Since my childhood years, I have always loved reading. I started reading pretty early on and soon discovered that books were one of my passions. Yes, that’s right, books. Because it’s not just the act of reading itself – it’s the smell of book pages that makes every book lover swoon. In this blog post, I invite you to indulge in the art of vintage book decorating for any home.
Also, make sure to give the blogs and profiles mentioned a deeper look for more amazing ideas and DIY tutorials.
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There are so many ways to use vintage books in your home decor to evoke an antique decorating style. From stunning bookshelf arrangements to table placemats, learn how easy it is to effortlessly achieve a vintage look without spending too much. Those who love vintage decor are invited to follow my ideas below for the ultimate antique-inspired interior with lovely old books.
Source: Booth and Williams
Start by curating a beautiful bookshelf display that showcases your collection of vintage books. Arrange books both horizontally and vertically, creating visual interest and adding depth to the shelves. Mix in decorative objects like antique bookends, small sculptures, glass cloches, an hourglass, small flower vases, or vintage trinkets to enhance the overall aesthetic. Experiment with different color palettes or arrange books by themes to create a captivating focal point that reflects your personal style and interests.
Source: Vintage Home Designs
Stack a few vintage books as a centerpiece and pair them with candles, flowers, or other decorative elements that complement your home’s style. For a themed gathering, select books related to the occasion or opt for books with beautiful covers that match the color scheme. This simple addition is sure to spark conversations among your guests.
Source: Pinterest
Start by selecting vintage books with appealing covers or interesting typography. You can create a visually stunning display by arranging the books in a unique pattern on your wall. For a more minimalist look, carefully remove select pages from vintage books and frame them as individual pieces of art – a gallery wall. Additionally, you can hang vintage book spines on your wall, mixing them with book pages or covers. If you don’t want to destroy an older book, you could buy newer novels at a garage sale and use the pages as art.
Source: Pinterest
Vintage books can serve a purpose beyond aesthetics by incorporating them into functional spaces. For example, stack them on a console table near the entrance as a stylish catch-all for keys, sunglasses, or mail. Use vintage books as risers on bookshelves to elevate decorative objects and add visual interest. Additionally, consider using them as unique bookends or paperweights on your desk or table.
Source: Pinterest
If you’re feeling crafty, explore various DIY projects that transform vintage books into functional and decorative items. Create book page wreaths, where you fold and attach pages to a wreath frame, for a unique door or wall decoration. Fashion vintage book covers into stylish and personalized journal or notebook covers. You can even repurpose antique books as storage boxes by hollowing out the pages, providing a discreet place to store small items.
Source: Pinterest
It is crucial to decorate with vintage books according to the color palette of your space. For example, cream, light pink, or beige-colored books look great in a shabby chic or romantic interior and vintage books with dark spines match a space inspired by Dark Academia. If you pay attention to these details, you’ll be able to create a beautiful, catalog-worthy space.
Source: Pinterest
Obviously, the content of vintage books is not just words and letters. We can often find vintage books that feature beautiful illustrations of plants or animals, especially those published in the 19th century. They, too, can be framed and hung on the wall as decorative pieces. Those who have absolutely no way of getting their hands on a vintage book can try reprints of old illustrated book pages such as this one from Etsy.
Source: Vintage Home Designs
Vintage books can make wonderful placemats for an English afternoon tea-inspired dinner and not only. Choose pages with interesting illustrations, old maps, or text. Trim the pages to your preferred size for the placemats. Standard placemat sizes are usually around 12×18 inches (30×45 cm), but obviously go with whatever fits your table.
Source: Laura Radniecki Easy Crafts
Another way to decorate with vintage books is to turn them (or just their pages or covers) into buntings or garlands. For example, cut out shapes like triangles or circles from the book pages, punch holes near the top corners, and thread them onto a string or twine. Or, do the same using the book spines or covers.
Laura from Easy Crafts has a great DIY tutorial on how to create your own book page bunting at a low cost.
Decorate with your vintage books according to the time of year. Stack books as a base for seasonal displays, such as placing a vase of fresh flowers on top for spring, a small pumpkin or autumn foliage for fall, or decorative snowflakes for winter. Going by color is also great here – use pastel books in the spring, white and light gray in the winter, orange and yellow-toned books in the fall, and brighter and more vivid colors in summer. On occasions like Valentine’s Day, take out your red and pink vintage books.
Source: Robyn’s French Nest
I just love the look of objects in glass cloches! Small antique items, animal horns and antlers, skulls, or figurines/small sculptures all look fab enclosed in bell jars. Do the same with books: grab a nice glass cloche and place one or a couple of vintage books inside it. It’s a win-win as they will look romantic and beautiful but also stay protected from collecting dust. Another idea is to roll up some pages taken from vintage books, tie them with a pretty ribbon, and place those under a glass cloche.
Source: Pinterest
Select a few vintage books with visually appealing covers and arrange them in a stack or in varying heights. Stand two or three books and lay a couple of books, and place a decorative item, such as a vase, candle, or small potted plant, on top of the stack. Add additional elements like a framed photo, a small sculpture, or a vintage trinket to complete the vignette.
Source: Pinterest
A stack of vintage books placed on a vintage scale will look especially great in the kitchen. For this purpose, you can use vintage cookbooks, but not only. The scale can also be displayed on a side table or a bookshelf in the study or library.
Source: Making Home Matter
Creating an old book page wallpaper is not only a unique and fantastic way to showcase your love for literature and vintage home decor but it’s also a sustainable one. Here, also, the possibilities are endless – go for book pages with poems, illustrations, or writing in another language (French or Italian will add extra sophistication to your wall!).
Anna from Making Home Matter has a wonderful tutorial on how to create a DIY vintage book wallpaper.
Source: Domestically Blissful
If you have some vintage books at home whose color doesn’t necessarily fit your interior – paint them. Painting vintage book covers is a nice and cheap way to update your home decor.
Check out Giustina from Domestically Blissful’s DIY book cover painting project to achieve the same result at home.
Source: Isuwannee
Get a vintage coffee table book and use it as a tray – place a flower vase, candle, a bowl with seashells, a teapot, or whatever trinket you wish on it.
Source: VintageLove579 (Etsy)
The kitchen is a great room to decorate using vintage books. There are a ton of old cookbooks that can be used here, but you can also use books that aren’t cooking or kitchen-related. As long as they fit your kitchen’s color scheme, you’re good to go!
Source: Pinterest
Stenciling words or letters on vintage books can add lots of visual appeal and breathe new life into old and worn out books. It’s also a great way to express yourself, whether it’s your beliefs, favorite quotes, or interests.
Source: A House of Books
Create a bundle of vintage books by tying them together with twine or rope. The upside: it’s super cheap and effortless yet makes a lovely impression. Here too, you can go by seasonal references or choose books according to colors — a bundle of green, blue, yellow, purple, and more.
Source: poseyvintage (Instagram)
Placing vintage books in an old wooden crate is another idea to try if you’re looking for an easy and creative way to add a boost to your home decor. A vintage produce crate will work perfectly and you can find a great selection of those on Etsy or Amazon.
Source: PaperByMdotVen
I’ve already mentioned seasonal and holiday-inspired book decor, but this time I want to focus on actual seasonal book titles. Look for vintage publications of the Christmas Carol, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, or The Summer Book. Place a couple of them together in a seasonal vignette. It would also be great if they shared similar tones, such as pink and red for Valentine’s Day, blue and white for winter, and so on.
Set aside one, two, or three copper pans for purely decorative purposes to hang on the wall.
Source: @vintage_square (Instagram)
A fireplace mantel is the perfect backdrop for lots of decor, whether it be seasonal vignettes or a display of plants, flowers, or candelabras. The same applies to vintage books – with well-selected old volumes, you will need nothing more. No fireplace mantel? Get a faux one and feel just as fancy. PS. Karina from Vintage Square used old book pages to decorate the inside of her faux mantel and I absolutely love it.
Source: Young At Hart Vintage
If you’re unsure which colors to use and nothing seems to match your interior, try neutrals. Neutral-colored vintage books have a calm Light Academia vibe to them and can invite tranquility and lightness to any interior. Try going from light to dark using beiges, browns, and grays. Top the stack with a mini classical sculpture for an extra academic feel.
Source: Pinterest
An antique or antique-style cage can serve as a home to many vintage treasures, books included. Create a cage vignette inspired by old books and complement it with other vintage items. Try vintage bowling pins, old photographs, plants, candelabras, figurines, and lots of other knick knacks.
Source: Pinterest
Use a vintage leather suitcase as a unique way to showcase old books. Line them up by color to create captivating transitions or create a scenery inside the suitcase using books and miniatures. You can also place a small, battery-operated vintage-style lamp or string fairy lights inside the suitcase to softly illuminate the books.
Source: Pinterest
If the space of your home allows it, create a separate reading nook where you can not only display but also read your beloved vintage books. Begin with a cozy armchair upholstered in rich, textured fabric or leather, complemented by a classic wooden side table. Add an antique floor lamp with a soft, warm light to create an inviting glow. Surround the space with antique bookshelves filled with classic literature and vintage trinkets. Use the walls to showcase old-world maps, botanical prints, or sepia-toned photographs.
Source: kbdesignhome (Instagram)
Similarly to the glass cloche, a square or rectangular shaped glass case, or better yet – a Wardian case – will give your vintage books an interesting look. You can play it up by placing the glass case on top of other books for a unique display.
Source: Pinterest
I love arranging things according to color to create a rainbow or ombré transition. Using vintage books, put together a stack of books going from blue to dark green to lighter green/lime. Do the same with warmer tones such as reds and oranges and so on, depending what matches your color scheme.
Source: Pinterest
Classical drawings, pastoral scene paintings, and calm landscapes – all of these are a wonderful complement to beautifully bound vintage books. And when arranged together in an antique wooden cabinet, they are bound to be a showstopper in your living room. Can’t afford original artwork just yet? Try high-quality giclee prints – they’re affordable and resemble the real thing very closely.
In point 14, I mentioned using pages from foreign books, like French or Italian, to create a sophisticated gallery wall. Here, I want to suggest you go even further and display entire vintage or antique books in other language for a super fancy feel.
Source: Real Homes
Incorporate vintage books into your home decor to reflect your interests or hobbies, creating a unique and meaningful display. By grouping books on subjects such as travel, art, or gardening, you can proudly showcase your passions and add a distinctive character to your living space.
Let’s discuss some frequently asked questions regarding vintage wall decor for the kitchen.
Good places to buy vintage books for home decor are thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, antique malls, estate sales, and online marketplaces such as Etsy or Amazon.
Making a book page wreath, a book page chandelier, or a gallery wall using old books are some creative DIY decor ideas for repurposing old books. You can also create vignettes, glass case displays, and stack vintage books.
You can find vintage book stacks on Etsy, eBay, and at local library sales, antique stores, and thrift stores.
Vintage book decor offers an opportunity to infuse your home with a sense of history and literary nostalgia. By following these creative ideas and tips, you can transform your vintage book collection into stunning displays, functional accents, and even DIY crafts that reflect your personal style and love for literature. So, unleash your creativity by letting vintage books take center stage in your home.
