What Window Treatments Can you Do on Double Stacked Windows?

Our long time clients, Steve & Jann, wanted a window treatment for a window wall.They had their cedar plank house built on top of a hill in a heavily wooded area. This window wall has a beautiful view of the wooded area. They love their view but wanted to add some warmth to the room and also wanted a design that was in keeping with a natural design style. We selected pleated draperies with a banded lead edge and decided to use a custom made bamboo rod, rings, and finials. The draperies frame the window and will clip ever so slightly into the glass to preserve the view.

Steve and Jann had us quote this window treatment some time ago when we did some other work for them. Steve decided to surprise Jann for her birthday with the new draperies. Jerry created the rendering and the storyboard and Steve presented them to her during lunch. Needless to say Jann was thrilled. We have an appointment to finalize fabrics next week. What a birthday gift! I guess we would all like a birthday gift like that. Happy Birthday Jann!!

Is Your Pet Like a Member of the Family?

Today most people consider their house pet a member of the family. The portrait above is of our cat "Tanner." Eight years ago, Casey our daughter-in-law rescued this kitty and asked if we would be interested in giving this cat a home. He had been left to fend for himself, had an infected paw, and was very afraid of people. Jerry and I were a little hesitant at first because he was on the wild side, but we liked that he looked like the cat in the movie Pet Cemetery.

We thought he could live outside, be a barn cat, and catch mice. It didn't take long for Jerry to fall in love with the cat and now Tanner has the run of the house, but he still loves to go outside. A couple of months after we adopted Tanner, a client pointed out that we had a Russian Blue cat. We had never heard of that breed until she mentioned it that day. Tanner has turned out to be an unusual cat, he does not jump on furniture or the counters. (I loved that!) In fact, I made a silk pillow for him, and he sleeps on that most of the time.

After we had Tanner for several years, Penny Kester one of my friends that does pet portraits asked if we would like a portrait of Tanner. I loved the idea! We gave her a photograph, and she took it from there. She totally captured him. I also loved the fact she added the royal looking chair as part of the portrait. A pet portrait adds a very personal element to any space. It is definitely a conversational piece of art!

If you are interested in having Penny Kester paint a pet portrait of your pet you can contact her at 615-822-6032. All Penny needs to get started is a photograph of your pet.

What Can You Do in a Breakfast Room?

There are so many options when it comes time to deciding on a window treatment style for a breakfast room. You can decide to add drapery panels, a valance or both. Most everyone has one common request, they want to preserve as much of the view as possible. With our graphic rendering software we were able propose this unique top treatment to Beth, our client, she instantly loved it. There are so many little details in this design. The contrasting tails, the buttons and the main fabric really set the tone for this room. During my fabric research, I stumbled across this fabric and instantly loved it. Beth was waiting to select a paint color based on the fabrics we chose. Picking a paint color after picking fabrics is always a smart choice. I knew this fabric would add so much fun to this room. I love adding a little funkiness to a room, especially a breakfast room. Once the fabric and the design had been determined we did a rendering to scale allowing Beth to see exactly what her windows would look like.

You can see the rendering and the final results were exactly the same. This room turned out fabulous; it's colorful and happy! I know Beth and her family will enjoy this space for years to come. Thanks Beth for allowing us to help you with your decorating project. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Do You Wear Rose Colored Glasses in Your House?

After 8 - 10 years every space needs a bit of a make-over to keep it fresh and update. If you haven't done anything to a room in over 10 years, take a look around the room and you will see what I mean. You will be surprised what you see when you take off your rose colored glasses.

The above photographs are of my living room. I had painted this room Roasted Pepper years ago and decided last year I was tired of this color for this room. I still love this color but decided I wanted to tone the contrast between the draperies and the wall. (The red color looks a little brighter than it really was. Camera flashes seem to play havoc with reds.) I didn't want to replace my Ruche top draperies; I still loved those. I began to look at paint colors and decided on Saddle Soap for the walls and Soft Suede for the trim from Porter Paints. Look at the difference a paint color can make. It makes me feel like I have a totally new room.

You might consider changing paint color in a couple of rooms. You will be amazed what that one thing can do for a room. Wall color invokes emotion in a room; sometimes it is a good feeling and sometimes it is a bad feeling. Many people make the mistake of deciding on a paint color without doing a test sample on the wall. I always insist on my clients purchasing a pint/quart of paint to test out a color before purchasing gallons of paint.

Maybe your floral arrangements are dusty and tired looking, maybe your wall could use a fresh coat of paint and maybe you should consider changing your paint color or maybe your the art on the walls is out of date. If you have some pieces of art that are timeless and very special. You might consider moving them to another room.

New Art Will Liven Up Any Space!

While we were at High Point market we found several pieces of art that we loved here. These tall vertical framed Anemones were a perfect choice to mount over a king bed in a master bedroom. A room with a king size bed needs special attention to keep the bed from over powering the room.

It is hard to tell by looking at the photograph above how the colors pop against the black background. These prints are instantly catch your eye; they are simply stunning. You can check out my previous post on "Wall Sconces" to see them mounted over the king bed.