Decorating Guides

How to Use Scarves as Wall Hangings

November 19, 2022

From over-sized to briefer styles, scarves provide atypical wall decor options. Scarves hung on the wall are a throwback to the silk scrolls that enlivened early walls in China using the luminosity of painted silk. To recapture that age-old glamour, hang shorter or more scarves on rods — like these scrolls of old — or opt for a more tailored look by extending a scarf over a mat board and then inserting into a picture frame. Wall-mounted scarf holders provide a flexible wall decor option; short and long scarves are easily added to your wall to cover more space. Use both long and over-sized scarves to improve accents or to substitute instead of wall art.

Scroll-Style Scarves

For an antique look, hang a scarf in a rod, making it look like a painted silk Chinese scroll, particularly when the scarf features chinoiserie or Chinese motifs. Over-sized scarves may also substitute for framed artwork, providing a light, easy-to-hang alternative above mattresses, sofas or love seats. When scarves have geometric layouts they lend to a modern appearance, while floral gecko leads to a antique-style room design. When you would like to enliven your decor or alter its appearance, simply remove and replace different colored bottoms.

Wall-Mounted Scarf Hangers

Wall-mounted scarf hangers can accommodate numerous scarves in many colors or designs. This enables you to arrange the seams in layers to highlight particular scarves while providing a versatile choice that may change with your room’s color scheme. Some scarf holders possess detailed scrolling and finials, while others are sleek and modern. Whether staggered around the wall to make an asymmetrical arrangement or centered over a piece of furniture, wall-mounted scarf holders add an unanticipated, casual cascade of shade that decreases or expands in size on your wall.

Accent Existing Decor

Draping down out of a cosmetic tieback to flank a bed or a mirrored door, long window scarves serve as wall decor. When draping down from the wall to surround a picture, a mantel clock, a decorative plate or a sculpture, a scarf adds extra punch to your decorative accent. The scarf adds vibrant, flowing color, permitting the accent to become the room’s focal point and diminishing the demand for additional images.

Framed Scarves

Stretch a scarf across mat board or foam core as you would a needlepoint, and attach the scarf to the back of the mat board to ensure the geometric, abstract or floral design is based in the frame. Paired with a plain and wide frame, a scarf featuring geometric or abstract patterns substitutes for a vibrant framed and modern oil painting. Mats increase the size of framed scarves. After the frame’s detailing echoes the scarf’s layouts, the scarf and frame produce a pleasing blend.

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