Flying My Flag Colors

I love our flag’s colors of red, white, and blue in decorating, but I always throw in some green and yellow to offset too much of a Betsy Ross effect.  In the summer, though, I am more relaxed about having just the three colors in a room.  After all, we get to celebrate three national holidays within months of each other (four if we count Flag Day), and they all flaunt their patriotic spirit.  So, to get ready for the onslaught of summer, I decided it was time to fly my flag colors.

So, when it was time to switch out the pillows in the great room for some summer fun pillows, I pulled out  my flag colors.  Thanks to this shopping trip plus one I didn’t blog about, I had plenty of fabric remnants to work with.  I spent a morning making some pillow covers using this method and came up with a summer look that is still classic.

 

I have several yards of antique French linen that I really didn’t want to cut up, but I used it as inspiration to make some “faux” French fabric for my All-American look.  It simply involved using some red fabric paint and some fabric I cut from painters drop cloth, and I had both in my craft room already.  I taped off some lines, and sponged on the red paint.  I purposely made the paint uneven so the pillows wouldn’t look too new.

 

To offset too much of a good thing, I added the Kilim pillow I bought on a week-end trip to Istanbul .  It adds some green and a touch of yellow to the mix.

 

I have been reading that we should have some large pillows on both ends of a sofa, so I made the two faux linen pillows 22 inches.  They are big and slouchy and not too stiff looking – perfect for a relaxed summer look.

 

This is another reason why I love having a neutral sofa.  I can dress it up or dress it down…..kind of like playing Barbies.

 

 

I hope you liked what you saw here today.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a recipe that you MUST make this holiday week-end.

 

Take care.