Bookscaping: the paper-based way to boost your home’s appeal

Over the years there have been a number of ‘light touches’ touted as a way to impress potential property buyers. The aroma of freshly baked bread and brewing coffee? Great for making your property feel homely and masking less attractive whiffs. A neatly-folded pile of clean, fluffy towels in the bathroom? An easy way to give off five-star hotel vibes. Fresh flowers and a fully-stocked fruit bowl? They draw attention away from less desirable areas and add colour to a drab space.

A real page turner

Sellers in 2025 can tap into a growing trend when selling a property – bookscaping. Bookscaping uses books to decorate a home and it’s a fashion that’s far more than just aesthetic.

The Guardian recently featured an article devoted to the act of displaying books as a way of conveying sophistication, affluence, cultural leanings and interests. Having spoken to trend experts and books sellers, the journalist, Lucy Knight, confirmed there is a growing market for book-led décor. Knight even interviewed someone who curates bookshelves for a living.

Setting the tone

The concept is not entirely new. So-called ‘coffee table books’ have been a popular way to impress guests since the late 1940s. Beginning as oversized books containing illustrations, these soon progressed to artfully-designed hardbacks documenting fashion, architecture, travel and the natural world. 

Designed to be picked up from a coffee table and flicked through while you waited for your host to appear, coffee table books became the quick way to inform people of your tastes, style and even class.

On the same page as the experts

Today, coffee table books remain a design tool used by interior stylists. A stack of books is a useful prop. Not only can they be chosen for their subject matter, they are frequently selected for their colour or printing style. Visit any property show home and you’re bound to see an artfully arranged pile of books that’s topped with a small vase, reed diffuser or other objet d’art.

Bookscaping isn’t reserved just for glossy show homes. All property sellers can steal this design idea when they’re getting their home ready for photographs and viewings. The key is to be neat and arrange with purpose. 

3 bookscaping ideas to try

1. If you’re styling a coffee or bedside table, follow the interior design ‘rule of three’. Three hardback books of different sizes is just the right amount. They must be in immaculate condition to keep the look high class, and stack them with the biggest at the bottom, centering each book as you go.

2. Those with an existing bookshelf should concentrate on size and colour. Very ‘of the moment’ is to organise books according to the colour of the spines. Grouping colours together creates a strong but tidy visual impact, although it helps if the books are of a similar height. 

3. Even if your book covers are not beautiful, nor the subject matter enthralling, books still have a place when dressing a property. Stack two or three similarly sized books on top of each other and place a table lamp on the top. The spines don’t even have to face outwards, especially if you have old books with gilt-edged pages.

Where to source

Don’t panic if you’re not well read or prefer reading the latest novels on your Kindle, books can be obtained easily and cheaply – often for free! Browse social media for locals giving away books, or scour charity shops and boot fairs for a wide range of second hand examples.

Alternatively, eBay, Thames & Hudson, Country House Library, Ultimate Library and Etsy all sell books by the metre, with the function to filter by colour, age or style. Or you can purchase by weight on a wholesale basis through WeBuyBooks and World of Books – ideal if you have a wall of bookcases you want to fill.

If you are considering selling your home and would like a current valuation and advice on how to present your property, get in touch today.