Design Sponge Archives

Montage: 18 Rooms with Woven Wall Hangings

In November I blogged about the revival of the house plant in contemporary decor. Today, it’s about another 1970s decorating phenomenon, woven wall hangings. Woven wall hangings, be they monochromatic macrame wall hangings that look like they came from camp or more involved multicolored multi-textured fiber art extravaganzas, or even just a flat weave rug on the wall with some string pulled out (seriously, I’ve seen that), are everywhere.

Yes, you can find funky woven wall hangings at Urban Outfitters and several beautiful hand-woven tapestries at Anthropologie, and of course Etsy has a plethora of woven wall hangings. All this weaving is actually referred to as fiber arts by serious artists, and I believe the art is thriving.

When I was visiting a friend in NYC this fall, I noticed a little place on an Upper East Side side street that offered weaving classes. I have a design-oriented friend who was so inspired by the recent spate of wall hangings in decor that she bought her own loom! I can’t wait to see the results. My mother-in-law has a huge, wonderful loom in her attic (she was a weaver before she became painter); perhaps I can get her to stage a revival and whip me something up.

The fiber wall hangings look really beautiful in isolation. I have been tempted to purchase one. But then I wonder if I could really pull off the look. Will it look too wooly? Too hippie? Too trendy? Here are 18 rooms with woven wall hangings that get it right. If you’re interested, I’ll follow up next week with a buying guide. Here’s that buying guide: Get the Look: 18 Woven Wall Hangings.

Wall hanging in L.A. home of fashion designer/boutique owner Chay Wike
Interior design by Lauren Soloff and Chay Wike
Photo by Brittany Ambridge • Domino

Wool fiber wall hanging by Lisa Garcia of Sonadora x Urban Outfitters

Wall hanging in California home of Erin Taylor of Bustle Events
Photo by Jessica Burke • The Everygirl

Fiber & feather wall hanging in restaurateur Ali Cayne’s West Village bedroom
Photo by Brittany Ambridge • Domino

Large macrame wall hanging in Brooklyn home • Apartment Therapy

Wall hanging by Sally England in the Ace Hotel, Portland, Oregon

DIY Copper Wall Hanging by Smitten Studio

Vintage wall hanging in home of photographers Cody Cloud + Julia Galdo of JUCO
Design Sponge

Vintage wall hanging in LA home of artist Karen Kimmel
Photo by Sarah Shreves • Design Sponge

Wall weavings by Rachel of Smile & Wave in home of Arrow & Apple blogger
A Beautiful Mess

DIY tapestry wall hanging by Laura Gummerman • A Beautiful Mess

All Roads Mineral Collection

Macrame wall hanging in a room by Jenny J Norris Interiors

Wall hangings by fiber artist Julie of Hazel & Hunter x Urban Outfitters

Wall hanging by Brooklyn-based Aussie weaver Maryanne Moodie

Sally England • Ace Hotel, Portland, Oregon

Platform Pop Up Shop in LA by Justina Blakeney of The Jungalow

Lena Corwin x Urban Outfitters

• • •

S H O P the L O O K
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”522904″]

Montage: 13 Bathrooms With Tiled Vanity Countertops

I still haven’t figured out what to do about the pink Formica countertop on the vanity in Florida. Buying a piece of stone is out—definitely no budget for that. And really, it’s a basic, white tiled bathroom, so it doesn’t call for a slab of luxurious stone anyway. There’s no way I am paying for an updated lamintate countertop. Blech. So I’ve been looking at tiled vanity countertops.

I think tiling the vanity countertop is the way to go. I’ve come across a number of how-to articles for installing tile over laminate; how-to tile is a rather popular DIY project. We also need to swap out the light fixture above the mirror. The vanity lighting fixture that’s there is now more appropriate for a C-lister’s dressing room. Maybe we can tuck some LED strip lights behind molding and add a more contemporary light fixture. This industrial-style bathroom light bar could also be an interesting look.

Perhaps my husband could get to work on some simple changes over winter break when we’re there. After all, he has all sorts of tools—step ladder, pliers, wrenches, and plenty of stuff I can’t even name. It’s nice that he’s handy : )

It’s hard to find examples of cute bathroom vanity countertops with tiles, I’m guessing because it’s a low budget solution and gorgeous, photographed homes showcase more upscale materials. I did find 13 bathrooms with tiled vanity countertops that are quite nice. I should go for it, right?

Photo by Jonas Ingerstedt

Home of architect Lisa Breeze • Design Sponge

Home of designer Ana Spiro • Apartment Therapy

Maison Hand Design

Bathroom of blogger Iris Vank of Enigheid for Ixxi

Marie Claire Maison

Tracy A. Stone Architect

Maison Hand Design

unidentified

Photo by Julie Ansiau

Fired Earth via Sunset Magazine

Home of vintage furniture dealer Annabel Gueret • Elle Decoration South Africa

unidentified

Montage: 30 Kids Rooms with Teepees

Teepees, wigwams, play tents (whatever you want to call them) have been trending for a rather long time. However last week, the Wall Street Journal proclaimed them a trend: Teepees: The New Urban Hideaway. I’m not sure why a newspaper would be so slow to catch onto this (it’s not like there’s a three-month lead time). No matter, they’re still going strong. We had a refrigerator box playhouse for a while; admittedly not nearly as chic. But that was a dozen years ago.

The teepee is great because it looks good not only in a kids room, but in adult spaces too. As you can see from these 30 rooms with teepees, they work well in white Scandinavian interiors, minimalist black and white living rooms, nurseries with traditional childrens bedroom furniture, and of course colorful playrooms. You can even erect one outdoors.

I was obsessed with building forts as a kid, always enclosing my bunk beds with blankets, and wishing I had a way to hang a sheet from the ceiling. My kids, too, used to love taking all the blankets they could gather and draping them over chairs and ottomans to create fun enclosures. There’s definitely something satisfying, and practical too, about a kid constructing a hideaway on his own. That said, it’s also nice to have a ready-made private quiet space. Wonder if my boys are too big for one now?