How to Decorate Using Fabric: 20+ Inexpensive Ways To Transform Any Room
Using fabric to decorate a room is an inexpensive way to add color, pattern and charm. Fabric can soften a room, add romance, and give a room a finished feel. Fabric can be used in any room style, and on any budget! Follow these great guidelines for using fabric in home decorating without breaking your budget! Better still, you don’t have to be a tailor either! Most of our suggestions are “no-sew” suggestions and only require a minimal amount of work to achieve.
1. Inexpensive sources for fabric for decorating a room include using flat sheets from discount stores, quilts and tablecloths from yard sales (or your own linen closet!) or the discount table at any fabric store.
2. If you want to add pattern to a room with fabric, here is a no fail guideline. Use a solid, and stripe, and a small-medium scale pattern. Let each of the three fabrics share at least one color. Finally, distribute the pattern throughout the room following the 60/30/10 rule…Use your primary fabric, (usually the solid) in 60% of the room, the next fabric in 30% of the room, and the last fabric throughout 10% of the room.
3. Heavy pinch pleat draperies are long since passé. Use lighter rod pocket curtains to soften your windows. Twin flat sheets can fit most average windows with nothing more than a rod pocket sewn in! Make sure the curtains draw completely clear of the windows to let the most possible amount of light into the room. Bonus tip: Hang curtain rods near the ceiling line instead of right above the window…it adds height and dimension to a room, making it look larger!
4. Simple throw pillows are easy and cheap to make, and can even be changed out with the seasons! Use them to add comfort to any room in your home…even the outdoor ones! Add a simple throw, and any corner of your room becomes a hideaway. Bonus tips: Repurpose old dresses or blouses with fun patterns to cover a throw pillows or create some no-sew envelope pillows from cloth napkins.
5. Stitch up placemats, tablecloths, and runners to soften the hard furniture in the room. If you don’t sew, you can use iron on hem tape to make your creations. It’s inexpensive and can be found in the sewing aisle of any discount store, or at your local fabric shop.
6. Use existing fabrics such as pretty quilts and unused sheets to create layered table covers. It adds instant romance to any room! Check out thrift shops and yard sales or learn to make them on your own. Do a google search and find dozens of sites ready to help you learn to sew and quilt.
7. Use cheap muslin to add natural and romantic statements in a room. Twist and wrap yards of muslin around a curtain rod and let drape to the floor for a wonderful organic window treatment. You can simply tie a knot in the end to finish. If your budget is really pinched, you can use muslin to make your window treatments, then just add borders of your favorite fabric to save on yardage.
8. Hang a pretty scarf on the wall for instant and cheap wall art or frame several smaller scarves for a grouping in the hallway.
9. If you want to create a custom frame for your colorful fabric pattern, staple the fabric onto wood beams for a fast super chic look.
10. Wrap patterned fabric over Dollar Store wood or canvases to create a canvas in fabric to occupy more wall space.
11. Use fabric and a glue gun to decorate a lampshade in a colorful print.
12. Tie large rectangle scarves around your sofa pillows or across the back of your chairs for a cool bohemian vibe.
13. Wrap couch cushions in textured blankets, or winter throws, for instant color.
14. Create chair cushions to add contrast to dining seats, alternate with solids and matching patterns.
15. Create a fabric basket to hold your keys by the door.
16. Hang a giant tapestry to create an accent wall.
17. Add flair to any room in your house by wrapping framed art picture mats with textured fabric.
18. Cover a cork board with fabric for a lovely place to hang notes and reminders.
19. Hang colorful potholders in your kitchen to add pops of color.
20. Make your own cloth shower curtain (to cover the liner) from the fabric of your choosing.
21. Line your dresser drawers with soft printed fabrics.
22. Hang a large tapestry behind your bed for a makeshift headboard.
23. Hang or drape sheer fabric over your bed to create a dreamy canopy-look.
Use creative sources for fabric, develop a plan, and add romance, color and style to any room using fabric! And, remember: Large patterns are great for decorating large surfaces such as floors, walls, windows, and beds. Small patterns should be used to decorate small items like pillows.
Happy decorating!
