Using quilts in my home

I am a frustrated interior designer. Ok, I have now admitted it! I wish when I was younger I had understood that it was something I loved to do but It wasn't until I had my own home that I realized how much I loved putting fabrics and colors together. I began by sewing curtains and pillows to add color into the rooms in an economical way. I had always enjoyed needlework as a young girl and began stitching crewel pictures for the walls and pillows. This was in the late 1970's and early 80's and some of you may remember the store LeeWards. Oh my, I spent lots of cash there on my needlework kits! Anyway, eventually my love of interior decorating and sewing lead to quilting. The quilting revival was just getting on its feet and I was swept in. What a perfect combination - playing with fabric and sewing pretty things that I could use in my home!

Fast forward 30 plus years and I am still quilting and still looking for ways to use them in my home. Of course, I do use them in bedrooms,but I also like to spread them around the house and am always keeping an eye out as to how others use quilts in their decor. Since I have been working on a project that I can't share just yet, I thought I would show you a quick tabletopper I whipped up the other day and how it fits into my decor.


This pattern came from the book Sizzlin' Sixties by Heather Mulder Peterson of Anka's Treasures. It was made for the center of the round table that is in my kitchen eating area which is open to the main living space in the house. I like to have something decorative on this table as a way to add color in the area and, since we usually eat at the snack bar, I don't have to remove it at every meal.



I have't yet decided on window treatments here so this color was really needed especially with those white walls. We painted the walls white before even moving our furniture here 6 months ago as the house is quite dark. I love the white but do miss color so this weekend we picked out some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to paint that china cabinet that you see in the background. The color is Provence and it is a wonderful teal color that should look beautiful against the white. And the interior of the top will be painted in old white so my collection of transferware should stand out too. I know this is not a decorating blog but I will let you know how the painting goes!

And here is what inspired the color. My new teal velvet sofa!



It has already been seen here as a prop for LE, but I just wanted to show how it looks with my butterfly quilt. The pillow fabric on the sofa was a 3 yd remnant that my DH just loved. This time it was a quilt that inspired the decorator fabric purchase. It looks like a collage and has birds, butterflies, and palm trees as well as stamps from various places and also some text so goes with our eclectic travel "theme". And that is why I used the text print in the table topper, sorta pulls them together. And the green and red in the topper pull the dishes colors in. And you might also see a few quilts folded in the cabinet below the TV. I think it is time to change some of these now that the new furniture has arrived.

Finally a shot of my new chair. We have a pair of these and I frankly can't believe I agreed to leather recliners! They remind me of my parents as in their later years they too sat side by side in matching recliners. Lol. You might notice LE is on the table in front of the chair. This is where I do my hand sewing. The little apple is my pin cushion and that small dish beside it is for my thread scraps. The table has a drawer where I keep my scissors, thimble and thread that I am working with. And the pillow on the chair can be used as a prop for my arm when sewing.



If you are still reading, thanks for indulging me. I love seeing how people use their quilts and hope you do too!