Inspiration – Scarves As Art

I don’t know about you but when I come back from any holiday I have a tremendous surge of energy that lasts about three days. This energy surge can turn its attention in different directions and recently it hit upon our house.

Suddenly I see cupboards that need sorting, repairs that I have been blind to all year, sofas that must be cleaned and pieces of furniture that are in the wrong place. All of this is rather exhausting for those around me but very motivating and cathartic for me.

One of the objects of my attention this week has been the children’s playroom. It is a big room tucked out of sight and underground with bare white walls.

These walls have been naked for over three years as I was stuck on what would be appropriate to put on them. Now I have a studio full of scarves I have realised that there is a lot of fun to be had framing scarves as art. The children get a funky playroom, the walls now look like a modern art gallery and I am seeing a sideline to the Cleverly Wrapped business. Who says scarves need to just be tied around the neck or as used as a head band?!

The first scarf I had framed is “Be Bold Be Curious” by Age of Reason (top left image & mock-up top right). I chose to do mine against a white background with a chunky white frame and although it looks like glass it’s actually Perspex, which keeps the price down and is safer where the kids are concerned.

Age of Reason scarves have a definite ‘punk-chic’ twist to them and the writing on the scarf is perfect for older kids / teenagers rooms. I think the Age of Reason scarf “No More Drama” would be great for a teenage girls bedroom (2nd row left image). In fact any of the Age of Reason scarves lend themselves perfectly to being framed. They are all sized at 140cm x 140cm and are 100% silk so they sit beautifully within the frame.

Next up for the April framing fetish is a scarf by Slices of London called Oak (2nd row right image). As you can see it is a vivid acid yellow cross section of an oak tree.

I am going to go for the chunky white frame and Perspex again, but it would also look great in either a black frame or better still, in an oak frame if you really want to go to town.

I think another scarf by Slices called Black and White Frog (3rd row left image) would also look fabulous framed, but as the rest of the room is very neutral, I’ve gone for a bit of a colour-pop with Oak.

The final framed scarf is my most recent project – it literally just came back from the framers today (3rd row right image)! This is a big silk scarf by Fara who hand draws beautiful designs that tell stories about their life in Goa.

I love the muted colours and the beautiful images of the various Indian elements.

This is going to go in my hall way and replace a rather dark and gloomy painting I had there. My hall way is narrow, so I think by choosing this light and large piece it will open the space up.

Some other scarves on the site that lend themselves to framing are in the final two images above. Any of the silk scarves by Alexia Parmagiani (bottom left image) would be awesome and the one that I’m going to do next is Bonfire Night (bottom right image) by Laura Orchant. I want to put this in the playroom adjacent to Be Bold Be Curious and have an explosion of colour in the corner.

If you are reading this and feel inspired then please do give me a call to discuss. I have a great local framer who seems to be able to deal with any scenario and I am more than happy to show the scarves in the flesh or come and see how they would look in your home. Alternatively why not dig out that vintage silk scarf drawer and see what would lend itself to the idea?

Harriet x