We at Unison have had an ongoing love affair with fabric for – well – forever. If you know us at all, you know that much.

So we’re always noting great ideas for getting creative with fabric. And why not? One of the easiest ways to inject new life and style into any look is to bring in some material full of bold color or striking pattern.

Step one: choose your fabric. The options for this are virtually endless. But we’ll help you out by humbly mentioning that our collection of fabric offered by the yard is one great place to start.

Now for what to do with it:

Fold an origami-style tote bag

This is a hip and current look, and there’s no reason you can’t do it yourself in a few relatively easy steps.

Brittany Watson Jepsen has one great how to with lots of photos. (And don’t hesitate to linger. Her blog is chock full of great ideas for using fabric.)

Let the kids go wild

Let’s be honest: you can spend your life savings on a Rembrant, but the framed finger painting that your 5-year-old made in kindergarten is destined to garner more comments.

So why not encourage your little artisans to get creative with your favorite fabrics? Just grab some glue, safety scissors, and a selection of gorgeous material, then see where their imagination takes them. Frame the results for praise-worthy wall art.

Turn scrap fabric into gorgeous twine

Bring new life to your gift wrapping with My Poppet’s great tutorial on making roping from scrap fabric. Tie one on and give it away!

Think fabric for wainscoting

Ever muse about doing something bold with those lovely, framed sections of your dining room? Turns out they’re the perfect place to go crazy with patterned fabric.

Why? For one, you’re working in sections that are surrounded by lots of white space (or gray space or black or…you get the picture). So you needn’t worry about overwhelming the room with too bold a look.

But there’s another big benefit: Fabric is easy to remove (unlike that pesky wallpaper). So if you go big and bold and then need a change by next fall, it’s not the end of the world.

Makeover a chair with fabric scrap

Pull up a chair and start a conversation with this DIY idea from Sincerely, Kinsey. Who’d have thought that a made over wooden chair could have so much personality?

Braid a basket

Didn’t think you were cut out for basket weaving? Maybe you just need to rethink what you’re putting into it.

Not for the casually crafty, Tiffanie Turner’s DIY fabric basket tutorial is as thorough as it is creative. Get to work now, and you could have a gorgeous collection of hostess gifts in hand for the holiday party season.

Cover some cork

In our Chicago store, we often use fabric-covered boards as wall art (and as a great way to feature our extensive line of fabrics).

It couldn’t be easier: just be sure that your cork (or whatever core you choose) is acid-free, cover it with your favorite fabric, and hang. Easy + gorgeous = forever favorite.

Wrap in fabric

If you were thinking of sending us a gift, we’d like it wrapped like this please. Who wouldn’t?

Joy Uyeno has an über easy tutorial on her Frock Files blog – simply easy, simply gorgeous. What could be more modern than that?

Switch a switch plate

Light switch plates are a fun place to inject some spark into a room, because they’re small but often seen (and used) by all who enter.

Plus, it’s not too tough to do this yourself with your favorite bit of fabric. Tidy Mom offers a nice tutorial.

Pick a bouquet of fabric flowers

Sew them in, pin them up, tie them on… Whatever you can think to do with these beautiful fabric flowers, we approve.

This tutorial on Flax & Twine is inspiring and thorough – templates and all. Happy handmade indeed.

Light up your life

Just follow the steps from Six Sisters for a beautiful and cost-effective freshen for any lamp.

Create a fabric flag banner

We could list creative takes on this classic all day, but Pinterest already has the options covered in spades. Check out this Fabric Flag Banner board for endless ideas.

 

Keep an eye on our Projects with Fabric Pinterest board for more ideas.

 

With the passing of Labor Day comes a change in seasons—and with it, a subtle shift in our mood and mindset. Summer is behind us. The rhythm of our days is changing, becoming more structured and contingent on school-day rules.

So we’re fighting back.

How? By throwing one tried-and-untrue rule out the window: instead of boxing up our whitest whites in these post Labor Day days, we’re shining a spotlight on the great white world.

Why We Love White

As much as we at Unison are known for color and pattern, we’re also obsessed with white. Why? It’s a clean palette. A classic backdrop. An inviting canvas on which to display your creativity. An enduring staple of good design.

The clean minimalism of white allows your own unique style to capture attention through the color and texture you layer atop it.

In short, it’s one of my favorite “colors.” And it’s perennially in style.

The Wide World of White

Many of today’s foremost designers have a passion for white:

Layering white upon beautiful white, Comme des Garçons proves time and again that great style transcends the seasonal—and transcends that old no-white-after-Labor-Day rule.

One great adopter of such fashion is Karim Rashid, a perennially hip style icon who has made all-white ensembles one of his personal signatures. He proves that white is a class act, as does another favorite style icon, Martin Margiela. This Belgian designer has cultivated a white aesthetic from the start of his career.

On our honeymoon, we visited his all-white store in Tokyo. It was like a dream to be in that space!

But Not an All-White World

As much as I love white, I couldn’t live in an all-white world. After all, one of the things I most appreciate about white is its gracious ability to let other colors and textures take center stage.

This is why we at Unison do what we do: we design and curate layers of modern beauty, and we let white (or sometimes black or gray) pose as a backdrop for that depth of thoughtful design.

Take white shelving. Dieter Rams‘s Vistoe shelving, for example, creates the perfect first building block in your tower of great design.

And what about white floors?

This is a classic interior element in many Scandinavian homes. What better place to begin building your look than from the ground up?

Geremia Design is an exciting, young, and innovative interior design firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lauren Geremia graduated from RISD and began her own company, working closely with artists and designers to create art-centered interiors and custom furniture. Her projects, both residential and commercial, mix eclectic and modern materials to create a fun, sophisticated and layered space. The great part about being located in the Bay Area, is that it’s a fertile ground for all those start-up companies like Dropbox, Hightail, and Instagram, which Geremia Design has skillfully outfitted. We were excited when we spotted our Sailor Charcoal and Rope Charcoal pillows in the Instagram offices. Take a look!