Today I’m going to share a quick tutorial on how to make these DIY high end designer lookalike linen books. This was a quick 1.5 hour project that I completed after work and the best part? It only cost me $16! I have the inspiration from Studio McGee linked below. Note the price tag: $38 for one book!

SHOP THE LOOK BELOW

Materials:

• Spray Adhesive
• ½ yard Linen Fabric
• 2 Goodwill books- 1 medium, 1 small in size
• ½ yard weighted fabric for the inside layer
• ½ yard piping cord for the book spine- use whatever size seems visually best
• Hot glue gun
• Cardstock paper
• Scissors

Let’s Get Started!

First, I began by finding the appropriately sized books I needed. I knew I wanted to use them as a stack of 2. So the first one needed to bigger than the second. I wanted a thicker book because I felt it would look more high end. I got really lucky finding a big chemistry book and an old hymnal both for $6.

When I got home, I sprayed the adhesive spray onto the inner weighted fabric as well as on the inside cover of the book. I let it sit about 1 minute until the spray started to get tacky and then covered the book with the inner fabric.

And then I did the same thing on the outside of the book.

Once all sides of the book are covered in fabric, I trimmed the excess fabric off of the book.

TIP: Cut as close to the book as possible and try not to leave any excess material off the sides of the book. This is what I found to work best so that when you apply the linen fabric, you aren’t seeing any bulky areas where the inner fabric jumbled up and showed through. In these pictures, you will see that I did not do that here and ended up gluing the excess to the book. When it was time to make the second book, I corrected the technique and it worked a lot better.

Next, I cut the cord piping to match the width of the spine and hot glued them in place.

This next step, you do not have to do. I inserted paper towel into the spine of the book to bow it out a little more so that the spine details would show a little better. Again, something you don’t have to do but I feel it added a little more volume to the back.

TIP: When you shop at goodwill for your book, pick a book where the spine is curved outward and you shouldn’t have to do this step!

Now, it’s time to apply the final linen layer. Do the same thing that you did when you applied the first weighted layer, paying attention to smoothing out the wrinkles as best as possible.

And then trim off the excess.

Finally, hot glue a cardstock sheet of paper over the inside of the back and front cover.

Step back and admire your completed work!

This project took me an hour and a half to complete. It cost roughly $16 today. $6 for the book and $9 for the fabric/piping. I already had scissors, cardstock, hot glue gun, and spray adhesive at home.

TIP: start with the larger book first since it will be on the bottom. If you mess up with this book, it’s not as big of a deal since it will be on the bottom. If you want a high end look without the price tag this is an easy and quick fix. It isn’t perfect but it definitely upgraded our coffee table! I’m so pleased with it.

This was such a lovely break from our bathroom project and just what I needed after a long day at work. Thanks for letting me share my creative ideas with you,

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