Creative Ways to Use Rope in Your Home's Décor

It's turning into rope week here at Driven by Décor! Earlier in the week when I was searching online for a few more lights to add to my post on Nautical Rope Lighting Fixtures, I came across all sorts of creative ideas for using rope in home décor.  I'm talking some seriously cool stuff such as suspending beds from the ceiling with rope, as was done in this gorgeous bedroom designed by Caldwell Flake Interiors,

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as well as this one in the 2007 Coastal Living Idea House:

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Pottery Barn Kids took it one step further with rope-suspended bunk beds:

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While I love the look of these suspended beds, it's certainly not the most practical of designs.  For a similar look but a more practical application, I L-O-V-E this rope-suspended porch swing that Beth Webb Interiors used for the outdoor living space in the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 2008 Designer Showhouse:

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Another creative idea is to incorporate rope into the design of your stairway. This gorgeous staircase published in House Beautiful shows how Thom Filicia used heavy rope in place of a traditional railing.  I love how it is wrapped around a large cleat and tied in decorative knot at the bottom of the stairs!

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C Designs designed this unique staircase using rope and boat cleats in place of banisters

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while Ken Pursley designed this amazing staircase with rope in the rebuilding of a farmhouse, Belk Farm, in South Carolina:

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Hanging pendant lighting with thick rope adds texture and interest to fixtures that wouldn't look nearly as cool hung with a typical chain:

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Rope is also the perfect material to use for hanging a collection of lanterns:

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Pottery Barn In-store Display

Morgan of The Brick House came up with the creative idea of making a rope wall in order to create defined areas in a large warehouse space without sacrificing the open feel:

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Another creative use of rope is seen in Traditional Home's Alys Beach Designer Showhouse where hanging shelves were created using jute rope and driftwood:

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Restoration Hardware used a similar idea on a larger scale to make a creative display for pillows.  I love how they used a pair of antique pulleys at the top - I may just have to attempt to DIY this for shelving in our bedroom...

Restoration Hardware In-store Display

To incorporate rope into your home's décor on a much smaller scale, use Martha Stewart's example of a rope towel holder and mirror to create this look:

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or make it really simple and pick up a pair of Restoration Hardware's Dakota Rope Drapery Tiebacks:

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Which idea is your favorite??  Have a good weekend everyone (and best of luck to my Cincinnati peeps running in the Flying Pig Marathon this weekend!).