Beyond the Quilt....Quilts in Interior Spaces

As I write this post, I realize there is so much I can share regarding the quilt itself, the design of the quilt, the aethetics of the space the quilt will primarily occupy... not to mention the textile itself. The quilting weight cotton.. I just have this to share... use the best quality materials you can afford for any project you are doing-something ingrained into my creative psyche in the years of design courses as well as what my dad used to tell me as a kid when he did projects around the house. The better quality materials, the finished product will be that much better. In all of the years I have been creating and specifying projects... this IS TRUE! Even on a test garment, use something fairly decent. There have been times my tests have turned out far better than I expected and the quality of materials kept me from fully enjoying the finished item. More about this in another post.. (and I wondered what I would write about...?)

The intention of this first post really is to share about the other design elements in a room and how a quilt.. a labor intensive work of art and love... is showcased.. or supports other elements in a room. In choosing to use a quilt in an interior space, determine it's purpose.  My number one rule of design is FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION. The most beautiful thing, if it doesn't function properly can become a detested element in a space. The function of a quilt is personal. Is it a 'working quilt', providing warmth and comfort for it's user's? Or is it a purely decorative item providing visual comfort and nurturing? Maybe it is an heirloom that has 'retired from working service' and preservation or conservation is the primary concern.

In an interior space, the way I approach it anyway, is wall color (and ceiling color) support the furnishings of a room. Wall color is rarely a focal point in and of itself, although many people shy away from stronger color statements on their walls, the walls can be fairly bold if the other hues in the room are fairly bold. The wall color ideally showcases and plays with the items, especially focal point of a room. If there is a great deal of color or variety of colors in a room, the wall color may be a 'middle mixture' of the dominant hues.

For example, when selecting paint color for the large class room at Glad Creations Quilt Block, I chose a series of middle gray. The gray is neither warm nor cool, the end wall is a darker value than the side walls. As the room is the classroom and many different quilts are on display and in a rotating manner, there is no color theme that is dominant to showcase the quilts. Some quilters have specific color palettes they prefer working with, while others have no color preferences and have a great variety of color, value and saturation in the quilts they make. For the classroom at Glad Creations Quilt Block, however, a neutral had to be selected. It could not be too light of a value or the lighter quilts would get lost on them, and it could not be too dark or the room would become closed in and the darker quilts would loose their impact. The grays appear lighter on the walls than they do on their paint chip.

In selecting your wall color, look at the quilt(s) you will be using in the room. Find a common hue, or other color relatedness between the quilts and select a common hue OR its compliment for the wall color. Choose a value that will enhance the quilt. The entire room will be an extension of the quilt.
Here are some of my techy peice of this.. I still need to learn to import photos.. I know, MY favorite blogs have fabulous photos.. I promise to provide some... my little cheapy camera broke the same week I published the first post.. so I have only my photo archives to work from.. for now...oh, and I don't really know how to become a follower either.. I will see what I can find to post on this at a near future date... thank you for the e-mail responses I have recieved and for your support in following the blog.. .