Here at Wendy Morrison, we believe home style and décor are very much down to personal taste and living with things you love. Sure, there can be guidelines about how to place furniture, or make the most of light, or what colours work well together, but there are no ‘rights and wrongs’. Finding what you love, colours and patterns that fill you with joy, and bringing those pieces into your home is – we feel – the secret to creating a space that is perfect for you.
Our Arc en Ciel Crewel works perfectly as a bedspread with our Arc en Ciel fabric headboard and crewel cushions
‘I think you just know if a space works or not,’ Wendy says, ‘I believe you will feel if something is right for you. I don’t follow any rules; if you truly love a piece, you will make it work for you in your space.’
We also think styling, decorating and ‘faffing’ – one of our favourite things – should be fun! Play around with a room layout or interior style – store things away, move things around, enjoy mixing it up – it’s a creative process that gives you a little time out from day-to-day concerns and can feel quite liberating.
Our Eternal Toile Crewel and Mandela Wallpaper sitting together quite beautifully
Instant update
To hopefully help inspire you, we have been playing around with our gorgeous new crewel embroidery wall hangings. We love the way they instantly transform a space, add interest to bare walls and overlooked areas, bring visual warmth and texture, and work in lots of different settings; they provide an instant update to any interior space.
‘Our new Phoenix Crewel embroidery is working beautifully as a wall hanging in our snug at home,’ explains Wendy. ‘Some might say the fireplace is the focal point of this room, but the Phoenix crewel is by no means fighting for attention; she adds her own rich texture, colour and pattern to the room, as well as warmth to the space.’
The newest hand-embroidered crewel within our collection; the wonderful Phoenix
Focal point
Designers often talk of creating a focal point in a room, something that draws the eye and grabs attention. It can be anything from a period feature to an artwork or an item of furniture that stands out and that can help you to build the look of your room around.
‘I always think it is rather nice to have a feature within a room that you are immediately drawn to,’ Wendy says, ‘and a crewel wall hanging, with its beautiful embossed finish, does this beautifully. It is sure to make you smile and feel happy when you see it on entering any space.
‘When deciding where to place a wall hanging, I really think you could hang one wherever you have the wall space,’ Wendy says. ‘A wall hanging is just like a painting, although possibly somewhat larger. I currently have one hanging on our stair landing as well as the snug.
Our Mount Orient Crewel looking wonderful hanging in Wendy's home
Phoenix - Hand-Embroidered Wall-Hanging
Work of art
‘Treat a crewel wall hanging as you would a piece of art,’ Wendy says. ‘Depending on the mood and feel you hope to achieve, you might want to make a bold statement in a light space, alternatively you might prefer to add more subtle texture in that space. For example, our lovely light neutral Leopard Crewel works beautifully with the Mandela wall décor. To create a darker, more sensual feel Phoenix, with her dark base and rich, jewel-like embroidery detail, would work well in a low-lit, more intimate setting, such as a dining area.
‘I also think the rich, luxurious detail of the crewel embroideries work well alongside many of our rugs. Our Cranes In Trees Crewel Embroidery is a super-versatile piece, she has worked beautifully as a bedspread with many rugs, including Dragon Floral black and gold to create a full-on chinoiserie space. Cranes In Trees also works really well with Kimono Gold as a wall hanging in the studio.
‘You can quite easily create a really luxurious space with the addition of crewel embroidery. At home, I have used a Mount Orient Crewel as a curtain in our snug. Not only does she look lovely, she creates a luxurious, cosy feel. Her weight helps keep the draughts out and she has aged well with the sunlight.
Wendy uses our Mount Orient crewel beautifully as a curtain in the snug at home
Our Cranes in Trees Crewel works so well along side our Kimono Gold Rug
Sense of luxury
‘A crewel wall hanging brings a sense of luxury to a room, with her shimmering embroidered detail in viscose yarn on the richly texturally patterned crewel-work base. There is no denying the luxurious quality of a hand-crafted piece that has been created by skilled artisans. The work involved is part of the story of each and every piece.
‘As our crewel embroidery pieces can be used in so many different ways – as a throw, bedspread, curtains or as an art work – we don’t supply hanging fixtures with them. They don’t require a particularly strong pole and we have found that a tapestry pole works well, although you could simply use a curtain pole. I have also used curtain rings with clips in order to use as a curtain,’ Wendy explains.
We hope you find our crewel embroideries as transformative and fun to live with as we do. We feel they are the perfect easy décor update. We would love to see any pictures of how you use your crewel embroidery. And, as ever, please get in touch with any product or styling queries – we are always happy to help.
Leopard Gold Crewel with our Mandela Wallpaper
Our Eternal Toile collection, including our Hand-Embroidered Wall-Hanging
