How to decorate with wallhangings and tapestries
Tapestries and wallhangings sometimes suffer from a rather fuddy-duddy reputation, associated with images of crumbling country houses and musty rooms. We're here to make clear that this is far from the truth. Decorating with antique tapestries, Turkish rugs and precious textile fragments can add warmth and richness to traditional schemes. And ‘precious’ can mean so many things – it doesn't have to be an expensive, ornate tapestry, it could be as simple as an antique tea towel bought on eBay or a scrap of lace hung in a nice frame.
When trying to source wallhanging and textiles, the internet is your friend. Etsy has a wealth of wonderful handmade, custom or antique textiles that can be hung in a myriad of ways. Jess Maybury is a wonderful young collector of vintage textiles from all over the world and she sells a lot of them – from Uzbek suzanis to Moldovan kilims – on her website. Collecting textiles on your travels is also always a good idea: Ghanaian Asafo flags have a rich history, whilst early American quilts and bedspreads add texture and interest to a wall and French flea markets are brimming with embroidered table cloths.
Wallhangings are also a great addition to a rented space, because they can be quite easily moved. There's a wealth of fabrics out there that can enhance even the airiest and most contemporary of interiors, or any wall that might be unattractive in texture or colour. Talking of hiding sins, we've even seen some examples of textiles hiding some of the least attractive addendums to our houses, such as televisions (like in a charming living room by Studio Squire, where a suzani on a curtain pole hides one). Plus they're completely brilliant for filling those awkwardly large expanses of empty wall – many of our designers use them in hallways or above sofas and beds.
If you have a particularly valuable textile, why not consider framing it and hanging it as you would an artwork? From colourful Indian kanthas to artist-designed rugs or suzanis, scroll down for inspiration on hanging fabrics on your walls.