Chili Decorating Ideas

Two men hang chilies to dry in Andalusia, Spain.

Decorating with chilies is hot, hot, hot. Use the spicy beauty of the chili to create an entire, authentic hacienda or a shabby, old kitchen cantina. A chili is a versatile decor tool; it can shape-shift from wide, bright and chubby to tall, wrinkled and thin. It works well alone or in groups -- either as live and preserved or dried and hung. Use the real pepper or a cloned image on shelves, walls, counter tops, mantles or window boxes or just hang chili ropes from the rafters. Take a virtual trip to Mexico without ever leaving the house.

Au Naturel

Infuse chilies in oil, add citrus slices and spice up favorite dishes with it.

The chili in its natural state is quite versatile. Grow chilies in clay pots, metal buckets or wide, wooden planter boxes, and display on windowsills or deck railings. Pickle peppers in vinegar and display in wine bottles or mason jars, or wash and dry canning jars and lids and put whole, dried chilies in jars, seal and screw lid tight. Infuse olive oil with cut and whole chilies. Dry chilies for wreaths or chili ropes, and hang them from a metal pot rack or string them from rafters. String different colored, dried peppers with raffia and create a vertical wall hanging.

Furniture and Confined Spaces

Create Mexican furniture art by filling a rustic cart with dried lavender, eucalyptus and chili ropes and display it in a foyer.

Visit an architectural salvage shop and buy three rustic, wooden doors; attach them with hinges and decoupage with chili images, making a trendy, shabby chic folding-door room separator. Recreate a rustic corner cabinet by distressing it with milk paint; display a mortar and pestle collection or chili ceramics on its shelves and hang chili ropes from the sides. Display an old wooden cart filled with chili ropes, dried grasses, stick branches and flowers in the foyer. Decoupage chili seed packages to chair backs and coffee tables. Buy a rough-hewn ladder, hang chili ropes from its rungs and prop it at a focal point. Create a centerpiece by pruning and drying sturdy branches and hot glue dried chilies to the branches.

Textiles

Mexican merchants hang chili ropes at outdoor markets for drying and selling.

Use chili-themed fabric to border dish towels, create matching place mats and napkins or upholster chairs and bar stools. Sew kitchen curtains, matching appliance covers or hot pads with similar fabric. Create a patchwork table runner, throw or quilt. Cut large white muslin rectangles and make chili appliques from red, orange, yellow and green cotton swatches. Make border patches from solid chili colors and chili-themed fabric. Give it a rustic flair by hand tying crow's foot knots with embroidery thread.

Walls and Open Spaces

Chili-shaped lights give common objects and boring spaces a Mexican festive flair.

Groups of old mismatched wooden drawers make excellent wall shelves for hot sauces. Find a chili poster, or buy chili-themed wallpaper, stencils or decorative Talavera tiles to decorate kitchen walls; hand draw or paint images of chilies on the walls. Hang a rustic straight ladder horizontally on a wall and put pickled pepper jars between rungs. Paint an image of a crumbling wall with exposed bricks and chili images. Paint a kitchen with warm chili colors of yellow, red and green. Hang stringed chili lights on a deck and add a clay firepot. Create a Mexican courtyard with flowering trees, Mexican-tiled walkways, antique lanterns, chilies in rustic wooden boxes, wrought iron or wooden benches and hanging chili ropes.

Whimsies

A Mariachi band in full Mexican regalia is a novel way to throw a chili-themed party.

A whimsical chili creation awakens a drab kitchen nook. Chili whimsies include night lights, switch plates, doorbells, ceramic canisters, soup or chili tureens, chip and dip bowls, salt and pepper shakers and other kitchen ornaments. Chili-themed china and serving platters, along with ceramic condiment bowls shaped like chilies electrify a hum-drum Cinco de Mayo festivity. Consider renting a whimsical Mariachi band to really liven up a chili-themed birthday bash.

References

• Chili-Peppers: Decorating with Ornamental Chili Peppers
• Direct from Mexico: Welcome to Direct from Mexico Rustic and Southwest Home Furnishings