DIY Coastal Decor Bookends

We don’t get much call for a beachy vibe in the Chicago ‘burbs,but it’s kind of fun to finish up part of the summer with a little taste coastal decor/beach decor feel. I wanted to style the mantel with some fun books I covered in maps woth a sea-theme so coastal decor bookends were needed made from repurposed wood plinth blocks!

They were really easy, and I loved how they turned out just by using 2 -5 inch tall inexpensive plinth blocks (The kind you normally use at the base of trim .), and some metal L-brackets.

First paint stripes on the flat part of the blocks to get that coastal decor/beachy feel. I used a dark blue, an aqua blue and a pretty gray.

Once they were dry, flip them over and paint the backs white to match the front. Wait for everything to dry.

When everything was totally dry, mark where the L-brackets would go and attach them with screws.

Once on my mantel, and I realized that I didn’t want to just use any,old ordinary books. After searching for nautical book titles, I used Picmonkey to create lettering combinations. With pages from an old road atlas, I used the maps that had the most water showing to get that “traveled feel”. I transferred the lettering to the spines. I love using old maps from old projects like this 10 minute DIY wall art.

The Old man and the Sea, Mutiny on the Bounty,The Sea Wolf, and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the sea are some great sea-worthy titles. I was going to use Moby Dick, but to be honest, even in scripty letters, it still didn’t look right.