Decorate Your Home with Used Books from Goodwill®

Pink and green-spined book with pinecone on top

Whether or not you’re a bibliophile, Goodwill® has just the book for you. With a wide and ever-growing selection, the book section of your local store will not only be an excellent place to browse if you like to read, but also if you need to touch up your home decor.

I think my interest in collecting books began in the womb. I have a distinct memory of a time-out I was given when I was maybe five or six years old. Because my parents’ house is entirely lined with bookshelves, there was no blank wall for me stare at while I served my time. So, I was stationed in a little plastic chair in front of a fantastic wall of titles. Only some were decipherable at that age, the rest were (to me) written in a secret magical code. Needless to say, I didn’t hate time-out.

Row of books with green-hued spines

These days I’m still surrounded by books, and my Goodwill thrifting addiction has only made this worse. When my boyfriend, Ryan, and I take shopping trips together we begin in the book section, browse around for awhile on our own, then meet up in the books again at the end. It’s the perfect section for killing some time and getting lost in another world. And it seems like we leave with a new book every time that we exit the store.

Books with rainbow-colored spines sit on a fireplace mantle

So what does one do with all of these stories after reading? Decorate, of course! I get a lot of compliments on the ROYGBIV book mantel I created in our apartment and had tons of fun looking through our entire collection for the brightest spines while I was making it. But why should the fun stop there? Since our one bedroom lacks the space for a lot of bookshelves, I took our storage problems into my own hands. Thus, the fireplace book wall was born (don’t worry, Bradbury fans, it’s no longer functional).

Fireplace with opening filled with books

And, for the books that don’t fit on either of our mantels or in our fireplace, we have carefully balanced them in stacks in various parts of the apartment. They work nicely in this form as a makeshift side table or an interesting background when taking photos.

And while you’re perusing the hard covers, don’t forget to peek under dust jackets! I’ve found some of the most beautiful covers hiding beneath torn and faded jackets. Sure, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but at Goodwill’s prices a bit of a cosmetic interest in a lesser known tale isn’t such a bad thing. Look at some of the books I’ve found and you’ll see what I mean.

Books with pretty covers

Now if aesthetics and entertainment aren’t enough for you, you could turn one of your thrifted tomes into a secret hiding place in only about a half hour. All you’ll need is a hardcover book, a ruler, a pencil, an exacto-knife, some Elmer’s glue, and a paintbrush! Here’s how:

So now you’ll know what to do with all of those beautiful books that you see while thrift shopping! If you’ve never stepped into the book section before, maybe now you’ll have a reason to. Decorating your home with Goodwill purchases is just another way you can support your local community. Have another idea of how books could be used as decor in your home? We’d love to hear it!

Enjoy your day!

xx, Julia