Ways to Transform Your Home With Exotic Fabrics

There's something about exotic fabrics that always stops me in my tracks. Woven with silks and velvet, such fabrics often add embroidery to their enchanting appeal. It can be a pillow that catches my eye or fabric wall art, and I know that if I brought that special piece home with me it would completely transform one of my rooms. It doesn't really involve a lot of work or expense to use exotic fabrics. Their allure is so complete that they add a splash of style over the existing decor. For each room, I like to implement different ideas, which I've shared here in the hopes of inspiring you to transform your home with exotic fabrics.

Homemade tapestry for your dining room

Transform you dining room by making a stunning tapestry from an exotic fabric. Take time searching for truly beautiful cloth, either online or at your local fabric store. Next, buy a long iron curtain rod with decorative rod ends that go well with the fabric (I love colored glass balls). Cut the fabric to the tapestry size you want. Next add a thick plain fabric behind your exotic fabric to act as a backing. Use no-sew hemming tape to fold the exotic fabric ends over the thick backing. Remember to make the top hem wide enough to accommodate the curtain rod. Alternatively, use ornamental clip-on curtain rings to hang the tapestry from the rod.

Curtain tie-backs & arm-rests for your living room

Transform your living room with exotic fabrics that go well with your furniture color, curtains and decorative pillows. To create exotic curtain tie-backs, cut 6 to 8 inch wide strips of fabric that are between 2 to 3 feet long, depending on your taste. Hem the tie-backs all around and use ornamental clip-on curtain rings at both ends to hang them from curtain tie-back holders installed in your wall on both sides of your window. To create the furniture arm-rest covers, repeat the same steps, this time suiting your exotic creations to the size of your furniture arm rests. I recommend sewing a non-stick carpet pad as backing to keep the covers from slipping off easily.

Bed runner & pillows for your bedrooms

Transform the beauty of your bed's duvet and shams by adding two exotic pillows and a bed runner, both of which you can sew quite easily. I recommend taking a sham pillowcase with you to the fabric store, to help you choose a matching exotic fabric. Sew square decorative pillowcases and stuff them with old pillows, then close each case by sewing silk ribbons along its opening, which you can tie in butterfly knots. Sew a bed runner in the shape of a long rectangle, 2 feet wide and as long as the width of your duvet. Display the exotic pillows at the top of the bed and the runner two-thirds down the bed.

Kitchen valance & wall art

To transform your kitchen with exotic fabrics, select colors that will stand out against your kitchen, such as eggplant against earth tones, or red against white. To make the kitchen valance, cut a rectangle of fabric which is one and half times as wide as your kitchen window. It's up to you how far over your window you want the valance to extend, so cut the fabric accordingly. Hem it all around, with a wider top hem through which you will slip the curtain rod. To create the matching wall art, simply frame strips of exotic fabric in cheap craft store frames.

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