Hanging an Antique Quilt for Display
Since we moved into our home two years ago, I have been slowly, but surely, adding touches to make it feel more like our own space. The style of this traditional-style house is so different from our previous home, which was a log house (all walls inside and out were made of pine). While that house was incredibly easy to make beautiful and cozy, the structure and fixtures of this house make this house more of a challenge. One of the areas that I have been focusing on recently has been the dining room. Instead of waiting for changes that will take more time and money, I have decided to go ahead and make some small changes now.
A few weeks ago, we received quite a bit of office furniture that was being discarded, and we did a major furniture shuffle. I asked my husband to move a piece of furniture that has been in the basement study to the dining room to create a window seat for the girls. Adding an old linen tablecloth to be used as a lightweight throw blanket and a pillow with a beautiful cover gifted by my friend Cheri made this space so much more beautiful than it was before!
The wall color of this room is olive gray, which is really drab in my opinion, especially on cloudy days and shorter days of winter. And, it is particularly difficult to photograph well—hence, the black and white photos in this post. I dream of painting it white someday (white reminds me of old-fashioned whitewashed walls). But the paint is actually in fairly good condition because the previous owners painted it this color right before we moved in—it was white originally. Sigh.
Recently, I got the idea for a temporary fix of hanging an antique white quilt on the wall to add some coziness to the room and to add some white brightness along the largest expanse of blank wall. Because I eventually want to add a large mirror and a faux fireplace mantel or a board-and-batten or bead-board wainscoting to the wall, I didn’t want to drill lots of holes into the wall on which to hang the quilt. I discussed my thoughts with my older brother, Sherman, who always has common sense solutions along with skills to make them happen. I had the idea of using Command hooks, but I wasn’t sure how to implement using them. Sherman came up with this idea of folding the quilt over a board and fastening the board to the Command hooks with rope. He found a piece of wood in his wood-working shop that was long enough to hold the quilt, drilled a hole in each end and sanded it smooth. Instead of using rope, I used two pieces of scrap linen selvedges to tie the board to the hooks, and Ryan and I hung it is place. I did make a mistake that I will have to deal with later in that I hung the hooks to close to the ceiling so removing them properly may be a bit of a challenge in the future. I realized it a second after I had applied the first hook to the wall, but at that point, it was too late.
The Command hooks we used are available in a package of one: Command Large Brushed Nickel Hook - 1 hook or in a set of three, which is what we purchased because that the time the 1-hook option wasn’t available when I was placing the order: Command Large Brushed Nickel Hook, Set of 3 (Unfortunately, I see that the price has gone up for the set of 3 since we purchased them.)
Because I didn’t want the quilt to touch the floor, I sewed a large hanging pocket at the top, using long, basting stitches in case I ever want to remove the pocket. This is actually the back of the quilt because the top of the quilt is more worn. Additionally, I wanted a solid white look instead of the small red and white patches. What I didn’t realize until we hung the quilt in place is that there is a noticeable, rust-colored stain in the middle of the quilt. Unless you can let me know of a better solution, I will probably quilt a white patch in place over the stain at some point.
Eventually, I want this pine cabinet to be stained to match the chairs, and the kitchen hutch in the other corner of the room to be painted white. But because I tend to have an allergic reaction to the chemicals in products required for these projects, my husband really doesn’t want me to try them on my own, and because he has absolutely no interest in finishing furniture, we will have to hire it done eventually. Currently, the home decorating budget doesn’t allow for that…so, it will have to wait, unless I can find someone willing to trade furniture staining/painting services in exchange for sewing projects.
This little rosemary plant on the table adds such a lovely aroma to the room. Alas, I have named it “Tiny Tim” because I am not sure whether it will survive the season. Do you have any advice for keeping a plant like this alive indoors? If so, please let me know…my friend, Nichole, suggested making sure that the roots were not too wet so I did let it dry out, but I am still not sure whether it’s okay.
For some reason, the poinsettia also isn’t doing well this year. Maybe because I had it in the living room by the Christmas tree until I realized that it wasn’t getting enough light and moved it to the dining room.
My husband also hung a picture on the wall of the dining room, but I haven’t been able to get a photo of it without a distracting glare. If I am ever able to get a good photo, I will add it to the post.
Another way that I like to make the room even prettier is by adding a linen tablecloth to the table, but it makes it more difficult for the girls to clean their spot after each meal. Maybe, I need to do like Ma did in the Little House books and put the tablecloth on the table between meals?
And just for fun, I wore this dress the day that we hung the quilt. It was Elle’s seventh birthday, and she appreciates anything old-fashioned. This dress was made for me by a family friend for my 12th birthday, and I recently noticed it in my cedar chest. It is a snug fit, but it was fun to see the delight on the faces of my family when they saw me wearing it. And, yes, the dress needs washed and ironed. I put it on as it came out of the cedar chest, where it has been stored for a LONG time (the dress is over 30 years old). On a whim, I asked my husband to snap a picture of me to remember the moment.
Have a great week! I am still busy making quilts, and I am going to offer a few bookmarks on an Instagram story sale tonight at 6:00 p.m. (EST). The bookmarks are made of vintage lace and linen scraps.
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