How to Decorate a Bedroom With Swords
Swords have been in use since the Bronze Age. Completist collectors may have a selection of swords that represent as much as five thousand years of the weapon's history. Whether you have a fine collection of antique blades, or a fun collection of reproductions, you'll need a place to display them. With some thought, a bedroom can be a great spot to show off your collection. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Decorate With An Edge
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Display all swords with safety in mind. Swords are heavy, and most are very sharp. If you display them on the wall, make sure that they are tightly secured at two points. Do not hang swords over your bed or headboard no matter how securely you believe they are fastened to the wall or ceiling. Regardless of where you live, you are subject to the whims of Mother Nature (wind, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, falling trees) and possible structural failings in your home. If the wall or ceiling collapses, you do not want to be skewered. Also carefully consider the placement of any exposed blades where pets, children or sleepy adults on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night might accidentally encounter them. When possible keep swords in sheaths or blunt the tips.
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Choose a theme for your bedroom. If your sword collection focuses on a particular period or geographic locale, you can design your room with that in mind. Have a collection of Japanese katanas? How about an Asian theme? French dueling swords? Viva La France. Arab scimitars? Why not a Moroccan theme? Swords from the Age of Chivalry? Consider giving your bedroom a castle motif.
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Pick complementary colors and textures. Swords are designed to be long and linear. To balance their position in your surroundings, choose other accents and furnishings in shapes and textures that are rounded, soft and inviting. Most swords are primarily made of gray steel. This extremely cool shade will be shown to best effect when surrounded by rich colors. Paint your walls a warm shade of red, brown or cream. Choose furnishings painted a warm color or made of rich woods like cherry or mahogany.
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Display your swords creatively. If your sword collection is composed of antiques, then they must be displayed in a controlled fashion. Consider having custom cabinets built to show off your treasures. You could also have displays inset in your walls. In the majority of homes there is a dead space of 16 or 24 inches between wall studs. Remove your drywall, frame this space in and then display two or three swords in each opening. You could also make two simple parallel shelves with an opening in the top shelf to hold a sword's hilt and in the bottom shelf to secure its point.
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Hang your curtains "by the sword." Above your windows create a curtain rod using a sword. Thread wide tab-top curtains over the blade of a dull sword that's been mounted to the wall. Use brackets to secure the sword on each end. You could also build a faux sword, of any width, to act as a curtain rod.
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Bring the romance of the sword to your walls. Many of the portfolios of the world's great artists include paintings that feature swords. Find prints or reproductions of their paintings to decorate your bedroom. Some are quite romantic, like those featuring knights and damsels. In particular, investigate the works of painters like Leighton, Dicksee and Waterhouse.
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Light your treasures. Your collection should be lit with appropriate lighting. Have lighting installed in any specially designed cabinets, or use track lighting or spotlights for individual pieces. Halogen lights are recommended for antiques. Halogen lights cause little UV damage compared with traditional lights.
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Tips & Warnings
Before hanging or mounting older swords, test their structural integrity.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Paul Anderson for Morguefile
