Decor Endgames

Doorstops and bookends give you a chance to pull out all the stops with your creativity

By Kit Davey
CTW Features

Frugal decorators enjoy expressing their creativity using unusual objects in unusual places. Why buy decor when it's so fun to scrounge for it or make it from what you already have? In my never-ending search for places to display all my cool stuff I have recently focused on two often-overlooked decorating possibilities: bookends and doorstops. Both must be heavy enough to perform their functions, and they don't have to fit any stuffy standard.

Pretty much any heavy object will work to prop open a door or hold up a stack of books. Here are few ideas to get you going.

Bookends

Bookcases look less imposing and more interesting when you leave a few openings for bookends with pizzazz. Don't neglect other flat surfaces for storing books, such as your mantel, kitchen counter, vanity, dresser or an etagere.

•In a child's room, fill a pair of plastic jars with a marble collection, foreign coins or buttons and place a few reference books between them on a desk.

•Convert a birdhouse into a bookend by nailing a thin section of sheet metal on the bottom of it.

•Do you have an antique postcard, greeting card or photo collection? Store it in an old wooden box or square basket and keep it handy on a shelf in your family room.

•Not very glamorous but very effective, a used brick can hold up a row of fat books in a rustic bookcase.

•Are you a sports star? Trophies are usually heavy enough to support a few leaning tomes. Why not sprinkle an entire bookcase with your symbols of prowess?

•Do you empty your pockets of coins at the end of the day? Why not fill a small crock or canister with pennies and use it as a bookend on your dresser-top or bookcase?

•If you don't have anything unusual to prop up your books, simply lay three or four volumes flat on the shelf, pushed up against a row of vertically displayed books.

•Any of the ideas for doorstops can be applied to bookends.

Doorstops

If a door is used frequently, it's not a good idea to use a doorstop as it will end scratching the floor, may cause stubbed toes and will probably end up not getting used. Doorstops are great for public rooms or seldom used spaces. Make sure whatever you place by the door is not breakable and doesn't have pointy edges, as it may get kicked or knocked over by accident.

•Is your son or daughter a cowpoke? Convert a pair of outgrown, kid-sized cowboy boots into a doorstop by stitching the boots together at the top and partially filling them with pebbles or pennies.

•I inherited several antique irons which prop open the doors to our den and guest room. The same grandmother willed a heavy embosser to my parents, which stamps the family name into paper, now used in their home office.

•I'm a rock hound and keep my eyes peeled for oddly shaped or unusually colored stones. I found a heart-shaped rock that I use to hold the bathroom door open in my office.

•Any metal sculpture piece – a Buddha, horse, nude or whatever – can prop open a door.

•I haven't tried this one but really wish I had the equipment to do it. I love bowling balls, especially the swirly ones, or ones with names like "Bunny" or "Irwin" engraved in them. Wouldn't a ball cut into a quarter of a sphere make a smashing doorstop in a playroom?

•Small garden sculpture pieces, such as doves, rabbits or finials, can be brought indoors and placed in front of your living room or dining door.

•Do you love old tools? An anvil or large metal cog would be a great conversation piece in a den or workshop.

•Place a stack of leather-bound books in front of the door leading to your library or den.

•Make your own gift-box doorstop. Sew six, five-inch squares of pretty fabric into a cube. Fill the cube pillow with pinto beans and stitch closed. Tie a fancy ribbon around your package and place by your guest room door. It won't hurt if you kick this stop!

Kit Davey, an interior designer based in Redwood City, Calif., helps clients redecorate their homes through the creative use of their existing furnishings. E-mail Kit your questions: kit@ctwfeatures.com

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