Frugal Ideas for Bookends

Use an antique coffee grinder as a bookend.

Bookends serve more than a utilitarian purpose. They reflect your personal style, complement your home decor and hold your books in place. You could buy a set of boring bookends, but why would you when you can use some interesting items that will do the job just as well for a fraction of the cost?

Corbels or Brackets

A corbel is a projection of wood, stone, brick, iron or some other type of material used to support an arch, doorway, shelf or simply for decor. They have a flat back, and often a flat surface on the top or bottom. Today, corbels are used as shelf supports, in window treatments and as wall decor. You can find a variety of corbels in home improvement stores, craft stores, antique shops and thrift stores.

Kitchen Accessories

Use an old copper coffee pot.

Kitchen accessories, whether new, used or collectible, make interesting bookends for a cookbook collection in the kitchen or anywhere in the home. Antique coffee grinders with a wooden drawer base are heavy enough to stay in place, keep large books from toppling over and provide a little extra storage for small items. Old metal coffeepots, teapots and cookie jars can be filled with dry beans or rice for extra weight and used as bookends.

Mismatched Items

Bookends do not have to be a matched set. Using mismatched decorative items like pretty boxes, ceramic urns, vases, orbs and candlesticks will add visual appeal and interest to an otherwise boring book case. Rather than arranging rows of books with two bookends, try using only one interesting item in the center of a bookcase shelf to break up the lines and add color and texture. You can even use framed photos.

Toys

Keeping your child's books neat and orderly is a simple task. Use old stuffed animals, alphabet blocks and toy trucks for bookends. Stuffed animals may require a little bit of customization to make them work. Open the seam on the bottom of the toy, insert a heavy, flat object like a piece of wood or a paperweight and stitch it together again. You can also attach stuffed toys to a wooden base to use as bookends. Bean-filled stuffed animals, especially ones that can be placed in a sitting position, work well. You can also glue together alphabet blocks to make creative bookends.

References

• My Home Ideas: Salvage Chic Finds
• Ask the Frugal Decorating Diva: Do you have any creative ideas on how to decorate a baby boy's nursery in an alphabet theme?
• Matters of Style: Brilliant Bookends
• Better Homes and Gardens: Versatile Storage Solutions
• Better Homes and Gardens: Style Tips for Bargain Decor