HGTV Handmade: DIY Door Stop and Book End

Welcome back to HGTV Handmade, where we explore creative solutions to everyday problems. Today, I'm tackling an annoyance that's been driving me crazy - my bedroom door won't stay open. As someone who values good airflow in their home and likes to chat with their roommates, I needed a solution that would allow me to keep the door open during the day without having to constantly adjust it. That's why I've created a DIY door stop using a stack of vintage books.

To start, I headed to my local thrift store to scour for some interesting books. I wanted ones with a bit of character and a vintage feel to them, so I ended up with two fantasy books and a modern history of Ireland printed in the 70s or 80s. I know it sounds weird, but I love the idea of repurposing old books that won't be readable again after this project is complete.

First things first, I needed to prepare my books for painting. I started by giving them a white coat using acrylic paint. I have to admit, I probably should have used spray paint for this step, as it would have taken much less time and effort. However, the acrylic paint worked just fine, and I was able to get the job done. Next, I painted the edges of each book, making sure they were a uniform white color. This would help me create a cohesive look once everything was glued together.

With the painting complete, it was time to open up the books and give them a metallic bronze finish using paint. To save on paint, I planned out the order in which I would be stacking the books, so that the sides facing each other wouldn't need to have painted edges. For the covers and spines of all the books, I only painted the edges, giving them a uniform look. I also painted the inside of the books, opening them up on top of some drinking glasses to create a smooth surface for painting.

After letting the paint dry overnight, I was ready to glue everything together using E6000. This strong adhesive would hold my stack of books in place, even when it got kicked out of the way. Once all the books were glued together, I applied Mod Podge to seal everything in place and give it a glossy finish. To add an extra layer of protection and prevent scratching on my floors, I glued some felt squares to the bottom of the door stop.

And that's it! My DIY door stop is complete, looking like a stack of vintage books that just happen to be holding up my bedroom door. It may not be the most conventional solution, but it works beautifully. Not only does it keep my door open during the day, but it also adds a touch of whimsy and personality to my home decor. If you don't need a door stop this could also be used as a book end - just imagine having a stack of books leaning against your wall, holding everything in place.

I'm really happy with how this project turned out, but I can see how it might have gone a bit faster and looked neater if I had glued all the books together first, then given them a coat of Mod Podge to seal everything. Perhaps next time around, I'll try using spray paint for the initial white coat, as well as giving everything a single coat of gold or silver paint for a more polished look.

If you're feeling inspired to create your own DIY door stop or book end, be sure to check out my comments section below and share your own experiences with upcycling old items. Have you ever created something similar using books or other materials? I'd love to hear about it! And don't forget to press that like button and subscribe for more creative solutions to everyday problems. Until next week, bye everyone!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi everyone welcome back to HGTV handmade so today I have a DIY to fix a little annoyance in my apartment and that annoyance is that my bedroom door does not stay open I like to keep the door open during the day so there's more air flow throughout the apartment and so I can talk to my roommates we're really good friends so today we're going to DIY a door stop and if you don't need a door stop this could also be used as a bookend now there are so many ways to make a door stop and you could literally use just like any heavy object but I decided to make mine look like a stack of books and the way I did that was by painting and gluing together a stack of books I got these books at a thrift store for a do or two each and I wanted to get books that looked pretty vintagey so I ended up with two fantasy books and a modern history of Ireland which was printed in the' 70s or 80s so by the time I'm done with this project these books will no longer be readable so if you're a book purist who believes that no books should ever be destroyed this might not be the video for you but if you can stomach watching me put paint and glue all over the books then watch on so my first step was to paint the books White so they looked a little more uniform to be honest I probably should have used spray paint for this step rather than acrylic paint because it took a while for the acrylic paint to dry so I could paint the entire thing but I got it done in the end and I also painted the edges of the books so that they would be a more uniform white as well so once that was dry I went ahead and opened up the books on top of some drinking glasses so I could paint the cover and the spine and I decided to go with a metallic bronze paint however in order to save paint I knew the order that I was going to be stacking up the books so for the sides that would be facing each other that you wouldn't be able to see in the end I only painted the edges so I did that for all of the books and I also opened them up and painted the inside a metallic bronze as well so I love that dry overnight and then I just went ahead and touched up some of the bronze paint on the covers and now it's time to glue I just used some E6000 to glue the covers of the books closed and then to glue all of the books together so after that I covered the entire thing with Mod Podge in order to really seal the entire thing up and give it a little more durability once the first coat was dry I flipped it over so that I could put Mod Podge on the bottom as well and I also put a second coat on the sides because I'm probably going to be kicking it out of the way a lot so I really want it to be durable and then for one more touch I glued a few squares of felt to the bottom of the doorstop so that it's not going to scratch up my floors and that's it now I have a decorative stack of books that I can kick into place to keep my door open or a kick out of place to let it close and if I ever move again and don't need a door stop anymore this could also make a really nice book end so a little side note here I really do like how it came out but I think it could have gone a little faster and maybe looked a little neater if I had glued all of the books together first as they were and gave the entire thing a coat of mod podge to give it a really good shiny coverage and then just spray painted that all one color maybe a gold or a silver or even just like a light gray or a bright white really any color maybe I will try it again if I can Wrangle up a few more books that I'm okay destroying AKA none of the books currently on my bookshelf but let me know if any of you guys have ever done anything similar and how it came out so I hope you guys liked this DIY let me know in the comments if you've ever DIY any interesting items to be a door stop or a book end please make sure to press like And subscribe and I will see you all again next week bye everyone PAhi everyone welcome back to HGTV handmade so today I have a DIY to fix a little annoyance in my apartment and that annoyance is that my bedroom door does not stay open I like to keep the door open during the day so there's more air flow throughout the apartment and so I can talk to my roommates we're really good friends so today we're going to DIY a door stop and if you don't need a door stop this could also be used as a bookend now there are so many ways to make a door stop and you could literally use just like any heavy object but I decided to make mine look like a stack of books and the way I did that was by painting and gluing together a stack of books I got these books at a thrift store for a do or two each and I wanted to get books that looked pretty vintagey so I ended up with two fantasy books and a modern history of Ireland which was printed in the' 70s or 80s so by the time I'm done with this project these books will no longer be readable so if you're a book purist who believes that no books should ever be destroyed this might not be the video for you but if you can stomach watching me put paint and glue all over the books then watch on so my first step was to paint the books White so they looked a little more uniform to be honest I probably should have used spray paint for this step rather than acrylic paint because it took a while for the acrylic paint to dry so I could paint the entire thing but I got it done in the end and I also painted the edges of the books so that they would be a more uniform white as well so once that was dry I went ahead and opened up the books on top of some drinking glasses so I could paint the cover and the spine and I decided to go with a metallic bronze paint however in order to save paint I knew the order that I was going to be stacking up the books so for the sides that would be facing each other that you wouldn't be able to see in the end I only painted the edges so I did that for all of the books and I also opened them up and painted the inside a metallic bronze as well so I love that dry overnight and then I just went ahead and touched up some of the bronze paint on the covers and now it's time to glue I just used some E6000 to glue the covers of the books closed and then to glue all of the books together so after that I covered the entire thing with Mod Podge in order to really seal the entire thing up and give it a little more durability once the first coat was dry I flipped it over so that I could put Mod Podge on the bottom as well and I also put a second coat on the sides because I'm probably going to be kicking it out of the way a lot so I really want it to be durable and then for one more touch I glued a few squares of felt to the bottom of the doorstop so that it's not going to scratch up my floors and that's it now I have a decorative stack of books that I can kick into place to keep my door open or a kick out of place to let it close and if I ever move again and don't need a door stop anymore this could also make a really nice book end so a little side note here I really do like how it came out but I think it could have gone a little faster and maybe looked a little neater if I had glued all of the books together first as they were and gave the entire thing a coat of mod podge to give it a really good shiny coverage and then just spray painted that all one color maybe a gold or a silver or even just like a light gray or a bright white really any color maybe I will try it again if I can Wrangle up a few more books that I'm okay destroying AKA none of the books currently on my bookshelf but let me know if any of you guys have ever done anything similar and how it came out so I hope you guys liked this DIY let me know in the comments if you've ever DIY any interesting items to be a door stop or a book end please make sure to press like And subscribe and I will see you all again next week bye everyone PAhi everyone welcome back to HGTV handmade so today I have a DIY to fix a little annoyance in my apartment and that annoyance is that my bedroom door does not stay open I like to keep the door open during the day so there's more air flow throughout the apartment and so I can talk to my roommates we're really good friends so today we're going to DIY a door stop and if you don't need a door stop this could also be used as a bookend now there are so many ways to make a door stop and you could literally use just like any heavy object but I decided to make mine look like a stack of books and the way I did that was by painting and gluing together a stack of books I got these books at a thrift store for a do or two each and I wanted to get books that looked pretty vintagey so I ended up with two fantasy books and a modern history of Ireland which was printed in the' 70s or 80s so by the time I'm done with this project these books will no longer be readable so if you're a book purist who believes that no books should ever be destroyed this might not be the video for you but if you can stomach watching me put paint and glue all over the books then watch on so my first step was to paint the books White so they looked a little more uniform to be honest I probably should have used spray paint for this step rather than acrylic paint because it took a while for the acrylic paint to dry so I could paint the entire thing but I got it done in the end and I also painted the edges of the books so that they would be a more uniform white as well so once that was dry I went ahead and opened up the books on top of some drinking glasses so I could paint the cover and the spine and I decided to go with a metallic bronze paint however in order to save paint I knew the order that I was going to be stacking up the books so for the sides that would be facing each other that you wouldn't be able to see in the end I only painted the edges so I did that for all of the books and I also opened them up and painted the inside a metallic bronze as well so I love that dry overnight and then I just went ahead and touched up some of the bronze paint on the covers and now it's time to glue I just used some E6000 to glue the covers of the books closed and then to glue all of the books together so after that I covered the entire thing with Mod Podge in order to really seal the entire thing up and give it a little more durability once the first coat was dry I flipped it over so that I could put Mod Podge on the bottom as well and I also put a second coat on the sides because I'm probably going to be kicking it out of the way a lot so I really want it to be durable and then for one more touch I glued a few squares of felt to the bottom of the doorstop so that it's not going to scratch up my floors and that's it now I have a decorative stack of books that I can kick into place to keep my door open or a kick out of place to let it close and if I ever move again and don't need a door stop anymore this could also make a really nice book end so a little side note here I really do like how it came out but I think it could have gone a little faster and maybe looked a little neater if I had glued all of the books together first as they were and gave the entire thing a coat of mod podge to give it a really good shiny coverage and then just spray painted that all one color maybe a gold or a silver or even just like a light gray or a bright white really any color maybe I will try it again if I can Wrangle up a few more books that I'm okay destroying AKA none of the books currently on my bookshelf but let me know if any of you guys have ever done anything similar and how it came out so I hope you guys liked this DIY let me know in the comments if you've ever DIY any interesting items to be a door stop or a book end please make sure to press like And subscribe and I will see you all again next week bye everyone PA\n"