Turn Old Books Into Hidden Storage Bins For Your Bookshelf With A Creative DIY

Who doesn't love the novelty of secret storage devices? Function meets seamless decor in these offbeat home additions, with clever camouflage elevating the build with fun and excitement you'll experience every time you use it. If it's your first foray into this kind of DIY, you don't have to overwhelm yourself with larger hidden storage trends. A classic concealed bookshelf box is perfect for a low-stress starter project, especially if you struggle to manage living room clutter.

In this DIY, the front face of a storage box consists of a row of book spines. The phony front makes it blend among the other books on your shelf, ensuring nobody will be able to tell there's a secret storage bin behind it. You could take a shortcut, using pictures of books on the front of your box for DIY hidden bookshelf storage in plain sight. With only a little extra effort, though, you can give your hidden storage bin authentic depth, texture, and substance by repurposing old books and removing their spines to stick to the front of the box.

Choose books that are tall enough to hide your storage bin and, when arranged in a line as you would see on a shelf, wide enough to cover the box's front. Hardcover books will likely be easier, as they are more rigid when cut. It may take some work to find the right combo of books to fit the container, but you can also make a bin from rigid cardboard or plywood sized exactly as you need.

With your box, bin, or basket ready, figure out the arrangement of books to go in front of it. Reference book sets and book series work great for this, as they'll look natural with aligned spines and provide a consistent cover around the box. If you're using a narrow container, like a magazine file, you may need only one large book to cover it.

Remove the spines to stick them onto the face. Grab a sharp utility knife to carefully remove the pages and hardcovers. Be sure to retain the loose corner flap that connects them to the spine. When you cut the books that will sit on the ends of the bin cover, keep the cover on the outside edge. By leaving it attached, one book's cover can wrap around the left wall of the box, and the book cover on the other side can wrap around the right wall. Then, when you pull out the bin, you'll maintain the illusion when viewed from the side.

Arrange your book spines in the desired order, and bring the bottoms flush with the bottom of the box. To maintain a natural appearance, tuck the small side flaps on the spines back as you fit them tightly together to cover the bin. Finish by gluing the spines and the covers on the sides to the box with a strong-setting glue, such as hot glue, epoxy, or super glue, and clamping them in place until the adhesive sets.

Alongside the undeniable cool factor, the versatility this DIY offers makes it one of the better ways to repurpose old books you don't read anymore. For instance, rather than only using the spines, you can cut thicker sections that include part of the pages. Use a radial arm saw, bandsaw, or other non-reciprocating saw with a sharp, fine-toothed blade to cleanly cut through the book. You can also use a handsaw if desired. Clamp the book firmly to a workbench, with the portion you want to cut hanging over the edge.

After cutting, brush white glue or craft glue over the edges of the attached page pieces to keep them in place. Weigh the books closed while they dry. Then, glue them to the front of the box as normal. Combine spines like these in different thicknesses to make some books look more set into the shelf than others. The varied depth can enhance the illusion, especially if you use books of different sizes.

Tweaking this DIY a bit, you can turn the books on their sides to make a faux stack. If you want the stack to still be viewable from the side, it's a bit more complex since you'll need a scroll saw, handsaw, or utility knife to carefully cut the tops and bottoms of the covers and pages to cover the sides of the box. Still, it can make a delightful addition alongside other upright hidden bookshelf bins, with the cover of the top book creating a lid to keep the interior items tucked away on all sides.