How to Decorate With a Yellow Gingham Tablecloth

Choose a coordinating color for the kitchen walls if your gingham tablecloth covers the kitchen table. Light colors such as cream or pale green will enhance and freshen the yellow of the tablecloth without overshadowing it. Add complementary accents in the kitchen, such as on dinnerware and utensil holders, or in soft kitchen items like pot holders and towels. Browns and other earth colors can warm up a cool lemon-yellow and an earthenware vase containing yellow flowers, placed in the center of the table, adds the finishing touch to a country cottage theme.

Update window treatments. Swags of gingham or matching blinds or shutters will add a splash of color to complement the gingham tablecloth. If you don’t wish to echo the gingham theme in the window treatments, go for either floral or plain fabrics in light fresh colors.

Pull two distinct areas of an open plan living space together. For instance, for a space that is both dining and living areas combined, choose yellow accessories for the living area to echo the yellow of the tablecloth in the dining area. Choose gingham cushion covers for scatter cushions, add gingham tie backs to living-room drapes or add rugs with a hint of yellow. Decorative ornaments in the living area, grouped on shelves or bookcases, will also give the visual effect of a coordinated theme.

Use the tablecloth to make a wall-hanging in a child’s room by cutting up the yellow gingham into squares and making a checker-board hanging with other colors of fabric. Applique the remaining yellow gingham onto the other squares to pull the look together. Make cushions from the tablecloth to scatter on the bed or recover lampshades to create a fresh country look.

Stitch edging borders on bathroom towels to update or freshen older linens or cut long narrow strips from the tablecloths to make shelf runners. Decorate the hanging section of the shelf runner by cutting one long side of the strip in v-shaped notches, using pinking shears to reduce fraying. Attach the runner to the shelf with a little craft glue, allowing the notched edge to overhang the edge of the shelf.