Maybe it would be kind to contact the previous owner to see if they wanted it - it might be precious to them.

If you want to keep it looking fresh and modern, stick with the navy and grey color range, with some pops of bright pink. Although I'm usually white linens all the way, I think this is one time when a fairly dark grey or even navy would be nice. Or maybe a white bottom sheet with pillows and top sheet in the grey or navy.

I'd also pick a wall to spice up with your grey or navy or maybe there's a plumy color that would look nice with the pink, but be a little less girly.

I always thing Susan Sargent does a great job combining country elements like quilts with a more modern sensibility. Check out her books at the library -

http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Sargents-New-Country-Color/dp/0823021874/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1316643427&sr=8-3

or:
http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Sargents-Comfort-Color-transform/dp/B000UK35XY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316643553&sr=8-1

Oh please contact the previous owners. Please. I lost a hand pieced, hand quilted, double wedding ring quilt my mother made for me in a move 5 years ago. There isn't one week that I don't think about it. It is heartbreaking not knowing what happened to it. Please try to return it.

I also think you should find out if someone is missing the quilt. Sometimes people leave stuff behind because they think it is junk, not realizing another family member had a bizarre notion of organizing by sticking a beloved quilt into a junk box.

But, if the owner doesn't want it... I instantly thought of Gray & Yellow. Pale butter yellow walls with some art that has gray and maybe incorporates another color from the quilt, like pink. Some pink flowers on the nightstand. And beezwax candles. Gray shams and ivory sheets & pillow cases. I don't think that is too matchy, yet still calming and subtle.

I love mix-and-match quilts and sheets on my bed! I'd suggest sheets in a complementary stripe or pattern in navy/white or grey/white and then mix in a couple vintage embroidered pillowcases that have just a hint of pink. Check out Garnet Hill or The Company Store for sheets and Etsy has great vintage pillowcases.

Sorry, it's not a "great find." Obviously the previous owners simply forgot to take the quilt in the flurry of the move. If they had meant for you to have it, it would have been left in a visible spot with a note. Do the right thing and make the effort to contact them. Then you'll truly have sweet dreams in your new place.

Dark grey (or navy wall), dark grey (or navy) bottom sheet, 4 smaller pillows in light grey, middle larger pillow in dark grey (or navy)...

matching nightstands and lamps with grey or navy shades with pale grey (or pink) trim

(grey glass?) vase with pink flowers

that is - if you keep the quilt :)

Yes, absolutely, see if they want it back - if they don't and you keep it, please be careful about how you clean it.

http://hartcottagequilts.com/quiltcare.htm

I agree that it would be nice to contact the former owners, but on the other hand, they did leave a bunch of unwanted stuff in the basement! It was inconsiderate to expect the buyers to clean it out. If the sellers had done the right thing they would have found the quilt.

The former owners may not want it. Not all people value heirlooms, as hard as that is to believe.

I vote white linens to let the quilt pop. If you want color on the walls, a soft gray perhaps?

I agree, you have to contact the previous owners. They may not have realized, or in the flurry of their move, may have forgotten a corner of the basement. Technically, you should have done a walk-through of the house before it was purchased to make sure it was left in the terms of the contract, which are usually free and broom-clean. If the owners don't want it, it's yours! If you can't find them, it's yours! But I would hate to lose something that precious. We just moved a few months ago and moving out of a house in unbelievably stressful, it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to think we'd accidentally left something.

If they left a basement full of stuff for the buyers to clean out themselves, then it's perfectly fair to keep it without contacting them. This could have been a foreclosure property, with the previous owners long gone, for all we know, so how about people just stick to answering the design question instead of judging?

Ali, I think all ivory sheets to match the quilt would be lovely, especially with that iron bed and your pale grey walls. Then use the navy and pink from the quilt as accents throughout the room, pillows, etc. I bet a nice braided oval rug in hues of blue and ivory would look great!

Oh my wordy, I thought Ali asked for decor advice not Moral guidance, If the previous owner gave a flying hoot they would quite likely have taken better care of the item.

This quilt got my attention for its Scandinavian appeal and I would say embrace your minimalism! I love it with that Iron bed and the no fuss bedlinen.. Simple and fresh. If anything I would get some cute fairly lights in that room and maybe a tiny touch of cool and gender neutral blue to compliment your find.

I own a double property and people leave all sorts of stuff so I wouldn't feel bad about keeping it at all. If they want it back they know where to find you.

I vote for navy blue sheets. I think going with a dark will make the colors really stand out.

Maybe add a gray Mexican blanket at the foot of the bed to keep it from being too feminine. I have a bunch of textiles on my bed, and somehow anything handmade seems to blend with anything else that is.

I agree with Copenhagengirl- if they cared about the quilt, they wouldn't have stuck it in a box in an unfinished basement!

I love the plain white sheets, and don't think they look boring- just clean and fresh.
If I were to mix it up, I'd probably go with a small pattern :)

Alright, contact them and see if they want the quilt first...

But if they don't: I'd go with some navys and greys to complement the quilt. And for a little bit of spunk (because that'll modern it up just a bit) a touch of green: maybe one accent pillow.

I also agree with @ZoeGirl on adding some stripes to the sheets. Maybe even a tone-on-tone in a nice charcoal grey.

Add my vote to "contacting the previous owners." Seems a lot simpler to make that one phone call rather than list all the reasons why the former owners no longer deserve it (e.g., see comments above). It'll give you piece of mind and make that old quilt seem a lot cozier, I think.

Ehhhh, I'm going to have to disagree with everyone else. If it was stuffed with the rest of the junk in the basement, forgotten, then they obviously don't want it. It sounds like they don't even remember or care it exists! YOU appreciate it and want it! And had to wade through dusty boxes and crap to unearth it! It's yours now, IMO.

As for the colors and decor, um, I don't know.

Lovely quilt. I'd say go with pale grey sheets. I think white and ivory together make the ivory look dirty. In feng shui pink is the color for a bedroom. A pink pillow (I'm thinking a discreet print) w/a navy or dark grey one might be nice. If you need a dust ruffle, go with navy.

I have a quilt my mother made, it's the Ohio Star pattern. It's very similar to this one and we went with everything else in white. It really lets our beautiful quilt be the star of the show! I hope you get to keep the quilt, whatever you decide to do, you obviously love it!

Originally I voted to contact the prior owners to see if they want it back. But the fact that they left stuff in the basement for you to have to "clean out"?? F- them. Seriously. I had that happen to me, where the prior owners left a bunch of their crap in the garage - primarily paint and chemicals that I couldn't simply throw out in the trash.

As for the bedding, I would keep it simple with ivory sheets and bedskirt and a couple of pink (go with the brighter shade) accent pillows and/or a pink throw folded at the end of the bed. You already have gray on the walls.

I'd do the bed in shades of light and dark grey with maybe white or triped pillows. Jersey bedding from muji would be such a different texture that it would avoid matchy-matchy.

I'm really feeling... like... bright colors here? (I know-- I might be having a seizure ;>) With the cold weather coming, a great set of bright red or kelly green flannel sheets could really work wonders.
And nice find, by the way. Legally, ethically, and even karmically, I think it's yours. Pleased to meet you, hope you've guessed my name, heh...

It would be so sad if the previous owners mistakenly left it! We can't be completely certain why they left it where they did.

I agree with those voting for white sheets. Less fuss and stick with the scandi feel. Like the idea of bright pink to echo that in the quilt - maybe a punchy cushion to make it more contemporary and contrast with the antique feel of the quilt with the iron bedstand? I know this is just my tast speaking, but I feel like it needs a bit of zing!

Hi - this is Ali, the person who found this great quilt. Thanks for all your great comments. We will contact the previous owner (if we can track down new contact info), but we highly doubt that it is a treasured heirloom left behind by mistake. The house was used as a rental house for over a decade before my boyfriend bought it. The previous tenants (two guys in their twenties) left quite a bit of stuff for us to clean out when we moved in, including furniture, small appliances, old metal signs, and quite a bit of trash. The basement, storage shed, and even closets were left full of the items that the previous tenants chose decided not to bother packing - think old christmas lights, half empty bottles of shampoo, etc. In the process of cleaning out all of that (we were able to donate quite a bit of it), we found the quilt literally on the dirt floor of an unfinished basement. While I hate to think that someone is missing their family heirloom, I also love the fact that we are giving this forgotten quilt a new life. And I love having something in the house with such a history and a great story. So, if it turns out that it does belong to the previous owner, I will be very sad to see it go.

As for decorating around it, I've made an effort to make things feel homey and nice, using stuff we already have. We will ultimately make permanent design decisions and buy items to make the room look great, but here is what we have done so far, using items we already owned: The bed has been moved into a room with deep dark gray-brown walls, and is positioned in front of a window with natural linen-looking curtain panels (they are actually made from painter's drop cloths). The sheets and pillowcases are still white, with a warm taupe embroidered stripe around the edges. I used three quilted silk king shams, also in a warm beige color (almost golden) in the back, and bold floral accent pillow in front that picks up the navy, cream, pinks, and yellows. The bed is flanked by black nightstands that both have buttery yellow ceramic lamps and cream shades, and I hung three framed photos above each nightstand, which all pick up the pinks and blues of the quilt.

I'll try to send in a new photo this evening to update the post.

Thatkris,
I haven't guessed your name, but now I'm intrigued!

I am really liking the idea of keeping things simple and white with a pop of bright pink. I think that may be the direction we eventually go.

By the way, I apologize for the poor picture quality and the mess in the photo - all I can say is that we were/are in the middle of a move!

If it's an antique, don't wash it in a machine!
And why not hang it on the wall, rather than use it on the bed?

You could definitely contact the previous owner, but I don't think you need to panic over it. Someone else may have left it before the previous owner moved in, or they may not know or care about the history. I have two quilts like that - one I want to keep because it's beautiful and another I'd be happy to give to someone else who really loved it.

As for colors, I would recommend a punched-up version of a color already in the quilt. Like a darker version of the same pink or gray.