[left]Hello, hello! I’m just thrilled to be hanging out with you today. I’m Kathy and I blog at Up to Date Interiors. DIY projects with supplies from the “dollar store” are one of my favorite ways to add handmade decor to our home. It can be tricky to make these DIYs look fabulous but it’s so rewarding when they turn out lovely. Today I’m sharing with you how to create high-end looking bookends with finds from the beach and dollar store.[/left]

DIY projects with supplies from the “dollar store” are one of my favorite ways to add handmade decor to our home!

DIY Coral Bookends

We live super close to the ocean on Okinawa. Most of our summer is spent snorkeling and collecting shells, coral, and drift-wood. I found these two pieces of coral and knew they would be perfect for a project! Y’all, this project cost $2 and took under 10 minutes to make.

Here’s what you need for this simple DIY:

2 large pieces of coral

2 basic bookends from the dollar store

white craft paint and paintbrush

painter’s tape

hot glue gun

Tip: If the coral hasn’t been bleached completely by the sun, a light coat of white spray paint will help make it brighter!

Step one: Tape off 1/2 inch sections on the sides of the bookends with painter’s or washi tape.

 

Use white craft paint (acrylic) to fill in the stripes. It should take 2-3 light coats for good coverage.

 

Peel off the tape before the paint completely dries for nice, clean lines.

Hot glue the coral onto the bottoms of the bookends. (So now the bookends are actually backwards in their new position.)

I contemplated painting the bookends white or gold but I’m glad I left the natural wood. There’s plenty of books with gold backs to add metallic sparkle!

Our Japanese rental is very small so our living room works for my office, piano studio, blogging corner, and entertainment. These bookends were perfect for keeping my design, decor, and craft books together.

The coral is such a nice contrast to our Okinawan pine table. It’s also good friends with my peach Buddha head. 🙂

 

Styling a sofa table can be tricky, but using books in vertical and horizontal positions with a sculptural object is a good recipe for an interesting vignette.

Kitty likes to hang out here too. He knows good decor when he sees it and since he’s a neutral, he’s allowed to be in my pictures. That’s how my mind works y’all!

For more ideas on different ways to decorate with books, click HERE and HERE. Thanks so much for having me today!

Kathy Baugher
creator and editor of Up to Date Interiors