How to Make Farmhouse Book Stacks – DIY Decor with Vintage Finish

If you’ve ever loved the look of decorative book stacks, this is one of the easiest ways to create that cozy, collected feel using books you already have at home. Let’s work on stacked books

There are actually two simple ways to make them — depending on the look you’re going for.

I love a good crafty home decor project with textured chalk paint, and one that involves things I already have on hand is event better! Who doesn’t have books at home and some paint? Are you ready for some Farmhouse style stacked books project? Don’t you just love Vintage books? Just went through some old books on my shelf that I can re-purpose to make this craft… and Bingo! I have a good stack of it ! There are many places to find cheap paperback books including yard sales, thrift stores or even used books at bookstores

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I am so glad that I didn’t get rid off my guide to Disney Word from 2018…ha ha ha. I love how thick that book is! It will be great for my project! I am not going to deconstruct mine I have a better idea. So let’s get things started, shall we?

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Supplies needed to make Vintage Farmhouse stacked books

• Old Books
• Chalk Paint 
• Foam Brush
• Miscellaneous ribbon, twine, and greenery for decoration
• Alphabet Stamps

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📚 THERE ARE TWO METHODS

Two Easy Ways to Make Book Stacks

You can create these using either soft cover books or hardcover books — both work beautifully, just with slightly different finishes.

🤍 Method 1: Soft Cover Books (Quick & Easy)

This is the easiest method — simply paint and decorate soft cover books for a quick decorative stack.

There are so many ways to go about that project. I have seen people deconstructing each book by simply removing its covers. I am not going to do that. Textured Chalk paint will help me to achieve that vintage Farmhouse look I am going after. Paint the sides of the books with two coats of chalk paint, drying between each coat. The number of coats depends on whether your page is blank or you’re covering words. I did 2 coats to cover lettering on the page.

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Paint also sides of the book where pages are, to have that full “old look” vintage stacked book look. When you are satisfy with your painting job you can apply protective coat just to preserve it but it is optional. I just like to do it. Textured chalk paint will stay put with this coat for sure.

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Decorating books is my favorite part of that project. You can use stamps like I did if you have them, or you can write your words with a marker. It will look good too.

Stamp words onto book spine ideas.

Before I show you how to stamp your book spine, let’s talk words! My stamped books are guides to Disney Word so I like to incorporate that into my project. I am going to use my kids names.
Other ideas would be unique dates ,like your kids birthdays, the date of your wedding, family quote, places you’ve been on vacation or places you want to visit. This is a great way to create something meaningful for your home because you get to personalize it! That is what I love about that project!

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if you have some stamps you can personalize them too

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Stamp your quote on the spine.  Please note that this is an imperfect art.  Do not let the imperfections stop you. I promise this will be cute in the end!  If you want to, you can use sandpaper to sand some of the excess ink off of your book spines.

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All done!  Our stamped stack books are ready! Isn’t that cute?  If you look closely you will see there is BEAUTY in an imperfectness about this craft. I always say -with all things re-purposed, I say “go with the flow”!  It comes out very cute in the end!

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Love to stage around with my books in the house. I am in love with stacked books on the trays! They serve as pedestals, they add graciously height to any composition. You can also read my other post by clicking HERE and learn how you can accessorize with those books.

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I love a good quick and affordable DIY! I know sometimes here on the blog we tackle the big stuff, like rip out our carpet and install new wood floors…or shiplap an entire bathroom, but just between you and me…these smaller DIYs are my favorites!

As you can see they don’t have to be stamped to make a statement too. There are so many ways to style them together too. You can wrap twine, rope, ribbon or even ruffia around them

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Second method for hard cover books with sleeve if you are lucky

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For a more high-end, vintage-inspired look, I love using hardcover books and adding a soft, aged finish.Hard cover makeover book stack is very similar

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I love those books with sleeve on it .. it makes things easier .. You can just rewrap it with white cover showing on the outside as shown below and dry brush only with chalk paint that will bring that old school look and distress it

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If your hard cover book doesn’t have sleeve you can wrap it yourself with distressed white paper . I love to use packing paper that I stain with coffee leftovers

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When it comes to pages if they look to new to you i like to grab my Distress Oxide pad and my blending brushes to age it .. You can make any shade you like .. even gold my favorite pages

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This is where the magic happens — a little aging completely changes the look.

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Staging with your Vintage Farmhouse stacked stamped book

Once you have your book stack base, you can start layering in a little more detail if you want something extra special.This is where I love to play with texture and soft embellishments.

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There are so many ways you could have fun with books. Adding a texture is one of them or finishing with florals . Check my blog for instructions how you can make that coffee filter flower HERE

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✨ Embossing the Cover

I like to apply a light layer of embossing paste over fabric or paper (like burlap or neutral wrapping), just on the top book. It creates a soft raised texture that instantly makes the stack feel more vintage and detailed.

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Those books are part of my decorations all over my house.

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