Boats, boots and bunting – the more the merrier

I’ve just spent seven hours conceptualising an incentive campaign for a sales team that stands to win a cruise if it makes target. The job probably didn’t require all this time but the nautical theme required bunting – lots of it – and I became so enamoured with these pretty little fabric flags that I couldn’t stop googling photos for the creative mood boards. And then it struck me! Bunting! In my home.In your home.In gardens everywhere. Why not! And lo and behold, my indispensable source of décor trends, houzz.com, concurs. In fact the crafty houzz community seems to have found bunting-friendly spaces in all corners of their homes. And the palette is anything but limited to red, white and blue. Check it out!

eclectic home office design

Further, if you think that the look is only for children’s rooms, think again. Depending on your choice of colours, it can be super-sophisticated.

eclectic bedroom design by other metros media and blogsJeanette Lunde

An extra-grown-up touch is to echo the shapes and shades in your soft furnishings.

Or add an element of surprise by super-sizing or shrinking the flags. Using teeny-weeny ones is a great way of adding a pop of colour without making a focal point of the installation – or blocking the view.

Bunting is an inexpensive and effective way of personalising a space in which an actual artwork may be distracting.

As far as children’s rooms go, it’s good for girls and boys.

One strand can take a patio from drab to fab.

The shape needn’t be triangular, and the material needn’t be fabric. This example seems to be crochet. (Alas, my seamstress skills do not extend this far.)

Speaking of seamstress skills – it seems you don’t really need any to make your own bunting. SA photographer Rikki Hibbert made some for her vintage-tea-themed 30^th birthday celebration, and very generously posted the instructions on her blog. If you read the comments underneath the actual update, you’ll see that the flags can be double-sided (requiring a sewing machine) or one-sided (requiring zig-zag pinking shears and a few minutes of hand stitching).

My eagle-eye did pick up one error in her method: instead of leaving 1m gaps when positioning the flags on the string, try 1mm gaps for a “full” look or play a little to get the effect that’s going to have the best impact in the room you’re decorating.

Whatever you do, integrate your bunting with the rest of your décor, whether by colour, size or placement. For example, while red, white and blue can be nautical, it also smacks of Americana – and what better backdrop to two pairs of iconic ladies’ boots than this Midwest tribute. (How cute is this idea!)

And finally, if your eagle-eyes pick up errors in this post, it’s because my seven-hour research marathon extended through the night. As I type this the sun is rising but, instead of going outside to admire it, I’m headed to the linen cupboard, which holds the fabric scraps that I’ve hoarded for years. Happy bunting!