Friday, August 21, 2009

Make A Moroccan Fabric Ceiling

Give your bedroom an exotic feel with a fabric ceiling.


Mentioning Morocco immediately conjures up images of open-air markets, homes with keyhole windows, gilt edging and sumptuous fabrics. If you love exotic Moroccan flair but don't have the time or money to visit, bring it into your bedroom with a draped ceiling.


No matter what your style, a draped ceiling adds drama, color and softness to a bedroom. Even if Moroccan isn't your cup of tea, mimicking their chic ceilings can give a tired bedroom a surprising lift.


Instructions


1. Choose a Moroccan-style fabric in a rich color for your bedroom. Indian blue, deep gold, rich oranges and reds, or even deep purples work well. You may also choose a patterned fabric, as long as the pattern is small. Larger patterns won't show up in the swags.


2. Cut the fabric into strips about 4 inches wide and half again as long as your ceiling. For instance, if your ceiling measures 11 feet long, the fabric strips should be 16 feet 6 inches long.


3. Paint the edges of each fabric strip with fray-stop liquid. This prevents the pieces from fraying and looking ragged. Snip away any stray threads with scissors.








4. Place a ladder in the center of your room. If you have a ceiling light, use it as the center point for your fabric.


5. Tack fabric strips to the ceiling in a circle around your light fixture. Hammer in about three tacks per strip to keep them from falling. Steel hammer tacks should work well to hold up lightweight draping fabric like satin.


6. Move out about 5 feet from the light fixture and tack the fabric strips to the ceiling there, too, also in a circular pattern. Each strip should create a slight swag, hanging a little away from the ceiling.


7. Move to the edges of the ceiling and tack the fabric strips to the ceiling just above your molding. Again, each fabric strip should hang down from the ceiling just slightly.

Tags: fabric strips, fabric strips ceiling, strips ceiling, your bedroom, ceiling just, draped ceiling