Learn how to style a bookshelf using only books! This is the easiest method to style your bookshelves and has the potential to be a very cheap alternative to buying expensive decor for your bookshelves.
One reason I love this look is because it’s neutral so it goes with everything. I don’t have to style my bookcase over and over, so that it will match my decor in the room for that season.
A perfect example is for Christmas I will be swapping out lots of my decor with Christmas decor, but I won’t need to touch the bookcases because they’ll go with whatever decor I choose for Christmas!
HOW TO STYLE A BOOKSHELF: THE NO-FAIL WAY
Gather your materials
You will need lots and lots of books as well as white wrapping paper. It’s also good to have a couple neutral bookends.
AND THAT’S IT!
If you already have a good stash of books that you’re not using anymore, then you’re set. If you don’t have any books, I suggest asking your family members for any old and/or antique books as well as checking thrift stores for books.
Just remember that the books you choose for this project are going to be wrapped in paper so they shouldn’t be books that you’re currently reading.
I also suggest using hardback books as much as possible because the soft covers are harder to wrap. I have a mix of both on my shelves, but I used primarily hardback books.
As far as the white wrapping paper, the best place to purchase it is at The Dollar Tree, or a local dollar store near you that sells it! I had to buy at least ten rolls of white paper to cover all my books, which was only $10 total.
Depending on how big your bookcase is, you may not need that many books or that much wrapping paper.
Wrap your books
Next up, you’ll need to wrap your books in the white wrapping paper.
Here’s how mine look:
Notice I wrapped them just like we used to wrap our books in school! Anyone remember doing that?!
My books are most definitely NOT wrapped perfectly. My cut lines not perfect at ALL, but it doesn’t matter. You don’t see any of that.
Up close, you can even see how NOT PERFECT my book wrapping job is. Fortunately, no one ever inspects them that close, and you can’t tell the imperfections at all when you’re hanging out in the living room.
This is the tedious portion of this project, but just remember that once you’re done wrapping the books, you won’t have to ever do it again! That goes for restyling your bookshelves too!
Place the wrapped books on the shelves
Now that your books are all wrapped, you’re reading to decorate!
The KEY here is that you INVERT your books so that the pages face outward. I did mix it up slightly and put a couple stacks with the bindings facing outward. Primarily though, it’s nice to have the pages face outward.
Depending on the types of books you have, some pages will be bright white while others will be a more antique tan color. I personally like the mixture of both new and old pages!
As far as how to place them…this is the best part… it doesn’t really matter! It’s going to look good pretty much however you place them.
I suggest mixing it up though. Have some books stand horizontal and then smush them up against one side of the bookcase using a bookend.
For others, lay them on a shelf and stack them on top of each other.
Those are really the only two ways to do it! I told you…you can’t really mess this up. That’s why it’s the NO-FAIL way to style a bookshelf!
Here’s the before and after.
Before:
Our entire bookcase and fire mantel was actually a DIY project, which you can check out the tutorial here.
After:
I love that it’s such a clean and sophisticated look! And, it’s a look that anyone can do. Plus, because it’s so simple, it goes with any decor style!
I like to call that a win-win-win-win-win. 😉
Here’s how the styled bookshelves look in my French country living room.
