Remember these adorable frames my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas? Well, I finally got them hung up. It took a while because I debated over two things; the right place and what to frame.
As for the right place to hang them, I thought I knew the perfect place. The second I saw them I knew I wanted to hang them in the family room between the windows. I thought they would bring some nice color onto that side of the room. Unfortunately, as soon as I held them up in place, I realized they were too small. Each frame is maybe 6 inches square. The space between our family room windows is only about 12-14 inches and there are no curtains, but the small frames just looked tiny in between the giant windows.
After tons of running around to every “tiny” wall in our house I finally found the perfect spot. They looked fabulous on the narrow wall next to the deck door in the kitchen. And I don’t mind a punch of color there either. But now that I found the perfect spot, I realized I have the wrong color…not the frames, but what I had chosen to frame.
When I wanted them in the living room, I framed cute red and white fabric samples. I love a good red and turquoise combo. That would have worked well color-wise in the family room, but now the frames would be in the kitchen. Although the kitchen is open to the family room, it does not have red as an accent color. The turquoise frame worked great, but the red had to go. So, out with the red and in with green.
To fill up these perfectly tiny frames (with less than 3″ openings), I used fabric scraps. The frames were just too small to frame a picture or quote. I wanted to keep it simple and let the frames be the art. I rummaged through my fabric stash and found my fabric samples from Swanky Swell. Love her fabrics. I originally used the red version of these prints, but ultimately swapped them out for green. I used two different coordinating fabric prints. I used the plexi-glass in the frames as a guide. The clear plexi allowed me to put it over the fabric and see exactly which part of the print I wanted to frame. I cut the fabric to size and put it in the frames.
The patterns and color of the fabrics is interesting, but I don’t feel they compete with the frames. I think together the frames and fabric are a piece of art. It is just one little thing that makes me smile every time I see it.
P.S. Coincidentally the day after I framed the fabric samples, I saw this feature on Nina’s house. She is the designer behind Swanky Swell fabrics. Her house is a showcase of her designs. The furniture that she has upholstered in her fabrics is amazing.
Ahhh. I need to go to your Pinterest. This is a good idea too I’d not read. Another gift for Christmas?