Some people look at giant, empty walls and think "There's so much room for decor!" I look at giant, empty walls and cringe at the thought of having to spend hundreds of dollars to fill the dang thing up. So when I saw people using books as wall decor, I thought of my local Habitat for Humanity Restore that sells a BAG of books for $1.00 and basically flew down there! 😂
This project was so inexpensive, easy, and I (literally) have had house guests take pictures of this wall when they come over lol!
Here's how you can make your own book wall!
You will need:
Package of nails ($1.34 at Lowe's)
Painters Tape ($2.99 at Lowe's)
6* Hardcover Books ($1 at Habitat)
*I used 6 books but this will vary depending how big your space is.
Tools:
Hammer (if you don't have one they're $5 at Lowe's)
1. Tear out loose pages from the books to use as fillers.
I tore out maybe 50-60 pages.
2. Map out the pattern you want the books in.
I like to do this on the floor in front of the wall it's going on. Start with the hardcover books for the skeleton of your pattern. Then, use the loose pages to fill in the gaps between hardcover books. *I circled where I nailed my hardcover books to the wall before adding the loose pages. I wanted to add a large clock here so I incorporated that into the rough draft.
3. Nail the hardcover books to the wall at the cover so the pages hide the nail.
4. Curl the two halves of the book pages inward at the corner or center and nail.
This step gives the book some texture and keep the pages adhered the wall. I would suggest leaving 2 book pages loose in the center when you nail the curled page to the wall so you can tape the pages over the nail to conceal it.
*Below are two options for where to place your nail for a "turn the page" look.
4 (contd).
The first picture below is what the book should look like with the pages nailed to the wall (this is why you'll want to leave a couple loose pages in the center; to hide the exposed nail). The second picture is another option for how to curl pages for added texture.
5. Use painters tape to tape the loose book pages to the wall that you pulled out earlier to fill in the gaps between the hardcover books.
I rolled up small pieces of painters tape and stuck them on the back of the page so they didn't show. You can turn and fold these pages too to give it that "wind blown" look. I just used painters tape to fold them.
*Examples are attached below.
5 (contd).
I wanted to add a clock in the middle of mine, but you can add anything or nothing at all to the books. Below is the finished wall with all the filler pages attached to the wall.
*You can spruce up the books by adding flower stems or greenery inside the pages that's easy to swap out for holiday decorating.
6. The finished project!
