal touch to your home doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Rather, it only needs to cost the price of a few used books. Take a page from these simple ideas to decorate with books and you’ll soon have affordable and stylish home decor.

One:  Make a Book Page Garland

Cut circles from pages of a book (I used Martha Stewart’s circle cutter) and gently crumple the circles. Using a large needle threaded with twine, string the circles together and knot the ends of the twine. You can hang them anywhere in the home. I draped a book page garland across my crafting cabinet. Note the back wall of my cabinet is decoupaged with book pages!

 

Two: Decoupage Boxes with Book Pages

Using Mod Podge, decoupage  papier mache or wooden boxes with book pages and add colorful embellishments, if desired. You can find papier mache boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes at Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Cigar boxes make another great option and empty ones are usually sold at liquor stores for just a dollar.  This photo shows a trio of stacking butterfly boxes decoupaged with pages from Wuthering Heights. I added a bit of lace trim to the edge of the box tops.

 

Three: Stack Books as Art

Scour garage sales, flea markets, or thrift stores for books with pretty covers and bindings. Choose colors that match your decor and stack them on tables, desks, or shelves to add color to a room.

 

Four: Make Simple Ornaments

You can easily create origami ornaments using book pages. To find instructions, simply search for “origami instructions” on the internet and you’ll find a ton of options. To make an even simpler ornament, I cut strips from book pages, folded them accordian style, and then threaded the folded strip onto florist wire shaped into a heart. For an unexpected surprise, I hung it on the window in lieu of a wreath.

 

Five: Decoupage a Table Top

Vintage end tables handed down from my husband’s aunt were given a bit of pizzazz using book pages to decoupage the tabletop. Mod Podge works great; be sure to apply a few coats to the top to protect the pages. To add a personal touch, use pages from a favorite book. I chose pages from The Silver Chalice for this project.

 

Six: Create a Vignette using Vintage Books

This is perhaps my favorite way to decorate with books. Group vintage books with other vintage items for an easy, pretty vignette. Place a small table lamp or vase of fresh flowers on a small stack of books to provide added height. Often I find an object in a vignette isn’t quite tall enough. A couple of pretty books will often fix this problem.

So you see, decorating your home doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. You can find gently used books for just a dollar or two. If your local library has a book sale, you can often get them for dirt cheap the last day of the sale. For one last idea on how to decorate with books, visit an earlier blog post I shared that tells how to decorate the face of a clock.

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