Recently I was renovating this waterfront condo using only DIY projects. I built a shiplap fireplace, added wallpaper on the sides, created shelves, and reupholstered chairs, but the room still needed more. (You can see that condo and the projects I’ve undertaken here).
I needed to make it feel more coastal, but without spending much money at all.
Ideally, almost nothing.
Then, I thought about something I’d seen in a model home years ago. The decorator had a color theme and I remember the bookcases looking so uniform and neat.
So, I ran down to the Goodwill store by my house.
What I bought for my decor hack
They had used books there for around $1.50.
I picked out several hard cover books that also looked like they might be interesting to read. After all, I may get around to reading them at some point so I might as well pick out ones that would be enjoyable.
$10 later, I was heading to the car with a handful of hardcover books.
I removed the covers that came with the books.
The theme of my decor hack
I purchased a set of blue and white coastal gift wrapping paper on Amazon. It came in sheets and so I took one sheet and laid it under the book.
Just in case you’re younger than me and never had to wrap your textbooks for school, here’s how you do it..
Fold a piece over the edge as pictured above, then tape it in place.
Flip the book over and do the same on the other side.
Then I like to cut slits where the spine of the book is.
Having the slit in place allows you to then fold down the paper over the top and bottom of the book like this. Just tape those into place too.
You’ll be left with the little flaps on each side (where you cut the slits). You can either snip these off or fold them and tuck them into the wrapper.
Placing this cute decor hack in place
Set them wherever you need them and it creates a theme on your bookcase or in your room.
Think of how easy it is to change the look of your room just by wrapping your books with Christmas paper during season, or wrapping them all pink and red for Valentine’s Day, etc.
I added the books on the top right shelf, by the anchor, and the middle shelf on the left side. It just helps finish off my decor and really solidifies the nautical / coastal theme.
I hope you can use this extremely inexpensive decorating trick too!