apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

yeah, i think the 'dorm room' look is primarily determined by just tacking it on a bare wall. sew a sleeve on the back for a rod, hand a few more framed items around it for a cohesive group, and it'll be clean an un-dorm-like. =)

You could frame it with a lare white mat. It will look like a finished piece of art

Get it framed nicely. The tacks look tacky, pun intended.

I have a large tapestry (60"x27") from Krygzstan that I hang in my living room (that overall has a very mid-centry feel).

I used a gun metal gray shadowbox frame and covered the backing of the frame with a neutral linen. The tapestry is then very carefully attached to the linen with blind stiching.

The overall effect is very modern and looks a bit like a museum display.

This was a DIY project but still expensive because it was so big. I probably spent $250-$300 for all the framing materials.

I agree with all the above, it has the dorm look because of how it's hung. Good suggestions above. The rest of the room seems pretty bare as well. Maybe some smaller art pieces along with the tapestry or a small hutch would help.

Hippie "chic" is going to require a lot more stuff - a clock, some other textiles, a little tchotchke shelf, natural materials, etc. Properly hang it first. Making it to hang like a curtain will be more casual, and mounting it in a frame will be more sleek or formal (depends on the frame style). Accessorize your table so it comes together and doesn't look like they are from bizarro planets. A vase with something, a bowl of something, a more colorful placemat or runner. You might also get a console and some sort of table lamp for that wall for a buffet. The overhead lighting looks like it might be harsh and ordinary (cannot see the fixture), and if there's no changing it to something that hangs in the frame, find a small mood lamp.

It looks like you work at the dining room table sometimes also. I don't know what the rest of the room or the rest of the home looks like. If there's any way to rearrange things, it might help. One thing alone on the wall can look lonely if it's not making any sort of statement or impact. As a final resort, this might not be what "belongs" on that wall, but it could find a home somewhere else in the home. Decide what your dining room should look like, you know, with the pictures and inspirations and keep your eyes open to fill in the spaces over time. Don't be in a hurry to add junk, but instead choose pieces that mean something to you. "Hippie chic" can be a pretty easy and indiscriminate look if you are just going for the look, or obtain a depth of authenticity and sophistication if you make it work with things you really want to have around you, possibly things you already have.

Yeah i definitely agree with the framing comment above :) It'll look more finished that way. It looks just like some of the Panamanian native stuff I have :) I love it!

Yep -- all it needs is framed or hung from a rod. As is, it *is* hippie chic.

I think you just need to put it in the right space--that wall it's on now it far too big and it ends up looking dumpy (and yes, dorm-like). Try incorporating it into a setting like Colleen did in her example: behind a bar, behind a landing strip with some lamps that frame it, etc... If you put it somewhere it can shine, those colors and pattern can really make a statement.

Just throwing out a wild proposal here: how about using the textile as a textile? Put it on the table as a runner.

Unless a textile is really, really precious, it's best to use it for its intended purpose. Otherwise it can look like a souvenir instead of art.

I think that hanging it properly is part of the answer, as is framing it, but I would suggest an alternative route to the shadow box because I believe your room could use some architectural detail.

My idea, and I hope that I can explain it clearly, is that you could install some sort of floor to ceiling wood panel, slightly wider than the textile itself. How you construct the panel is up to you (wide vertical or horizontal planks, for instance) but the wood itself would need to be stained and sealed to a lovely glow so it acts as a visual frame - kind of like a color block behind a print. Hang the the textile on a rod on the panel, add some direct lighting and voila! You fill the space some and add textural interest.

As an alternative to framing, you could also staple it over some canvas stretchers (depending on how precious or delicate it is).

You walls are really white, which is contributing to the dorm room feel. If you can't fill them up with other interesting pieces, you might want to paint an earthy color, like terra cotta, or green.

Not only is the way it's hung screaming "Hippie Dorm Room" - but there's no context - the room has no style. If all you do is get it hung properly as per the comments above, your space will still look like a museum cafe with bad lighting.

The things that you need to ask yourself are: where are the colors in the room that refer back to this object? where are the other things you brought back from this trip or others? Why is the lighting so generic?

Once you address these issues, your room will begin to achieve a more cohesive appearance and your wonderful textile art will finally be at home.

Color. Your room is so white, which is what gives it a "dorm room" look. The other suggestions are good as well. But as someone who actually was a hippie back in the day, I will tell you that many of us painted our dorm room walls in interesting or vivid colors (and painted them back to white when the term ended) so as to have a more congenial visual environment. My dorm room was purple (ugh! but i liked it at 18), and my friend Annie's dorm room was bright turquoise. So, I'd suggest adding color to the walls...

OMG, some of you people think that pouring on the color is the answer to everyhting! All that does it make it a bright and overbearing dorm room.

I agree that all this needs is a nice frame to give it some import and help it pop. One bright thing on the all, when well-presented, is more than enough.

ditto to many of the comments above, though I don't think I would frame it behind glass. mostly, it looks like a dorm room because this is the only thing on the wall and the first thing every freshman does is head to urban outfitters or a flea market a buy a large textile to tack up. you need more accent pieces, more color and texture elsewhere in the room to help the textile feel like it belongs. it's so lively and the rest of the room is rather bland. and maybe hang it just a tad lower(?) depending what else you add. just be sure to take your time and accumulate things naturally. rushing out and buying a bunch of 'stuff' to fill the space will end up looking contrived and it will feel meaningless.

Proper mounting would help. You could make a wood stretcher frame that is a couple inches larger than the textile on each side. You may need a brace on the back of the frame. Stretch over a sturdy linen like you would with canvas. Blind stitch the textile to the linen. This distributes the pressure when the textile is hung. This looks good as is, but you could also frame it with simple wood slats along the sides.

A good book with lots of photos of rooms using ethnic textiles, though most likely out of print, is Living With Decorative Textiles. Title may not be exact. I've seen several on the subject. If you like the hippie chic look I agree that you need much more stuff. Visit shops to get ideas. Great shops can be found in the Milwaukee/Chicago area, and most likely DC as well. I'm sure you could also find alot online with a few searches.

I did a DIY framing job on 2 Peruvian textile pieces I have. I sewed them on to a solid pieces of fabric that acts as the mat and added a small bit of trim around the edge to make it look cleaner. Then I stretched them around the back board of some basic frames and popped the frames on. I think they look pretty good (and have had compliments). Take a look

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30429594@N00/sets/72157613579038349/

Frame it and paint the walls a richer color you picked out of the tapestry. That will go a long way towards making the room cohesive rather than looking like a dorm room.

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I would relocate it to a smaller wall, if possible, in a spot where it would fit *just* inside, so that the placement looks deliberate. It looks like it's floating in space, and because it's such a showpiece, I doubt you would want to surround it with other things that may compete with it.

Alternatively, you could also engineer a way to affix it to the underside of your dining room table, or sandwich it between the top and another piece of glass so that it remains protected from stains and spills, while still being on prominent display.

You know, "dorm room" and "hippie chic" aren't exactly world's apart. This may be part of your problem. Convincing hippie chic is very difficult to pull off... especially if your room is dominated by a very un-hippie power-coated steel and glass dining set.

If you really love this textile, I think that caw261's suggestion would look transform it into a magnificent piece of art.

I hang artwork for a few local galleries, and I've learned something I now use at home or for decorating clients. The standard height of art in galleries and museums is 60" to center. Things look much more purposeful and appropriate on a wall when hung at this height. For most people, this looks lower than they would have chosen if randomly hanging on the wall, but usually helps the piece to feel more incorporated into a room and less like an afterthought.

I can't add to these comments -- there's lots of really helpful advice in the above.
Instead, I just wanted to say... some of you people have really mean friends!! I can't imagine any of my friends telling me that my home was crap (even though plenty of things about it ARE crap). Did you ask them for their advice, or did they just volunteer the thought that your place looked like a "dorm room"? Either way -- hillarious. I don't know whether to be jealous or relieved.

One thing I really like about the first example AT posted is how the carpet leads the eye down to something, so it doesn't just feel like it's floating on a blank wall.

I'm not sure about how much room you have there, but a thin side table or a low, wide bookcase or even a low wall shelf underneath might help frame the area so it looks like an intentional section of wall space.

Any of those would give you a little extra room to put some pretty objects to pull out the colors of the textile and make the room look less spare as well. :)

skip the curtain rod (it will still look saggy), or frame(fabric trapped under glass doesn't always look the best, plus has a museum feel which i wouldn't find comfy at home), etc. stretching onto a frame so it looks like a canvas is the best way to go. it will look nice, clean, graphic & finished.

as for hanging, the rule of thumb should be, that when your seated, you should be able to view it comfortably with out crane-ing your neck or looking up or down, etc. just from looking at how you have it now, it's too high.

The person "Everything" above said "The standard height of art in galleries and museums is 60" to center." Does anyone know what this means?? That's 5 feet. Unless one has high walls, most apartments/condos/etc. have walls that are about 8 feet tall, so if the art is to hang so the center of the piece is 5 feet from the ceiling, this is around one's stomach! Maybe the poster means something else, I don't know. Anyone know?