Fresh Ideas for Vintage Linens

Flea Market Collection

Has your spring cleaning left you with a load of old fabric you don’t know what do with? Expert collector of international textiles Pandora de Balthazar has shared with us her top tips for decorating with linens:

FMD: What are some of your favorite unexpected ways to decorate with vintage linens?

Pandora: I love to create a white background and apply textiles of color to recreate my favorite moods or seasons. Another is to take antique shams and make slipcovers—instant gratification! Napkins make wonderful TV-tray covers. I use hand towels to make slipcovers, bed skirts, window treatments, and as floor cloths next to my bed and as hand towels. Now, that’s recycling!

FMD: Care to offer inspirations for using textiles in a home?

Pandora: There aren’t any “wrongs” when it comes to making your home beautiful. But it is terribly wrong in my opinion to neglect the comfort and rejuvenation of body needs. Vintage textiles provide the texture, color, beauty and art you need to create a restful sanctuary in your home; they can also absorb noise, create comfortable surfaces and provide tactile beauty that a rested body can enjoy. Make sure the beauty within matches the beauty on the outside.

What are you doing with your vintage linens this spring? Share with us in the comments below!


By Jickie Torres

Post Shared By Flea Market 

Bathroom Textiles and Linens

You may have spotted our Q&A on bedroomsandbathsmag.com with Pandora de Balthazar, a master collector and textile expert who’s been sharing with us her expert tips for creating a luxurious bedroom. Curious about her advice for a lavish bathroom? Read on!

B&B: In the bathroom, where people don’t often think of textiles and linens, what are some of your favorite ways to use fabric?

Pandora: Hand towels are in residence daily. They are softer [than paper towels], have many uses and are much more genteel.

B&B: Also much more practical and healthful for the environment.

Pandora: Yes. And in my home, café curtains are de riguer; I can recycle those for use in the bedrooms and as door treatments when necessary. I also make shower curtains or drapes from antique sheets or bedcovers that are too small for today’s large beds. It’s a beautiful and simple look.

By Jickie Torres