When I was a kid growing up in Atchison, Kan., one of my favorite things to do was to decorate my room. No surprise there, right? (My other favorite game was playing store — I would take all the canned goods out of the pantry and set up shop.) Even then, I was into amazing trims, decorating exclamation points that add punch and panache to just about everything. I was pretty excited about the pompoms that edged my drapes and, of course, rickrack.
We have been using the power of trims for years, adding them to all sorts of items to make interior spaces both personal and arresting. So I was thrilled when we went to the huge High Point fabric market this winter and saw so many fresh, fun takes on trims. Here are a few ways to use trims to transform your spaces:
ZIP UP A PILLOW
I laughed so hard when I saw this fun trim ribbon at market. I don’t know if you can read it from this snapshot I took on my phone, but it says, “Don’t be like the rest of them, darling ….” Can anyone relate? Trims that make a statement like this one are great for pillows to accent a bed, or any other spot in your home where you want to make your thoughts known. I love them as gifts for grads!
There are so many ways you can use trim to make a pillow truly unique focal point of a room. This shot shows off one of my favorite go-tos when I’m designing pillows for beds or furniture: a flange in a contrasting fabric. I adore a ruffled or straight flange, used alone or with a micro welt to bring in yet another color or pattern.
MAKE UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE UNIQUE
One of my favorite tricks is to add trim to the skirt of a sofa, chair or ottoman. This sofa sports a lattice trim around the base. Whether it’s a Greek key pattern, lattice or another of the sensational looks that are so hot right now, a bit of trim around a piece or two of furniture gives the entire room that custom-designed look.
Here, we punched up this blue linen sofa with a strip of vibrant green trim fabric on the skirt. When selecting an upholstery fabric for your sofa, you want something you are going to love forever. If you hunger for a little excitement, but don’t want to risk using a bolder pattern on such a big piece of furniture, a spunky trim can do just the trick.
FINISH DRAPES WITH PANACHE
I just blogged about drapes, so I won’t camp here for long. But I had to include window coverings as one of the best spots to add an interesting trim. Isn’t it amazing how this perky green flange finishes these lovely floral drapes? Trimming drapes in a contrasting fabric is a great way to add another accent color to a room. Tip: If you purchase ready-made drapes, give them a custom look by adding trim down the sides or on the bottom, maybe a Greek key tape or welt, or band of accent fabric.
MAKE A STATEMENT WITH YOUR BEDDING
Bedding just calls for beautiful trims. And this bed scores a 10. Notice how the addition of the Greek key trim in orange gives this plain old white duvet loads of personality? Similarly, the solid orange spread underneath is rocking it with white piping. The pillows on the bed are each finished in a slightly different trim. Love!
When you’re creating pillows, whether for your bed or a piece of furniture, get adventurous with your trim. I love to use a tape trim to outline the face of the pillow, placing it a few inches from the side seams of the pillow, so the tapes overlap at the corners. This lovely pillow sports one of my lifetime favorite trims: pompons! After all these years, my love light is still burning bright.
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This column was adapted from Mary Carol Garrity's blog at www.nellhills.com
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