Cover to Cover

You know how they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? Or how they also say it’s not what’s on the outside, but on the inside that counts? Well honey, ‘they’ don’t have a book called “Beautiful Bones Without Hormones” which features photos of bone slices with osteoporosis on the cover, and I do. You can imagine for yourself what’s on the inside.

Why do I even own such a book in my collection, you ask? Because hey, sometimes it’s OK to only care about the outward appearance of something. I wanted to make a pretty book, so I found that particularly unwanted tome at the thrift-store and gave it a makeover!  You can see how that little project turned out on my post about printable book covers.  (I’m no stranger to making over books, my altered Halloween book tutorial is also my most popular post year-round).

Anyway, not all books are pretty, and that’s OK. And if you want to make your books look pretty, that’s OK too! Here are a couple of ideas for you.

Johanne at Efex dressed up this book by gluing a wooden applique down the spine, then chalk-painting the whole thing.

 

Doesn’t it look like it was always part of the book? She did a great job with her paint technique to realistically age it, and I also love the delicate little stencil on the front. A few of these scattered around would make a lovely addition to any bookshelf.

 

Maybe you have a lot of books, and their clashing colors and spine designs make you crazy. I have a friend who turns all her books around so you only see the pages and not the spines. Great for a cohesive look, not so much for finding the book you want.

Lauren at Bless’er House found a happy medium. She was never happy with her bookcases and felt they look cluttered and unorganized.  She came up with a solution after seeing a set of ‘French mute books’ for sale at Restoration Hardware.

Basically the ‘French mute books’ looked exactly like this and cost $125 more. Her DIY version cost practically pennies and looks just as good! She painted her books white with chalk paint and added handwritten labels on brown paper. I love this look! I’m tempted to do this to all my books, if I didn’t have the handwriting of a 4th grade boy.