DIY: How to Use Tapes and Trims to Embellish Your Decor
Trim soft furnishings and window coverings with decorative edgings to add definition and style
Trims and tapes can take an ordinary piece of home furnishing and make it look extraordinary. These items were once purely functional, a way to finish an otherwise raw seam or fortify the edge of a hard-working piece. These days they can provide the decorative accent needed to finish a room. The great thing about using trims and tapes to “zhoosh” up your soft furnishings and decor is that they’re easily interchangeable, making them a quick and cost-effective way to change the look of a room, piece of furniture, or cushion or throw. Here are some ideas for using these attractive designer details to add panache to your home.
Bordered detail. Trims offer creative options for an otherwise plain piece. Use them to give definition to the shape of a piece of furniture or to add an accent to a cushion edge or the skirt detail of a bed.
A contrasting trim will stand out, or you might go for something a little more subtle in the same tonal range to give the piece a bit more depth.
A contrasting trim will stand out, or you might go for something a little more subtle in the same tonal range to give the piece a bit more depth.
Rough edges. Use decorative tape to add a contemporary flourish to the edge of a printed fabric curtain, as seen here. These curtains replicate a popular look that contrasts a classic French toile with a rustic burlap tape. The addition of this plain tape or trim modernizes and pulls back a little from the detail of the print.
Plain piping. Piping is a trim created by encasing cord in a bias-cut tape or fabric. It’s perfect for adding an extra dimension to a cushion.
Tip: Create a cohesive look by trimming cushions of various fabrics and designs with the same piping.
Tip: Create a cohesive look by trimming cushions of various fabrics and designs with the same piping.
Corner cord. Adding decorative cord or tape as an embellishment to a plain or wallpapered wall gives it an extra level of detail. This can be fairly inexpensive too. Cord is one of the more basic types of trim and can be added around the seams of sofas, as a detail to curtains and as a decorative border to a cushion.
Embroidered tape. There are so many decorative tapes on the market these days. Take a quick look online and you’ll find all sorts of choices. Adding a bit of decorative tape to an otherwise plain piece of fabric can completely change the look and feel of your soft furnishings. It can be a great way to update something like these gray curtains.
Twirly twill. This is traditionally used in sewing and tailoring to reinforce seams and make casings, to bind edges and to make ties. It’s characterized by a pattern of diagonal ribs. Because of its structure, twill tape is versatile and robust.
Contrast feature. Adding a plain trim in a similar or contrasting color to a solid-color curtain, blind or cushion adds a level of sophistication to an otherwise ordinary piece. Stitch a flat length of tape in a strong pattern to frame and emphasize the piece without overwhelming the room.
Value trim. One of the wonderful things about using trims in your decor is that you can take an off-the-shelf item like a curtain or blind and completely transform it by adding a feature trim or tape.
Tip: If you can’t afford expensive curtains or blinds or other soft furnishings, buy a conventional design and customize it with your own decorative embellishment. Many companies produce great-quality, low-cost soft furnishings these days. Take advantage of the trend in soft pastel linens and add your own accent by way of a trim.
Browse window shades and draperies
Tip: If you can’t afford expensive curtains or blinds or other soft furnishings, buy a conventional design and customize it with your own decorative embellishment. Many companies produce great-quality, low-cost soft furnishings these days. Take advantage of the trend in soft pastel linens and add your own accent by way of a trim.
Browse window shades and draperies
Pretty pompoms. Have some fun with your trims. Pompoms add a soft and fun element to a cushion and are particularly lovely in a child’s bedroom.
Tip: As lovely as pompoms are, don’t use them in an infant or toddler’s room. Small children are mini bundles of destruction, and pompoms present an open invitation to pull on them and pull them apart.
Tip: As lovely as pompoms are, don’t use them in an infant or toddler’s room. Small children are mini bundles of destruction, and pompoms present an open invitation to pull on them and pull them apart.
Ruffled feathers. Ruffles and frills add volume and fun to an otherwise plain cushion.
Tip: Limit the ruffle or frill trim to just a couple of cushions so as not to make the look too “chintzy.”
Tip: Limit the ruffle or frill trim to just a couple of cushions so as not to make the look too “chintzy.”
Stylish studs. For a cool and contemporary look, use twill tape to create a border on a wall in either the same or a contrasting finish. Liven it up with metal studs to add an industrial or crafty feel.
Tip: Consider covering a wall in fabric and trimming it with decorative tape.
Tip: Consider covering a wall in fabric and trimming it with decorative tape.
Light trim. Pare back a floral lampshade by trimming it with a plain tape. Conversely, perk up a plain shade with some colorful decorative tape.
Tip: Check out thrift shops for lampshades, and play around with tapes and trims to meld them into your home decor.
Tip: Check out thrift shops for lampshades, and play around with tapes and trims to meld them into your home decor.
Deck the halls, walls, doors. Christmas comes but once a year, so why not prepare for it in advance? There are so many ways to use trims and tapes in your Christmas decor.
Tip: Hang your Christmas wreath with a contemporary tape to modernize it, and have some fun with leftover fabrics to create beautiful decorations.
Tip: Hang your Christmas wreath with a contemporary tape to modernize it, and have some fun with leftover fabrics to create beautiful decorations.
Tell us: How do you use trims and tapes to add a decorative dimension? Share your ideas and pictures in the Comments.
Find fabrics for home decor
Find fabrics for home decor
These days there are innumerable decorative bias tapes available. You can find them in craft stores, but it’s so easy to make your own. With half a yard of fabric, you can make almost 3 yards of bias tape by cutting it on the diagonal and joining each of the lengths with a straight stitch.
Tip: Buy a bias-tape maker for just a few dollars at a fabric or craft store and you’re on your way to creating your own tape.