Dress Up Your Shelves With Living Bookend Planters You Can DIY

Books are some of the best accessories for your home — they're colorful, sophisticated, and add to the overall personality of your space. That said, it's easy to forget about certain collections that have remained on your shelves for years, allowing them to accumulate dust and lose their allure. The stories on our shelf deserve to look just as magical as the tales inside them. Instead of settling for basic bookends or blank space, you may want to consider surrounding your books with a more lively design, like bookend planters. If you feel like your current planters don't align neatly with the straight lines of your book covers, try the DIY route — sculpt a planter from clay, divide it, and add backing to create a functional, stylish solution.

While they may be initially intended for more practical storage, the way you decorate a bookshelf can have a massive impact on your room's aesthetic. We all want our home to help us feel our best, and plenty of studies have shown the benefits of incorporating indoor plants — from reducing stress and boosting focus to improving our overall well being. This DIY gives you the perfect opportunity to brighten your space with a touch of greenery and decor that's tailored to your style, while offering a practical design that helps your collection stand tall and stand out.

TikTok creator @mollymakespottery took "BookTok" by storm when they shared a video detailing their pottery process when making ceramic bookend planters — racking up millions of views and likes along the way. For those who are more familiar with pottery, this technique provides the perfect DIY handbook for approaching this project. Start by shaping your planters on a pottery wheel and letting them dry overnight. Once they're ready, just cut them in half and make the backs using flat slabs of clay. Then score, slip, and attach the backs to each half, making sure to blend imperfections and add drainage holes before glazing. If you don't have access to a pottery studio or prefer to do your DIY at home, opt for air-dry clay instead and spray the finished product with a varnish to give it a waterproof seal.

To fast-track your DIY or eliminate pottery all together, consider using common household items you can turn into beautiful planters. Look for pairs that could work for this design, like small wooden storage boxes, matching vases, or vintage tin boxes. Once you've found suitable bookends to plant in, find a plastic container to fit inside, poke some drainage holes on the bottom, and start planting. Adding a hefty amount of soil should help to solidify the sturdiness of your planter — giving you both a sustainable and functional bookend.

This crafty DIY offers you multiple ways to tailor the look of your decor, either with your choice of greenery or your planter's design. If you're sculpting your bookends from scratch, consider what kind of glaze (or paint if using air-dry clay) will look best. To get a better idea, gather the book collection you'll feature in between and use it as a guide. You can choose a glaze color that complements the shades of each book's spine, keeping the look cohesive. Depending on your level of experience, you may even want to incorporate some more artistic glazing techniques like spraying, splattering, or sponging colorful details.

However, the most impactful way to customize your design is through your choice of plant. There are plenty of houseplants perfect for spaces on your bookshelf, but you'll want to aim for those that complement your books — whether thematically or design-wise. If you're framing your favorite love stories, consider romantic vines like english ivy or string of hearts, or opt for dark, moody plants like a raven ZZ or black velvet alocasia to guard your gothic novel collection. For a neater design, trailing plants like strings of pearls and pothos can cascade beautifully down your shelf, without obstructing the view of your books.