Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Discussion - Do You Decorate w/ Books

 

What is this? A discussion post? Be still, my heart- I haven't done one of these in AGES. Anyway, I was looking at my bookshelves and thinking about how my grandparents used to have, like, Readers Digest Condensed Books around their house when I was young. And some people (myself included) like to have magazines around. Or coffee table books. Do you do that? So I thought I'd ask the question- do you use books (or bookish stuff) to decorate?

I'm a big fan of bookish antiques and stuff like that. If I'm browsing through a store and I see vintage books or bookish stuff I'm always interested. Same with old comic books or whatever. And Barnes and Noble as well, if I'm shopping and see knick knacks there that catch my eye, I often wonder- how would that look in the house? Or as a bookshelf decoration. 

So let me know. How do you feel about using books or bookish stuff as home decor, or are you not really a fan?   

35 comments:

  1. I've only bought hardcovers of books I have read as ebooks and loved, for the past three years, or special editions of classics I love. They are only for my shelves. Ha ha. So, I guess that makes them decoration. I have a few Harry Potter collectables, and some bookish mugs on my bookshelves with my good bookmarks in them. Annemieke gave me the bookmark storage idea. 😊

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    1. THose are all awesome deco ideas. I think anything bookish works if are into that stuff.

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  2. My house isn't organized enough to decorate with books, lol. I guess you could say all my piles of unread books everywhere are decoration!

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    1. Haha same! hose are decorations in their own right. :) I have a few books placed here and there. Not much though...

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  3. I kind of abhor clutter so I don't like a lot of "stuff" laying around or on all surfaces. All the books tend to stay in the library for the most part. I've seen a lot of unique ways to decorate with books, though.

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    1. I have to! Some people have books placed prominently and others just on the shelves. I need a dedicated library :)

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  4. I do! I think it's fun to decorate with books or bookish items. When I went to NYC last year, I got a book that someone had turned into a clock. I love things like that.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  5. I have books around me but I wouldn't call them decorations but I certainly try to make them look decent and organized. Plus, books are so darn good looking these days with special editions and such, it's like they are made for decoration.

    I love bookish stuff but only if they are useful like bookends or book bags but never candles.

    Have a lovely day.

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    1. That's true, there are so many beautiful editions now they can almost be a decoration or accent on their own. Plus books placed strategically can look awesome. :)

      I like bookish stuff like that also!

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  6. Yes and no. I consider my bookshelves and my books themselves as decoration. They are everywhere. :) I think most of my decoration choices do revolve around my books. Would it look good on a shelf? Can this go above or on top of a bookcase?

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    1. I wonder that too. I have a few books placed here and there, and some bookish decorations- I try not to overdo it haha. I think as book bloggers we gravitate that way maybe :)

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  7. Honestly? I have too many books to properly decorate with them. I do have some vintage books in my living room as a bit of a decoration, but then the other shelves around them are filled to the brim with books. I would love to have more space and decorate with them properly.

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    1. Same. I do love vintage books and they can really accent an area when placed nicely. Honestly, I think people like to see books or things to look at, I know I always did.

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  8. I'm a fan of all things books and bookish stuff, but I'm not a fan of dusting. So I have lots of bookcases full of books, but not a lot of knick-knacks. And no coffee table for magazines either, just a comfy ottoman. :)

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    1. Good point! Dust is a problem! I do like a good coffee table book, but don't have that many, TBH. And a comfy ottoman is a good thing :)

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  9. I am not trying to decorate with books, but I have stacks of them lining one of my walls and the stacks are as about as tall as me.

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  10. We always have a few books lying around on coffee tables and things, but if I'm honest it's more mess than decoration...

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  11. I don't really decorate with books. I don't think I'm crafty enough. But, I know a lot of people who are able to arrange their books in really decorative ways. I think it's a really cool idea!

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  12. I definitely love having books and magazines as decor. But I find that they get lost under 'other' stuff quiet easily. And especially with a little girl walking around, it's hard to keep a book from being 'harmed'. So for now, until my kids are older, I keep my books safely upstairs in my little library. Maybe one day I can use them as decoration again ;)

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  13. The only books I use as decoration are the library books that sit on our coffee table until I read them! I do have some bookish art prints in my office, and I wish I had more space for little knick-knacks on my shelves!

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  14. I think I find crafty new ways to store books when my bookshelves are overflowing. haha. I do have some coffee table books and do decorate around my living room with a pile of books here and there. Mostly, houseplant books or cookbooks. They kind of look like decoration but it's just that I have too many books. haha!

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  15. I don't typically purchase bookish related items for decoration, I'm a little too old for the trinkets that come along with book boxes and that you see on Bookstagram shelves. I've purchased quite a few bookish candles but unlike most, I actually only buy scents I'd enjoy and burn them. I do keep all my collectable editions on a big timber bookcase in my main loungeroom though, they're too pretty to hide away in my library slash office.

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  16. As a matter of bookish stuff, I do! They are around the house, but mostly on my shelves: mugs (with also bookish pens in them), bookmarks (usually magnetic ones I like to hang), some Funko Pops, book ends . . . the list is long, lol I also used to have a sort of storage box in the form of a book, where I could keep precious things in it. THAT was really cool! Now, dusting is my least favourite chore, but I suck it up for the love of books <3

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  17. I don't know about bookish decorations but I do like bookish accessovies like earrings, bags et

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  18. I'm all into using the things I collect as decorations, so there are toys on bookshelves, books on toy shelves etc. If you celebrate, I sure hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving! Hugs, RO

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  19. I mean, we have five bookshelves crammed with books, books in the bedrooms, books in the kitchen, books in the living room. I hate cleaning, so yes, we use books as decorations, haha.

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  20. Interesting discussion topic... I'm intrigued by some of these bookish antiques.

    I don't personally 'decorate' with books in the sense you are describing, as I keep all my books on bookshelves, but I do try to make my bookshelf look nice and pleasing to the eye - they aren't all lined up, but there is variation to how they are displayed, with nice covers facing outwards, and knick knacks on the shelves etc. I love to just sit and admire my shelves from time to time. Ha!

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  21. Gosh Greg, I think I need to do a post just on my house. Do I decorate with books? Do I decorate with anything BUT books?

    As you know, I have a bookish staircase. Our house have 4 bedrooms and a study. There are bookshelves or at least books in every single room.

    I loved those Readers Digest Collections! I have a Agatha Christie Crime Collection set and at the library at school, I have quite a few of those Reader Digest collection!

    This was a great discussion post. Your heart can happily beat away!

    Have a good weekend Greg.

    Elza Reads

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  22. Interesting topic! I use books and bookish items as decorations in my home office since that space is all mine, but I don't really use anything like that in the main part of our house.

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  23. Uh...I would need to have a neat and organised house in order to do that, which is not the case 😂. But even then...not a fan.

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  24. This is hard! So I feel like I consider the bookshelves THEMSELVES to be decor? But I do not trust my kids even like, a half a percent to leave any kind of nice coffee table book lying around (though I do have a few!) and I have bookish (and obviously more so, The 100) themed art and tchotchkes and such around, so... sort of, I suppose!

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  25. I can't say I've ever used books for decoration. If they are lying about in piles it tends to be because I haven't the space to stuff them in the bookcases!

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  26. I use my rainbow bookshelves as decoration. I have one in my room and then one in the office (which I just posted a pic of today since we just redid that room) that are both styled prettily. :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  27. I have coffee table books I like to decorate with. My library is in one of our extra bedrooms so it feels a little isolated. I wanted any visitors to walk into our home and know a reader lives there. So I put up floating bookshelves in our living room to display some of my favorites. They turned into wall art. I have a lot of children's Christmas books so I like to pull those off the shelves at Christmas and use them as decorations. I have some area guidebooks, more coffee table books featuring local photos, and even a copy of Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (arguably my area's most famous author) in the guest room.

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