Window Treatments - An Opinion Piece

I'm finally getting around to having window treatments made for our kitchen. Our kitchen (we remodeled last year) is lovely, and doesn't necessarily need treatments, but I think it might give it a more polished, finished look.  That, and I remembered I have a large remnant of Katsugi I've been dying to use forever.

I'm planning to do relaxed (fixed) roman shades. - something like these

source unknown

I know it sounds strange, but I have this love/hate relationship with curtains, etc.  Outside of the wide blinds we have for privacy, the windows in our house are bare.  Our home doesn't get a ton of natural light, so I don't want to do anything to impede light coming in.  But, there's more to it than that.  I have what might be called curtain paranoia that stems (I believe) from being too roped into the world of decorating.

What I mean is - the gorgeous, custom window treatments we see in magazines cost uh-lot of dinero. Often, it's those custom treatments that make a room look complete, pulled together.  But cheap window treatments can do the exact opposite.  They can take a room that was looking nice, and downgrade it.
I once read a fellow decorator say something along the lines of, "If you can't swing $5000 on curtains, don't bother at all," and it's that kind of thinking that keeps me in stagnant curtain mode.  I don't have 5k in the curtain budget, so rather than go inexpensive and risk cheapening the room, I just don't do anything at all.
Thing is, that line of thought doesn't play well with a lot of clients.  People want to be able to have nice curtains, etc without blowing out their budget.  There has to be a middle ground. And this is how I found it:

 1)  I bought my high-end fabric from another designer who sells her remnants at a greatly-discounted price.  I highly recommend her site - The Designer's Attic.  Often, she has smaller yardages, but if you're flexible and looking for inspiration, Shannon's your gal.

2)  I found a seamstress via Craigslist.  DISCLAIMER - this is my first time to work with her!!  I'll update once everything is done, but my point is - look for a knowledgeable seamstress with experience who may work out of his/her home.  They have less overhead, and are often not as busy.  A go-to workroom is a decorator's best friend, but if you're competing with a lot of other people's projects a) yours may not get priority and b) it'll cost you more.

3)  Go with more practical options.  Because I don't expect to ever want to close the shades in my kitchen, the ones I'm having made will be fixed - meaning, they will appear to be operable, but won't be.  This saves yardage = $$, but the look will still be custom.  The same thought can be applied to other rooms.  A standard curtain panel runs 3 yards, and many times, you'd want a more plush look than that would allow.  So, you can see how quickly you could get into the 10+ yard range.  Decent fabric, liner, hardware, labor - you can do the math.  But, if your style will allow it, a lovely and tailored roman shade can give you a lot of custom bang for the buck without all that yardage.

I picked up on a lot of gorgeous examples of roman shades in lieu of curtains in designer Erin Gates' book, Elements of Style - a great resource, btw.

photos via EoS

So, my takeaway is:  don't let high-end decorating ways deter you from pursuing a custom look.  It can be done.  It just might take a little more research and legwork.  Totally worth it, if you ask me.  Stay tuned for the reveal of my custom/savvy spender kitchen shades.

Powder Room Idea #1001

Just when I think my blogging days are over, the whim hits me to post, and I feel like I wanna share.  It praaaaably has something to do with the fact that I've been doing a cleanse this week, the last two days of which were a fast.  Brutal.  But today, I am fla fla flying with inner energy, so here ya go.

The last I stopped in here, we were in demo mode for our kitchen.  Happy to report kitchen is beautifully complete, but there's still things I wanna tweak before she's ready for her close-up.  So, patience, peeps.

We've been trying to tackle other rooms here and there.  I don't know if I've ever mentioned the scoop on the house we bought in our frantic quest for a home Stateside.  In a nutshell:  perfectly livable, but really generic.  Trying to add in character and style from scratch takes time.  And moolah.  Neither of which I have the buckets of I feel I deserve (please read: sarcasm).

For the last few months, I've been going back and forth over wallpaper choices for our tiny powder room.  It's the only bathroom on our main floor, and because of the micro nature of it, it needs a major injection of personality.

We replaced the old sink with a wider pedestal, and in the process discovered the lovely circa '74 floral wallpaper.

I've been all over the map with new paper ideas, but know I want a bold pattern, with a big repeat.  My first thought was to reach back to our Brazilian roots with tropicali afternoon - purchasable via Spoonflower.

I love this pattern, but here's my hang-ups:  Unless you specifically do a rush order, Spoonflower's shipping time is ridiculous.  Secondly, they price and parcel in single rolls.  It makes it more expensive, and more tedious to hang.

So, I never ordered it, and one day stumbled upon Enchanment from Thibaut.  A gorgeous Chinoiserie, in a bold color way, and a big repeat.  Perfect.  Ordered.

The only thing left to source is a mirror.  Because of the sconce placement, I need a tall, narrow mirror, but want it to have some shape.  I've been toying with something with beveled edges to bounce the light around (there's no natural light), but spied this black lacquer framed one, and think it might just work.  The dimensions are perfect, but is the outline too strong.  Hashtag: overthinking it.

A "matchy-matchy" look I actually go for

I'm working with an e-client on the freshening-up of her living and dining rooms.  She's having crown moulding and built-ins added, and my suggestion is to paint the wall and trim the same color, but with different finishes à la this room by Suzanne Kasler.

via

...and then, paint the insets of the built-ins with a contrasting color that coordinates with our design scheme...

source unknown

  

Nothing radical, but a nice twist, and a step away from traditional.  Remember how Martha toned down the heavy (albeit impressive) moulding in one of her myriad homes with this pretty shade of blush? Splendid.

 

By keeping all this trim monochromatic, the room stays out of Fussydom

Serene.

It works well with more streamlined trim, too.

*Last three Images courtesy of this post on Houzz

Definitely. Yes.

Hacking Update: That's more like it! *Updated with paint color

My sister ahem, client sent me pics of the improved color of her dining room buffets.

Remember, these are Ikea's Edland two-drawer chests - which have good lines to begin with.

But, nothing much beats a few coats of high-glossy plus extra lacquer for funsies. Oh, yeah, and some stepped-up hardware. **The paint color is "Daring" by Sherwin Williams - and it was professionally sprayed. We found the Indian hardware at a local antique co-op.**

The first go-round was a little pinky-peach....

While our goal was for true coral. Check it with the chevron kilim and fuchsia velvet.  Looks amazing against the wallcolor, too.  BTW, the walls are painted in Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray.

Some finishing touches are in store, but I'd say this room is well on her way to outright fabulousness.

DIY Gemstone Finials - kinda of a duh...

I've been keen on the design world's general fascination with all things geode and agate over the recent past. It just so happens the vast majority of these goodies are mined right here in Brazil. This weekend, we took a road trip to the gemstone mecca where we waded through piles and piles of all things lapidary.

Gorgeous, amethyst formations

The mother lode of rough-hewn rose quartz

Famous birds of Brazil carved from semi-precious stone

I've been wanting to work some of the "positive-energy" pieces into a project, but figured I'd start off small...

So, I ordered these project-ready lamp finials with prongs from this Ebay seller.

...and picked out a few choice crystals from the piles (Sure you could unearth similar finds on Ebay as well)

...a little hot-glue gun action to stabilize everything

...and my lamps got a little facelift. (I can feel the energy, already! ;)

Next up my sleeve...Turning one of these:

...Into one of these....

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Alison on Pinterest

Ready for Red?

We're nearing the time of year when, after a brief hiatus following holiday excess, red reappears front and center. It seems there are clear camps regarding red: those willing to use it in their home, and those who can appreciate it in others'.
I'm a member of the former, but I prefer to keep it in small, somewhat unexpected doses.

Sofa = a little too bordelo, but the chandy in an otherwise understated setting could be magical.

Anyone see anything unworthy of our respect here?
No, didn't think so.

The striped chair makes me smile.

Given the choice of redness today, though, I'd have to vote for a glossy Thonet.

Specifically, the new, "twist" on the original.

Making my case

We made it back home to Brazil on Friday, and it's taken me all weekend just to reorient to my change of latitude. Our trip home to Texas was great, but so jam-packed with festivities and obligations that the three weeks flew by. Regretfully, I wasn't able to knock out any major design projects with my sister in her new house. Bummer.
We did manage a little room rearranging. Remember how I told you she and her hubster have a long and narrow family room that's proving difficult to configure? I cringe at releasing in-progress photos, but thought you might like an update...

New purchases are the rug (homedecorators), Wassily-esque chairs (overstock), and acrylic coffee table (ebay). The ikea chair to the left is there merely for spacing - we'll probably use something a tad taller, less deep-seated.

She originally had a large sofa where the accent chairs now sit. It visually decapitated the room. Now, it seems to breath. Ahhh...better.

This family room opens to the kitchen and dining room - which, for some reason, I'm really chomping at the bit to complete. Before I left, we were discussing the inevitable transformation of the space to an actual dining room, and I commented on curtain selection.

Some might not believe curtains are necessary when there's already perfectly-good shutters in place. I beg to differ. It's not so much that curtains are necessary, but without them, I think this room would always look a bit unfinished. Curtains take it to the next level. And, after all, it really IS all about layering to get a truly polished and complete look.

Curtains in a dining room can really make the room SING. See what I mean?

chris kraig via ed

If I had yellow velvet curtains like these, I just might sleep with them.

ashley whittaker via hb

Granted, the wallpaper is the star of this show, but can you imagine the room without the curtains? Nope. It would be incomplete.

jonathan adler via hb

Adler working his punchy magic in this I-don't-take-myself-too-seriously dining room. Curtains of turq-WAZ finish it off.

carol curtis via hb

Traditional spaces really lend themselves to the touch of formality that curtains lend.
I rest my case.

Whatcha think?

...about a gold-goblet chandy?

It works in this hotel lobby in Melbourne, but could it have equal application in a (granted, large) home?

I like what it implies: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!