How to Use Quilts in Decor

Quilts are a mainstay of American country decor and other casual decorating styles. Here's how to bring your quilts out of the closet and use them in your home.

Things You'll Need

• Curtain Rings
• Curtain Rods
• Fabrics
• Pillow Forms
• Quilts
• Threads
• Throw Pillows

Instructions

1. Cover a round lamp table with a quilt - just tuck the edges under the table. (This becomes a great hiding place for old magazines, hobby projects and other clutter!)

2. Use pieces from a damaged quilt for upholstering a footstool, sewing the top of a toss pillow, crafting a table runner or place mats, covering a cornice board, and stitching up some chair pads or Christmas stockings.

3. Frame or hang a finely crafted quilt as art or as a replacement for a headboard.

4. Use a lightweight, inexpensive quilt as a window treatment by attaching it to substantial café rings and a matching curtain rod.

5. Drape a coffee table in a quilt (as long as it has minimal overlap - so it won't be a tripping hazard).

6. Replace a bedspread with a quilt and team it with decorative pillows that pick up some of the prominent solid colors used in the quilt. Be sure that the pillows have a homespun feel to them. For example, choose nubby linen, gingham and eyelet-edged pillows rather than brocade or velvet ones trimmed with satiny tassels.

7. Suspend a quilt from a ceiling-mounted curtain rod to use it as a room divider.

8. Toss a quilt over a less-than-pristine easy chair or sofa for a cosmetic lift.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't use valuable quilts near a fireplace (this will create damaging soot and ash) or near harsh sunlight (this will fade colors).