The art of styling bookshelves had never really been important to me until I started perusing pictures on Pinterest and saw the carefully curated collections and beauty in the organized book spines. Of course, I don’t have an unlimited budget where I can add decorative books in one carefully choreographed color or an unlimited budget for fantastic looking odds-and-ends to update my bookshelves. That is why I am excited to share with you some easy ideas for updating your bookshelves with Goodwill items and a few budget-friendly craft materials.
Cover Books With Paper
If you have an eclectic collection of books or you want to pick up a collection of books at Goodwill to stock your shelves, one frugal way you can add order and beauty to your bookshelf is to simply wrap each book in paper. These beautiful bookshelves from Chloe Moore Photography have beautifully hand-stamped spines that add a unique detail to them. I also love how she has weaved in her photography equipment, adding her own personal nods to her favorite interests.
Spray Paint Items to Create a Cohesive Collection
Instead of trying to find items of a similar color for your bookshelves to add those unique details, consider creating your own collection of groupings with an inexpensive bottle of spray paint.
My own bookshelves were cluttered with items that did not mean anything to me and did not showcase my personality. I took a day to declutter my shelves, added a fabric back to my bookshelf and then found items that I loved and spray painted them with a little gold spray paint. It created just the look I was going for, and cost $15 to update my shelves.
Stack Your Books In a New Way
Sometimes we get into a rut with our styling. I thought there were only two ways to style my books- vertically or horizontally. The Art of Doing Stuff though has me rethinking my book stacks and groupings because there are actually 7 ways you can stack your books. The names are even fun- the Sandwich Stack, On the Bias, and the Spiral Stack…just to name a few.
Consider regrouping your stacks in new ways and adding to your stacks with items you can find at your store to round out your collection.
Add an Eye-Catching Design to Your Bookcase
Even inexpensive laminate bookcases or Goodwill finds can be transformed with a little paint and thoughtful styling into true things of beauty. One thing I love to see on bookcases, is an interesting color on the inside of the bookshelves. This can be added with a pop of color from a brightly colored paint, a pretty fabric, scrapbook paper, or even stenciling. I love this fantastic idea from Salvage Savvy to use inexpensive wall decals to add a decorative touch that is both frugal and fast.
Add Your Own Personality
One thing that I have been trying to do is to weed out the clutter in my life and make room for the good stuff. The same tactic can be applied towards our bookshelves and what we place on them.
My shelves have yarn and knitting books, a shelf dedicated to my favorite classics, and I have a cookbook shelf that not only holds my cookbooks, but also holds the biscuit cutter that my great-grandma used to make biscuits for me when I was a little girl.
Consider creating a bookcase or shelf towards your own personal hobbies and collections. I love this beautiful cookbook collection from The Inspired Room that celebrates her love for beautiful cookbooks. This would also be a great spot to find some pretty vintage cookbooks or vintage kitchen items that you could weave into your shelves.
Like you, Amy, I always have a stack of library books, too. Where do you keep them? I used to always have them in a tote, but now I keep them on my bookshelf. They are not very attractive, though – any suggestions for how to display from 5-15 books at a time with those library stickers on the spine? A cute basket maybe?
I actually have my library stacks in two spots- one for the kids and one for me. We have an end table with long legs and I stack them up underneath that, with all the ends facing out. I love what it adds to the decor.The kids books are in our console table and have a designated basket now for those. They are put away, but you could definitely display them too. If you look at the West Elm catalog, you will see books EVERYWHERE in cute stacks next to the bed. I think it adds a beautiful touch (and it doesn't cost a dime!)