0 In Arts & Crafts/ Home Decor DIYs/ PROJECTS

Painted Old Book DIY

Have you held on to an old book or a stack of old books like I have? I held on to most of my text books and reference books from law school. I even have a few text books left over from college. I always intended to spruce them up and use them in my home decor. They are great to help give you various heights to work with when putting together a display or vignette. At one point I covered several old books with some pretty scrapbooking paper, but I had a whole pile of books that I hadn’t touched. So, I decided I would finally give them the makeover they deserved. Here are my steps if you want to give it a try.

Gather Supplies

Obviously you are going to need some old books and some paint. Like I said above, I had a whole stack of books from law school. I also have a garage full of paint. So, I grabbed some white chalk paint, some gray enamel, and some black chalkboard paint. I selected these paints for their color and convenience, but the best paint out of the three I chose turned out to be the enamel. The others worked, but if I do this again, I’ll go with an enamel.

Old Books Before

Paint Your Old Book

First, I laid out a drop cloth on my table. Then, I started painting my books. I started with the gray enamel paint and I painted several books. I painted the spine and both the front and back covers and set them up like tee-pees to dry. Then, I painted a couple of black books and then the white. After they were dry, I painted the inside edges and laid them flat to dry.

Painted Old Book DIY
Painted Old Book DIY

The enamel paint looked beautiful after one coat, but I did two coats anyway. The chalkboard paint definitely need two coats. And, the chalk paint got two coats, but probably needed three. I also played around and added some antiquing wax to one of the white books to see what I thought.

Painted Old Book DIY

PRO TIP: While you are painting, try not to get paint on the pages. I did in a few places because I had paint on my hands and then I picked up a book and touched the pages. I may at some point see if I can gold leaf the edges of the pages, but for now it’s fine.

Display

Once all your paint is dry, set your books out in a vignette or display area. You can stack them up and use them to create different heights. You can put plants, candles, bowls, or anything really on top of a stack of books.

painted books
painted books

This is such an easy DIY. Give it a try! If you like painting books, you might like painting furniture as well. Check out some of the furniture makeover’s I have done. Furniture Makeover: From Office Credenza to Bedroom TV Cabinet Reinvented TV Cabinet: How to Paint Laminate Furniture with Metallic Paint Metallic Paint + Peel & Stick Wall Paper = Major Bookshelf Makeover DIY Repurposed Furniture: Making Your Grandmother’s Furniture Fit Your Decor

Watch Painted Old Book DIY here!

Pin Painted Old Book DIY here!

Pin Painted Old Book DIY

Shop this post here!

You Might Also Like

No Comments

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: