Saturday, May 9, 2020

Collecting And Displaying Old Books/VAFR Blog Hop

My brother brought me a bunch of my grandparent's old books when I was 27. 
I'm a just tad older than that now but I've loved old and antique books since then. 


Welcome to A Lifestyle of Love -VAFR Blog Hop hosted by the adorable Cindy of County Road 407. Every other month she gets us together to share something iconically vintage, antique, Farmhouse or repurposed. If you love old stuff and Farmhouse, this is the blog hop for you.


This is our second hop together and this month we are featuring old books. 
Thank you, Cindy for your creativity. I love this hop. 
If you are stopping by from Le Cultivateur, welcome. I love Emily's beautiful style.

Antique books add a wonderful and warm feel to a space.


I go back and forth on the "put them in the shelf backwards" issue. For a long time, I didn't want to see the colorful spines so I turned them all around like Pottery Barn was doing.
I got teasing from my extended family about it. This is nothing new. I've gotten grief about a lot of things over the years.
Additionally, our daughter is a librarian. It drives her crazy to see all the backward books.


I have been asked how I can find a book to read?
A lot of these books are fragile. Some are in German and I can't read German. I have a copy of Les Miserable in French. I can't read that either.
Nope! These books aren't for reading.


I love the whites, creams and ocher color of the old book pages. They are a beautiful neutral.
Sometimes I want to see the classic leather binding or a delightful cover. It's a struggle.
Either way, they add interest and texture to a bookcase.


 Since I don't read our old books, they are decor pieces. They make wonderful risers for other decorative objects.




One of my favorite tricks is to use gorgeous book pages as art.
I have several favorite books to chose from.



Currently, The Butterflies of North America is my favorite.
I've framed several of these pages and sprinkled them around the house.


The Audubon Bird book has been a favorite around here too.


I found both of those books at Half Price Books.
The Turned-Into's is darling book from my mother. It is a recent favorite.
The illustrations are in a darling 1920's style.
I snap photos of any that I want to frame and print them instead of cutting them out of this book.
 It's too precious.



Antique books used to be cheap at garage sales and thrift stores.
Prices have gone up but there are still bargains to be found. Keep up the hunt and you will find some gorgeous old books.



Even if I don't read all these books, I like that they make me look smart. Haha.
Hop on over to see my friend, Paula at Sweet Pea. Paula has some beautiful books to share with you.
Be sure to see everyone else on our hop today.
Do you love old books too?
Thanks for stopping by.
Katie
Linking with:
Follow The Yellow Brick Home
A Stroll Thru Life

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

8 comments :

  1. What a fabulous collection of books Katie! I adore the Turned Into's. I have never heard of it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have quite the vintage book collection! I adore that little bee hive! Just darling.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a sweet gift from your brother, Katie! These vintage books are all so neat. I love the way you've found different ways to display them throughout the year and during different seasons too. Hugs for a Happy Mother's Day weekend, CoCo

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have so many lovely vintage books and you've displayed them so creatively. I'm like you, I don't read my vintage books, I decorate with them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have some wonderfully charming books, Katie! I really love the cute covers! They add so much to decor!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Katie! I love your collection of old books and how you've styled them in your decor! So happy to be on this super-fun hop with you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I wonder what your daughter says about the books people paint or cover with paper? I totally get it what she's saying though but I agree with you. Some books aren't for reading. They are for pretties. You seem to be an old soul even if you are barely over 27 and I think that's so cool. I'm still on the hunt for old books. Hope to find some treasures this summer. Thank you so much for joining in. Pinned!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful post! I love how you have everyting displayed!

    ReplyDelete