Hey y’all! I have a quick and easy tutorial for you today. I love old books, especially the kind that are distressed and the pages are well loved. I especially love the look of distressed books, like the kind you see displayed at Restoration Hardware.
Have you seen these? I don’t know what it is about them but I just love them: the old look, the well loved feel, the neutral color. What I don’t love about the RH version is their price…I mean, yikes. Are they crazy?
So, like I do, I decided to make my own and I wanted to show you how to get the same look. I have a bunch of old books already, but most of them have really pretty covers and I just couldn’t bring myself to tear those apart. I needed something that I wouldn’t care about destroying a bit. Like old romance novels. So I headed to Goodwill to see what I could find and I’m happy to report, I was able to find a way to make this project cheap and easy! Here’s how I did it:
Supplies:
- 3 or 4 hardcover books from the thrift store. Make sure they’re about the same height; the thickness can vary.
- Exacto knife
- Twine
Instructions:
- Open the book to the front cover. Using your craft knife, carefully slice the book down the crease of the cover and the inside of the book.
- Open the book to the back cover. Repeat the process of slicing and dicing with your craft knife.
- Stack books together and wrap with twine. You’re done!
Seriously, the easiest project EVER. And about 10 times cheaper than the RH version. How can you beat that?
I like to use them between a lovely pair of bookends, like these corbels I picked up at Lowe’s. I just painted and distressed them.
Or you can use them laid flat with a candle or plant on top. I put this stack on my bedside table and I love how they look! Perfect place to rest my glasses (even though the should be on my face…oops).
There are so many possibilities with these destroyed books! They would look lovely styled on a book shelf or even several stacks of them styled on a mantle. They’re so cheap and easy to make you could do a whole shelf full of them!
Do you like the look of “destroyed” books? How do you like to style them?
Cute and simple tips and a great DIY project! I always love little touches like this in decor and doing it yourself, rather than spending too much for the same product, makes sense! Love!
Yes! Why pay so much when you can do it yourself? Thanks for the comment!
I wrote about books over on my blog today, too! (But ones you actually read :)) I love being surrounded by books, and this is such an easy, decorative way to display them. I’m going to have to try this!
Haha! Yes I am obsessed with books! I couldn’t bring myself to cut up any I already had so I had to find ones I didn’t care so much about. ????