Turn Dollar Tree Books Into A Stylish Knife Block For Your Kitchen

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Your standard issue knife block is constructed of wood and usually has an assortment of slots to hold knives of all different sizes. This is functional, but hardly eye-catching a lot of the time. If only your knife block looked a bit more like a stack of your favorite hardback books, now, that'd be something to marvel at. As it turns out, there's a great way to ditch your old knife block and replace it with a stack of books that serves the same function.

It's less complicated than it seems and no gluing is required. However, if you're a book lover, you'll want to gather up books that you're not reading because, for this project, you'll be jabbing knives into the pages of the books — purely for aesthetic purposes, of course. The place to find books you don't mind sticking a few knives into isn't on your shelf but rather the Dollar Tree. There, you'll find myriad hardback books to choose from for this project. 

You'll need to bind the books together with a couple of large rubber bands. To make the display less unsightly, wrap some pretty ribbon around the books to cover them up. Finally, this project will do you no good if you don't have any knives to store in it, so while you're at it, pick up a nice set. Knives with cool handles, like the HOSHANHO Store three-piece knife set with ergonomic handles create a more striking display, adding to the visual impact.

In theory, you could use any ol' books you find at the Dollar Tree for this project, as long as they're hardbacks. However, because you're going for a more decorative aesthetic, scout out some books that fit the theme. Since you'll be placing it on the kitchen counter, choose books like cookbooks or books with a food theme for a decorative way to store cookbooks that's functional, too. Ideally, they will have beautiful covers and spines, though practically, you'll need two very handsome books to place on the outside of the stack.

Likewise, books that look less fancy but still have pretty spines can go on the inside of the stack. Group the books together. If they're all about the same height, stick the thicker books in the center to make the arrangement more stable. If you have books of varying heights, place the tallest book in the middle and the other books to the sides of the tallest book in a stair-stepping fashion. This adds height and visual interest to the books.

Once you're finished arranging, wrap a couple of thick rubber bands around the stack to bind it together. The ribbon you use to cover them should also fit the theme if possible, even if the visual connection is subtle. For example, if you've made the knife block from a stack of barbecue cookbooks, brown ribbon that resembles butcher paper would be an interesting twist. Once assembled, stick the knives between the pages so they stand upright.

This chic Dollar Tree hack keeps your kitchen essentials looking tidy and your countertops clear. But it's also easy to embellish your DIY knife block to make it even more personalized and unique to you. For example, the Dollar Tree has metal bookends that say "read" and "inspire" on them. Placing these around the stack of books and then binding them with rubber bands will make the whole structure more solid. It also protects the covers against ripping too. You should still use the ribbon to cover the rubber bands, though. You've just added some reinforcement, but obviously still want it to look pretty.

Another common feature found on knife blocks is at least one pair of scissors. To accommodate this, bundle the books and bind them together with the rubber bands. Next, grab one of the Dollar Tree's mini wood pallets. Lace your ribbon into the indents in the pallet and then tie it to one of the sides of the stack and make sure it's tied tightly. 

If you're concerned that the ribbon isn't enough to keep the pallet affixed to the stack of books, try gluing it onto one of the bookends with a glue gun and then attaching the bookends to the stack. The pallets are hollow, which will create a handy pocket for the kitchen scissors to rest in. Once the pallet is affixed to the side of the books, you can slide a pair of kitchen scissors from FAROPS into one of the holes in it.