Home Sweet Home

There are countless ways that bead hangings can make that all-important decorating difference in your home. They can create a dramatic division and, at the same time, keep space free-flowing. Although they are revivals of the very ornate period of Victorian styling, today’s adaptations are equally at home in traditional, country, Mediterranean, or contemporary settings. They can be used to curtain a window, disguise a nonview, and at the same time allow light and air to filter through. As a divider, they take almost no space, yet give a feeling of semiprivacy in each of the separated areas.

Along with beauty and versatility, there is another factor in their favor—beads require no dry cleaning, laundering, or pressing; all you need to do is wipe them with a damp cloth to restore them to their original appearance.

A wide selection of types

There are many kinds of beads available. There are pop-together plastic beads that come in kits of plain or mixed colors; all you do is fasten them together to the length you need. Another type is permanently bonded to a nylon cord. Purchased in strings, they can be cut to any desired length, or joined together. Wooden beads, in several wood finishes, and metal ones, in silver and gold finishes, are also popular.

You will find a veritable rainbow of colors available in opaque and translucent beads. There are round, oval, multifaceted, or random shapes. Some strings have several shapes, colors, and sizes intermingled.

Long strands of beads are in style for fashion accessories, and these can be combined in various colors and styles for hangings in the home. You have a choice here of ceramics, of crystal, of golden tones that will mix and match to suit your fancy.

If you have a flair for crafts, it can be real fun to make your own strings. One of the joys of childhood was to make beads from sealing wax when it came in many colors. You just heated the stick of wax, formed the bead in the shape you wanted, then thrust a steel knitting needle through the middle to make the hole. Now you could combine these with beads purchased at a jewelry supply house in clear plastic or in colors that blend. Knot them on nylon cord, like bead necklaces.

Beads can be used in any sort of home, from formal through Mediterranean, Provincial, rustic, or contemporary. For a formal look, select beads that have inherent elegance—perhaps clear crystal; combine these with gold or gilt beads, perhaps strung together on a golden chain. In a Mediterranean setting, carved beads with the look of wood, together with somber colors in ceramics, would make handsome decoration. For the Provincial room, with its air of relaxed elegance, soft pastels in colors that pick up the trim of shaped cabinet moldings are a good choice. Let yourself go with vibrant colors in a contemporary room.

Beads brighten every room

Bead hangings can be designed to solve a number of decorating problems in your home.

When used to curtain windows, bead hangings reduce light glare and give some daytime privacy without obstructing your view. They can be fashioned to serve as an oversized wall hanging to make a bright center of interest over a sofa or a conversational grouping, instead of a picture. Bead hangings can be used to replace a door that opens in the wrong direction and takes up too much wall space for proper furniture arrangement. Used in this manner, they give a feeling of privacy between two areas, yet permit easy access.

In order to form a visual separation between two areas of a dual-purpose room, you may like to try this unusual ceiling treatment. Fasten strings of beads to a molding frame, then fasten frame with beads to the ceiling.

When bead strings are fastened close together, they can form an almost opaque panel. When they are set farther apart, they can highlight and accent other materials such as drapery or upholstery fabrics or shower curtains; they can also outline wall paneling.

If your entry door opens directly into the living room, bead hangings can partition space for an entryway, giving you a background for furniture arrangement.

In the kitchen, beads give a measure of separation between the dining and cooking areas. They’re a novel choice to cover a passthrough. Repeat the treatment at windows in both areas for a coordinated look.

If your home has one of the popular open- floor plans, giving you a multipurpose living room that may also double as a dining room or a library, allow for separate conversational groupings. Use partial dividers of beads to separate the areas; while they’re letting you see through, they provide a vista that gives an illusion of space.

If you need a divider that can be moved from time to time, you might try a three- or four-section folding screen with the open frames in the panels hung with beads. This type of treatment offers flexibility; it can be used in any room that needs a division of space, either temporary or permanent.

A bathroom can be given decorating excitement by using bead hangings over a plain shower curtain, or by using separate strands to add trim to a commonplace curtain. It’s a practical idea because the beads wipe clean with just a swish of a damp cloth.

You can dress up a bedroom by trimming ready-made draperies with bead hangings that blend in color and style with braid- trimmed spreads; team them with matching horizontally strung beads glued to the wall near ceiling height. Then pick up the colors of the beads for smaller accessories in the room. An interesting and inexpensive wall hanging can be achieved by attaching strings of beads to the molding.

Ceilings, too, are a natural for decorating with beads. Canopied ceilings are very much in fashion, and what could be more interesting than strings of beads looped across the room from the ceiling moldings. Do be careful when you use such an unusual treatment, because the ceiling becomes a dominant factor in your decorating. Other areas, such as the floor and walls, should take a subordinate place in emphasis.

Beads are easy to install

The first step in any bead-hanging project is the mounting of the holder—either rod or header. Rods in a gold-tone finish designed especially for bead installations come in a variety of lengths. They can be mounted on brackets or screwed directly to the wall or ceiling. If you want a swag effect, the rods can be installed vertically and the beads hung loosely between rods.

If you have conventional extension rods or café rods, you can use a flexible vinyl header that simply slips over the rod and has pre- punched holes through which you push the first bead of the string. There are also connectors that permit you to lengthen strings of beads or to alternate colors and patterns according to your individual preference.

Drapery departments and decorating shops that carry beads also have fixtures for hanging and complete instructions.

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