Don't be content to merely toss out a few exotic pillows on the sofa and call it a day. Raid your linen closet, those trunks in the attic, that box left to you by your Great Aunt and bring those textiles in to the light of day. If you are lucky enough to travel and collecting ethnic textiles unique to a particular cultural tradition is your passion, display them with the full force of your convictions. If you love to browse fabric shops and can't help coming home with a yard or two of silk or brocade, beaded, fringed or embroidered wool, creweled cotton, calico or chintz, use these pieces to instantly brighten and refresh your living spaces, even without sewing. If you haunt flea markets for vintage, highly collectible dish towels, scarves, quilts or tablecloths, Native American textiles or other fabrics from around the world, use them to keep you warm, wrap a pot, or throw over the back of a chair.
Textiles are toys for adults, color forms to fold, twist, tie, drape, hang or display.
Hang in groupings to give impact to your collection. Display Native American textiles in open armoires, on shelves, draped over the backs of easy chairs or sofas, or hung on a wall or in a stairway. Mount fabric swatches or pieces to the recessed panels of a wall, door, or pocket door. Hang fabric pieces in the manner of a tapestry or an unframed picture or mount to a board and lean against a wall for instant art or against a hearth as a fire screen. Daybeds used as couches become intimate settings for a lovely display area for comforters, quilts and shawls.