My mama always said not to judge a book by its cover, but when you’re attempting to beautify your bookcase that little adage poses a bit of a problem! I began the quest to revamp the bookcase in our entryway a few weeks back, and for a while there it was going nowhere. The thing is, the volumes on our shelves were all books I’d read or was planning to read—not tomes I’d picked for their beautiful bindings. No matter how many stacks of books I shifted and decorative objects I placed, it still wasn’t working for me. For one thing, we’re big fans of color here at the Saulplex, and I just couldn’t get behind all the dark and moody hues in our home library.

I was beginning to think that Operation Bookcase Makeover was a lost cause when a little light bulb went off. I purchased a slew of patterned fine paper, and went to town covering my books à la elementary school. To make sure that I could still see the titles without having to flip open the front cover, I labeled them using an old school Dymo embossing label maker. Voila! An instantly beautified bookshelf!

Check out a few more snaps after the jump…

Photos: Mark Saul