Decorating with Old Books: The Different Types You Should Collect
decorating with old books is a styling staple. Here are a few different types of books you will want to find for your own home decor and display!
It’s no secret that vintage books are the secret sauce of stylists. They instantly add texture to every vignette, while giving flexibility in height adjustments. If you’ve got vintage books, you are well on your way to making a beautiful display! I’ve got quite the collection of books for this very reason and use them liberally in my decorating {“Decorating with Books 101 and Beyond”}. But in the last year, I’ve started a new collection (like that needed to happen;). I’ve been on the hunt for tabs; vintage books with tabs, to be exact. Here’s why you should be Decorating with Old Books: The Different Types You Should Collect.
Decorating with Old Books: The Different Types You Should Collect
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Collect Different Kinds of Vintage Books for Decorating
There are so many different varieties of old books available. It can be fun to have a variety of colors, patterns and styles to use in your decorating and styling. Here are some of the types I keep an eye out when I’m thrifting.
Patterned Covered Reader’s Digest Books
Old Reader’s Digests books often have a fun variety of patterned covers. They can be used to decorate all through the seasons. Their wallpaper-look patterns can go with many different decor styles, and they can be used in any room of your home!
I’m always happy to pick up another (or a whole box-full) if the price is right! They can be used to decorate all through the seasons.
These latest finds were in a free box before sister and I even entered a church sale last week… she went home with a few, too;) I just love all the fun, vintage patterns on these! Last year I created some really cute trees with them {“How to Make an Easy Book Tree”}, and needed to replenish my stash.
Vintage Elementary School Textbooks
Vintage school textbooks and children’s books have wonderful illustrations and front covers. They can feature a wide array of artists and give you a peek into the culture at that time. I love to use these old schoolbooks stacked or sometimes open on an easel to enjoy the pictures inside.
Old Hymnals
If you’re a classic music lover, vintage hymnals are a treasure to collect. Not only is it fun to reminisce the old songs, you can use the pages in vignettes around your home. Simple prop the hymnal open to a favorite song and tuck it into your home’s decor. Standing or laying, the vintage pages will bring back fond memories.
Vintage Books with Tabs are a Collection You Should Start; Here’s Why
My latest book collecting obsession is old books with tabs! Dictionaries, you ask?
Well, yes, there’s Roget’s, American College and Webster, of course. They all have lettered tabs. Some of these dictionaries have a lot of words! (And they’re really big)
Books with Tabs are More Than Just Dictionaries
Tabs also come on other vintage books. A Mechanics’ handbook has numbered tabs down the pages:
Recipe books have types of recipes grouped together, which is kind of a fun glimpse into the past. Leftover egg recipes anyone?
I’m on the hunt for an old Bible with tabs; thought I had one around here, but can’t seem to find it.
Vintage books with tabs include dictionaries, recipe books, bibles, and other handbook-type resources.
Why do I like them? I think the tabs just add an extra bit of styling punch! You don’t see these little half-moon cut-outs on modern books. And dictionaries and other handbook resources have been eclipsed by the internet, which adds more historical charm and collect-ability. These types of books will not be coming back anytime soon!
Books With Tabs Are Going Extinct, So Collect Them Now
In fact, I’m guessing their value with collectors will only go up. Which is why you should be grabbing them now, when everyone’s getting rid of them! I got this nice variety at recent church sales for $1 each! I’m sure they sell for more than that on Ebay already!
Decorating with Vintage Books, an Essential for Home Decor
Truthfully, I’m only interested in them for their decorative value since my selling days are in my past {“Do I Miss It?”}. A couple of these tabbed books stacked together, make a perfect vignette! Just add something at the top, and you’ll look like an expert decorator!
See how easy it is to create a charming display? Stack 3 tabbed books, maybe add an open one at the top, and top off with a pumpkin, a plant, or a figurine. Easy, peasy! {if you want to make your own adorable fabric pumpkins, check out my “Fabric Pumpkin How-To”}.
Have I convinced you to start hunting for vintage tabbed books yet?
There should be enough left for you, because I think I have as many as I need:
Yep…I’m a vintage book addict. Admitting it is the first step.
Every season is the perfect time of year to style your home with vintage books!
Where Do You Find Old Books?
Old, vintage books can be found at many secondhand haunts. Thrift stores are a great place to find old books. Old books are plentiful at estate sales, flea markets and church sales, and can be purchased for only a dollar or two. Vintage dealers offer old books on Etsy and Ebay and Facebook marketplace also.
For more ideas for decorating & crafting with books, make sure to read:
“Decorating with Books: 21 Creative Ways to Use Old Books for Decoration”
Decorating with old books is a cheap, textural way to decorate your home! If you’ve got some, you’ll have the decorator’s secret sauce!
Beware…you may have to fight your fellow secondhand shoppers who will now know the power of decorating with vintage old books. Hope you’re inspired to shop secondhand, now that you’ve read Decorating with Old Books: The Different Types You Should Collect. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to become an Insider and keep the ideas coming!
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I love vintage books, also. The tabs on any of the books are attention getting, but I never thought about them as decor … great ideas. Large, thick, tabbed dictionaries are a favorite.
Yes, those books with tabs are the best! You can also find them on cookbooks and old manuals, as well as dictionaries.
Oh, I have a Bible with those tabs. I guess I need to display it prominently again.
Definitely!
Yes, you’ve convinced me! Now I want to go out and look for some old books with tabs! These are such cute ideas. I have some old books I need to go find and decorate with. Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things!
Good luck, Pam!
Thanks Lora. I am a collector of old dictionaries. I don’t know how many I have but I just keep picking them up. Stacking some of my bigger ones would be interesting. Have a great weekend.
I bed your stack will be bigger than mine, Marlene;) Have fun decorating with them!
Lora, I get so excited when I get an email telling me you’ve posted. Those tabs definitely remind me of the days when I used to play word games with my dad and those paper-thin dictionary pages. Thanks for the reminder. Now I have to collect those. 🙂
Aw, your comment brought a tear to my eye, Stacey; thanks so much! I’m glad I brought a good memory back…and glad I gave you a reason to go vintage shopping;)
I love those books too, Lora; the tabs just give them added interest!
Tania
I know, right? I’d never really noticed them before…but I sure am now!