Decorative Books-How to Make Them For Cheap!

Decorative books are a great way to complement your existing decor and add much needed height. Read on to see how to make your own set of decorative books for next to nothing!

Decorative books are usually the first thing I grab when styling a shelf.  Slipping a few stacked books under a pretty vase or picture frame adds instant height and layers to a shelf.  They also make a great gift for home decor-loving friends!  I’m constantly including decorative books in my home styling projects.  For example,  I did a post about using some very old, not so traditional windows as wall decor in our living room. If you missed that post, you can check it out here. In a few of the pictures, I showed some decorative books that I have sitting on the ledges of these windows in our living room and off to the side of our kitchen. .  I got a few responses saying how much people liked them so I decided to do a separate post focussing on how I made them and the best places to purchase books for painting.

Where to Purchase Decorative Books for Painting 

• Goodwill- I can score books in bulk from here ranging in price from 75 cents to $1.99
• Garage sales
• Half Priced Books
• eBay
• Craigslist
• Consignment stores-Patina Interiors has a book shelf of used books in the back
• Family members, empty nesters, people who are about to move- It never hurts to ask!
• Also, check your own drawers!  Take the dust jackets off of books to check out their hardcover and determine if they’d be good for painting

What To Look for When Shopping for Books to Paint

• hardcovers- You cannot paint a paperback book (duh!)

• texture, no sheen- The cover needs to be textured and not have a sheen to it in order for the paint to stick

• various sizes-  When stacking books for shelf styling, you want to make sure that they will stack together nicely by size.  Play with the stacking combination in the store before you purchase the books to make sure they will look ok stacked together on a shelf.  Measure your shelf openings before you go!

• odd numbers-I like to stack them in odd numbers.  Keep the number of how many you will need in mind while shopping

Supplies you will need to make a decorative book

• • hardback books

  • chalk paint- Any kind will do.  I’ve used CeCe Caldwell’s, Annie Sloan, and Hobby Lobby’s brand for this project before

  • Liquid Leaf paint- you can find this at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or on Amazon.

  • medium paint brush- this is for the chalk paint

  • small paint brush- This is for the Liquid Leaf paint.  The bristles should be short and somewhat stiff

  • tarp, painters cloth, old towel or newspaper.

How to Make a Decorative Book

• • First, open each book to the very center page and place it to where the pages are face down on your painting surface so that the front cover, spine, and back cover are laying flat.

  • Next, paint the entire cover including the front, back, and spine with one coat of chalk paint using the medium size paint brush.  Let this coat dry. Two coats may be necessary depending on the color you use but don’t make that decision until after the first coat has completely dried.

  • Then, use the small paint brush to paint a design on the spine using Liquid Leaf paint.  Some examples of design details for the spine may include but are not limited to horizontal stripes, a cross, half liquid leaf half chalk paint, solid stripe. See below for design ideas…. (sidenote- this is the same metallic paint I used to paint my ottoman in front of the fireplace. If you missed that project, you can read about it here.) Let the liquid leaf paint dry completely before closing the books and styling them. And done…..

    
    

Now you have a pretty set of decorative books for the home!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial.  Send me pictures of your books after you make them!

I love seeing decorative books styled on pretty shelves, especially when they are DIY!