How to Paint and Refresh a Little Free Library

Our Little Free Book Library needs a refresh. Over the last several years, the sun and weather have faded the paint, and cracks have developed in the wood.  So, it's time for new paint and sealant.  We have also decided to decorate the library with cute vinyl decals. This will be a fun weekend project.

Repainting and sealing the library will extend its life many more years and keep it waterproof.

This library was purchased from the Official Little Free Library website in 2020.  We bought the library kit, assembled it ourselves, and put it in our front yard.  If you want to start a Little Free Library, check their website or Amazon for some options.

What is a Little Free Library?

Little Free Library book-sharing boxes promote the love of reading in the neighborhoods where they are installed and offer 24-hour access to books.

The motto is "Take a Book, Share a Book." Visitors can take a book they would like to read and exchange it for another, or keep it. Little free libraries work best when people both take and donate books.

Our own little free library has been thriving for the past five years, with visitors regularly stopping by to exchange books. We keep teen and children's books on the lower shelf and adult reading on the top shelf of our free little library.

Little Free Library stewards are the owners or sponsors of the library. As a steward, I regularly check the library and add books as needed. I find books at our local thrift store for a low cost or even for free.

Little free libraries can be installed with permission in public places or on your property. Anyone can become a Little Free Library steward.  Your library can be registered using its charter number and listed on the Little Free Library world map.

Little free libraries are not meant to compete with your local library but to work alongside it.

Keep reading or click the link to the YouTube video below to learn how we refreshed our Little Book Library. 

UPDATE FEB 2025

I originally used printable vinyl stickers to decorate the library.  These decorations were disappointing, and I would not recommend them. Even though they were sealed onto the library, by the end of the summer, they started to fade and peel off the library.

In contrast, the paint has been holding up wonderfully so far. 

This post has been updated in 2025 to remove the instructions about using printable vinyl stickers. Since the printed vinyl stickers faded and peeled, I replaced them with decorations made from Premium Outdoor Vinyl.  Watch our update video for more information.

WHAT YOU NEED for this little free library design

• Rust-oleum Ultra Cover Outdoor Paint (or other outdoor paint)
• Oracal 651 Premium Outdoor Vinyl
• Paintbrush
• Paint Tray
• Painters Tape

Step-by-Step Instructions to Refresh Your Little Book Library

Our library is exposed to the sun for most of the day, which damages the paint and wood. It's still in good condition, but the wood is starting to crack, and it appears that a woodpecker may have been pecking at it. The library remains waterproof, ensuring the books are protected.

The inside of the library is still nice, so we decided to paint and decorate the outside.

Step 1: Choose Paint

I found Rust-oleum Ultra Cover Outdoor paint at our local hardware store. 

The outdoor use paint would be the perfect choice to refresh and protect the library. 

Step 2: Prepare for Painting

Prepare the library to be painted.  Lightly sand the surface to help the paint adhere.  

Then, use painter's tape around the roof, window, hinges, official charter sign, and door handle.  This will keep the paint from getting on those sections.

The side of the library features a Little Free Library emblem, so I covered it with tape and taped it along the roofline.

Step 3: Paint the library

The paint has been stirred and put into a small tray.  Use a paintbrush to paint the library.  A small roller could be used for the flat sections, but the paintbrush worked well and didn't take long to paint.

Carefully paint around the hinges and door handle.

Let the paint dry. Check to see if it needs another coat of paint. Since the wood in the area where the sun beats on the library had cracks, we applied multiple coats to ensure the cracks were well covered.

Allow the paint to dry completely.  Remove the painter's tape.

The library already looks nicer with just a fresh coat of paint. 

Step 4: Purchase or create Vinyl Decals

We will decorate the library with vinyl decals. I used Oracal 651 Premium Outdoor Vinyl, purchased from Amazon, and my Cricut machine to make the decals.

If you don't have a Cricut, custom decals can be purchased on Etsy.  

Create Vinyl Decals with Cricut Design Space

Cricut Design Space can make decals with or without a subscription. If you don't have a subscription, you can import images and use them to create decals. Search for designs in Cricut Design Space or on Etsy to use.

I decided to have a bee sayings theme for my library.  We have honey bee hives in our backyard, and I have always enjoyed bee puns. I found some cute bee sayings in Cricut Design Space.

To open my Bee Sayings for Little Library design in Cricut Design Space, including the Bee Sayings and small bees with trails, click the link.  If you don't have a Cricut Design Space subscription, you may need to pay a fee for the bee designs when you click "Make".

Since my library is painted dark green, I added a white circle behind each bee so that they will stand out.  The small bees and bee trails will be placed on the front and back of the library. 

The little bee trails are challenging to transfer to the library, so you may want to add a background vinyl to apply them to before applying them to the library.

I also found this cute wildflower design inside Cricut Design Space.

For the Wildflower design, I would make a few changes. I would add a dark green vinyl behind the flowers to blend with the color of my library.  This would make it easier to apply the flowers to the library.  The wildflowers would adhere to the background vinyl, and the background vinyl would adhere more easily to the library.  The small sections of the flowers made it challenging to apply to the uneven wood.

The second change I might make is to make the stems and outline in a lighter color so they will show up better.

Cut the Decals

Cut the layers of the decals from Outdoor Premium Vinyl.  I used Oracal 651 Outdoor Premium Vinyl.

Layer the Decals

Next, use transfer tape to place the layers together.  For the bee sayings, there are three layers: black background, white wings, and yellow stripes.

Transfer tape can be reused multiple times.  Place a piece of transfer tape over the bee wings.

Peel off the backing of the vinyl and then apply the wings to the bee.  Use a scraper tool to smooth it.

Gently peel the transfer tape away, leaving the white wings on the bee.

Use the same process to apply the yellow stripes on the bee.

Finally, apply the bee with the saying to the background circle.

Layer all of the bee sayings.  The wildflowers' design layers are put together in the same way using the transfer tape.

If you want to purchase a Cricut or learn more about these cutting machines, please scroll down to the end of this article to find links to the current sales and where to purchase.

Step 5: Apply the Decals

It's time to apply the stickers and decorate the library.  Use transfer tape to place the decals onto the library.

I applied the bee sayings to the library by placing a piece of transfer tape over the entire circle.  Peel off the backing and then place the decal onto the library.  Use the scraper to adhere the vinyl to the wood.  Carefully peel off the transfer tape.  Use the same transfer tape to transfer the other bee circles to the library.

The wildflowers and bees with trails can be transferred in the same way.  The bee trails have very small pieces.  I had some trouble transferring them and just made trails as best as I could!  If you have a background vinyl behind the trails, it should be easier to transfer them.

Finished!

Here is our refreshed Little Free Book Library.  I hope this refresh will last several years and our library will continue to foster the love of books in our neighborhood.

Cute bees are flying around the front of the library.

Wildflowers and bees are on the back of the library.  For these, I changed the color of the bee trail to yellow vinyl so it shows up better.

Positive bee sayings (bee puns) are on the two sides of the library: Bee You, Bee Kind, Bee Thankful, Bee Different, Bee Positive, Bee Yourself, Bee Happy.