by Leona Gaita

What a fabulous week! Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Leona Gaita, HomeWorkshop.com Interior Design Expert and our newest Contributor. You’ll adore Leona’s inspiring, creative and resourceful posts for HomeWorkshop and those for her popular Gaita Interiors blog.

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I’m constantly knocked out by the stunning creativity of textile designers! Every time I go to the Decoration & Design Building in NYC, I see more gorgeous prints that I want to take home with me. Many of them really are beautiful enough to be called art.

Meanwhile, empty walls can be a problem. Once the drapes have been installed, the wallpaper hung and the furniture delivered, there are still blank walls to be addressed. Here’s a way to create your own wall art, using some of the fabulous oversized prints that are out there.

Here’s the finished product. The print is from Gaston y Daniela, Honshu Cotton & Linen Print, color Antracita. It’s available through Brunschwig & Fils. The fabric is stretched and stapled over an 18″ x 24″ cork board from Staples.

I used an electric staple gun. If you’re “crafty” this is a worthwhile investment, but you could also use a hand-held manual staple gun.

Lay the fabric over the cork board. Lightly trace the outline of the board with chalk. Then cut away the extra, leaving a 3″ border all around.

Put one staple into the center of each side, pulling the fabric tightly; make sure not to distort the design. Gradually add staples working your way out on each side from the centers to the corners, stretching the fabric tightly.

Trim away extra fabric at corners, leaving about 1″. Then staple the remaining excess down with a few staples. Put it into your selected frame. That’s all! This small piece took me about 20 minutes to complete.

The full repeat of this print has several different horse figures, so if you order a couple of yards, you could make a series of three pieces to cover a large space!

This unbelievable print is also from Gaston y Daniela. It’s called Matsuyama Cotton & Linen, color Azul. This time I used a ready-stretched artist’s canvas, 30″ x 40″ and dropped it into a ready made gilded floating frame, intended for oil paintings. EASY!!

Make sure the canvas fits comfortably into the frame. Once the fabric is stapled on, the fit can be tight. If the frame is a little warped, it can be hard to get the covered canvas into the frame. I had to check a few, to find one with a roomy fit.

With this type of frame, you’re stapling to the side, not the back. After you’ve stapled, you can trim the fabric very close to reduce bulk. The raw edge will be hidden by the extra deep side of the frame.

Here it is, all done!

I LOVE the way this piece looks in my music room.

There are so many of these oversized prints that are very appropriate for framing. Here are a few. If only I had more walls!!

Wouldn’t this be great in a kitchen? It’s Gaston y Daniela #71572-979.

I love the authentic look of this print with motifs taken from ancient Greek vases.The tawny color with the black background is right on the money! It’s from Decorator’s Walk #2629520, available through F.S.Schumacher.

Here’s a fragment of an ancient Greek vase. You can see why the print really caught my eye!

This border print can be used with or without the border. It’s called Fortunate Harbor from Brunschwig & Fils.

This beauty is from F.S. Schumacher #262093. Prints with a dominant central motif are the easiest to work with, but almost any large print that you love, can be used.

The frames are all from A I Friedman. For pricing and availablility of the fabrics shown, call Gaita Interiors (914) 834-8282.

BE BOLD, HAVE FUN, and GO DECORATE!!

Leona Gaita has an infectious enthusiasm for interior design that she shares with us, with her clients and with the readers of her popular blog, Gaita Interiors.

“I want to show people where I get the inspiration for my own creativity, and teach them how they can apply these principles to their own lives and their own homes,” says Leona.

Have you used fabric as art?