Repurposed Vintage Books 2 Ways
Repurposed Vintage Books 2 Ways
I’ve had these old books sitting around forever. Hubby and I purchased the set of vintage books soon after we were married to fill a bunch of empty shelves, and to look like we were well read 🙄 Never actually read any of them, but they did look good.
I don’t think the set has any real value as each of these books are just compilations of earlier literary works.
The books are perfect for the 2 projects I’m doing today, they’re slightly yellowed, they have a nice thickness and there is very little chance I would actually pick up any one of these books and start reading. If I ever do get the desire to read the works of Hawthorne, I could easily visit my local library.
I have used parts of this set of books before, once to create a cover for a hidden lockbox and a second time as a book shelf created from books.
Repurposed Vintage Books – Hollow Book Safe
The first project we’re making from this set of old books is a hollow book safe. I have seen where people have created a safe by cutting the pages to form a nice little hidey hole, but for mine, I’m getting rid of the pages entirely.
Use an exacto knife or other utility knife to cut off the book cover.
Once you have cut off your book binding successfully, make sure you save that stack of pages for our next project.
Find a piece of wood that is about equal to the thickness of the original book. The book cover should be able to close easily and lie flat.
Cut the wood so that it easily fits inside the book cover. It should be about 1/4 inch smaller that the book jacket, just like the original pages.
Sand the edges of the wood insert.
Leave about a 1/2″ border around the box and cut out a hole with a jig saw or scroll saw.
Use E 6000 glue to attach the wood cutout directly to the back cover of your book jacket.
Once the glue on the back cover had dried, I added more glue to the spine of the book. I’m using clamps and wood scraps to hold the spine of the book to the cutout wood insert while it dries . If you look closely, you’ll see I added one more thin slat of wood to the spine to make it fit better. This thin piece of wood is a leftover shutter slat.
If you like, you can paint the covers of your books so that they better fit with your decor. The black and white books have just one coat of slightly watered down chalk paint.
If the paint was too thick, you wouldn’t see the canvas texture or the design on the original book shining through.
One last detail, if you like…cut a piece of scrap fabric or decorative paper to line the inside of your treasure box/ book.
Your treasure box is ready to use in your decor.
Large enough to store the TV remote.
The book that was painted black gets lost in the sea of colorful novels. Perfect for hiding all that gold and jewelry you have laying around the house. 😀
Repurposed Vintage Books – Deconstructed Book Stack
This second project takes even less time since you already have your deconstructed books. Did you know that folks actually sell stacks of deconstructed books on ETSY and the like just to use as home decor?
Get rid of any excess paper that you don’t want to see on your binding with a wire brush or sanding. In my limited experience, sanding makes a little bit more of a mess as the dust gets more airborne. Both methods work equally as well.
Tie your little bundle of books with twine and your project is complete.
From the 4 books I started with, I was able to create 2 book stacks of 3 books each. That doesn’t quite add up 🙄 Since the books were so thick I divided two of the books in half.
Both of these projects would make a great addition to any decor, perfect for layering.
Until next time, stay inspired.
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Love this!!