Four ways to brighten your home

By MARY CAROL GARRITYScripps Howard News Service 15-JAN-07
If you're singing the winter blues, it's time to lift your spirits by giving your home a new spark with tantalizing, terrific textiles. Judy, the manager of G. Diebolt's, my custom-bedding and fabric store, suggests four awesome projects that require just five yards of fabric, giving your home a great look for a minimal investment.

SPICE UP YOUR SOFA WITH NEW PILLOWS
Sick and tired of your sofa? Freshen it up with new accent pillows. It takes just a few yards of fabric to recover your existing pillow forms and get a whole new look.
Right now, timeless fabrics like plaids, soft linen blends and florals are all the rage. But don't confine yourself to just one pattern or pillow shape. Mix three to four patterns and several shapes to give your sofa lots of visual interest.

Try this look: Center a larger rectangle pillow on the back of the sofa. Then nestle square accent pillows against the sofa's arms. Be sure to make a few extra pillows to toss on side chairs to create continuity in the room.
Give your new pillows a customized look by using a host of interesting trims. How about ribbon-covered buttons? Or brush fringes? I love mini-flanges. One final bit of advice: Don't forget to put a zipper in each pillow cover so you can slip it off for laundering.
If you can't sew worth a lick, never fear. You can dress up pillow forms simply by securing a yard or two of fabric into place with a few cleverly placed folds and tucks. Judy advises using lightweight fabrics for this trick.

ADD DRAMA TO YOUR TABLE WITH TREMENDOUS LINENS
Give your table some kick by crafting one-of-a-kind table linens. Create a square table topper, then lay it on the diagonal at the center of your table. If you want more texture, crisscross two table runners. If you don't sew, no problem. Just iron the raw edges under and no one will be able to tell the difference.
If you already have a tablecloth you love, make some zippy new napkins that bring out its colors or accent your dishes. Don't be afraid to introduce bold fabrics with large prints and startling colors. One of my favorite napkin and table-topper duos featured strong patterns in hot pink and black. Pair this creative combination with black transferware dishes, and you've got a tabletop that's to die for.

BRIGHTEN YOUR WINDOWS
My favorite window treatment is the versatile and timeless fabric panel. Panels are so simple yet so sophisticated.
Find some fabric that steals your heart and accents your room's colors, then stitch up some panels. If you already have panels you love, freshen them up a bit by creating a topper with a complementary fabric draped over the curtain rod.
Judy came up with one of the best window treatments I've ever seen, and you don't even have to know how to thread a needle to pull it off. Select yards of a yummy fabric like damask and toss one end over the curtain rod. Pull the end down and around the front of the fabric panel, securing it in back with large safety pins.
If you'd like to give your kitchen window a splash of color, create a playful valance. If you don't sew, use the fold-and-iron technique to create a hem or use a fabric adhesive tape, then secure the curtains to the rod with some darling clip rings.

CHANGE A CHAIR
Have a side chair that's looking kind of shabby? Transform its look by making a slipcover for just the seat cushion. Or, change the appearance of your dining-room chairs by either redoing the upholstered seat cushions or creating skirted slipcovers to rest over the existing seat. My dining-room chairs are covered in black leather, but you'd never know it because I dress them up with fabric slipcovers. Right now they are covered in a blue and cream print that pulls out the blue in my dining-room walls.

Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home furnishings stores in Atchison, Kan., and the author of several best-selling books on home decorating. Write to Mary Carol at nellhills(at)mail.lvnworth.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com