decorating with the ABCs

I guess you could say I'm a bit of a letterform/font/type geek. I realize that just by writing this I'm causing a few of you to scratch your heads. That's understandable. I like letters -- their shapes, lines, relation to other letters, the new shapes they create when paired together...oh, I could go on and on, but that's not really what I want to share with you. Today is about decorating with letters.


I recently added pretty pearl letters to my girls' bedroom doors—just a little something to personalize them. I fell in love with the letters at a great shop near Frederick. This is very easy to do. Find a letter you love and tie a ribbon through it and tack it to the top of the door. I let the girls pick their own ribbons so they could be involved in the process (hence the pink "hello kitty" ribbon on the 'A').

You can also frame your letters with similar or contrasting shaped frames. Paint them whatever color you want and you now have instant custom art. This white oval was an old brown frame that I found at a yard sale for a few bucks. I found this black plastic 'A' in our attic (I have no idea what it is from) and painted it to give it life.

I've also happened upon or incorporated large letter blocks into clients' rooms. This type of 3-D art can add interest to walls, especially when you pair a curvy 'G' against straight edges, or an 'N' next to round fruit. Many of these letters can be purchased already finished, or, as in the case of the 'G' shown here, which is made of cardboard, I painted it with a few different colors to give it some depth and appeal.


You may never fall in love with letters they way I have, but this may give you a few ideas on how you can personalize a space or room in your house...you have 26 uppercase and 26 lowercase options (and numbers, too!) and the typefaces, as you know, are endless. Have fun and send pictures!