Looking for another use for books besides reading them? On their website, the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel offered a number of ways to display and decorate with books. As they noted, flea markets and garage sales are repositories of old books and encyclopedia sets that can be used to decorate.
Books as wallpaper -- Invest in a large number of leather-bound books in the same shade to create a wall of color. Note: Movie set decorators do this all the time. They often rent books from used bookstores like Strand in New York City.
A spot of color -- Have a monotone room? Pick out a few books in a striking color to add dimension. Several retail stores like Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters sell books but also use them to highlight color schemes for the clothing they sell (and to set a certain ambiance).
Books as furniture -- Use a book or a stack of books to create end tables, coffee tables, and pedestals. When I began self-publishing 25 years ago, I used cases of books to support a bed. Also see the book bar in the photo above.
Leni Leth, owner of Book Decor, a California company that specializes in refurbishing and selling leather-bound books, suggests forgetting the shelves, and instead using books as risers for candles and lamps, on coffee tables, and even in bathrooms.
Augment with books -- Try hanging books over the rungs of a ladder or lining the edges of a room with books.
Books as art -- When books were more rare, they were displayed face out. Take some favorite books and display them on bookstands. Many people use coffee-table books as decorative items on -- of all things -- coffee tables (actually, that's why full-color beautiful books are often called coffee-table books.
Note: The Associated Press (http://www.indystar.com/apps/ pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080614/LIVING02/806140307/1007/ LIVING) also has a great article on using books as decor.
Finally, here's a great bookshelf blog (all about bookshelves!): http://theblogonthebookshelf.blogspot.com.
