alison giese Interiors: Keeping It Real

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.

I've heard it said before if you love interiors, your home is always in a state of flux. There's always something new and inspiring, something to switcharoo for a change of scenery. I certainly fall into that group.

Truth be told, I'm least content with our current home. I imagine it's because our homes in the States were ones we selected and loved, while our home here in Brazil - nice as it may be - is one that was assigned from a housing pool. There's a lot I would like to change, but can't. **Is there anything more nerve-wrecking for a design junkie than having a lot of decorating roadblocks???**

Fortunately, we were able to bring all our own furniture, so I have some flexibility to work with and change it.

Hence, my obsession with redoing our TV/Family room.

I really, rullly cringe at the thought of posting this pic (my husband even said, "aren't you wanting to show your best work?", but I'm. Keeping. It. Real. (eek!)

Try not to be jealous.

So, on my agenda is:

* Possibly replace, or certainly reupholster the couch. (Velvet ranking very high on my wishlist)

* Camouflage all the media components. (Possibly a tailored skirt situation)

* Bring in more/better assortment of art for the large wall

* Buy new curtains that aren't expecting a flood (these are Ikea - washed after installation)

* Change out rug with one more size-appropriate

* Manage the kiddo epicenter

The room is very shallow, so I can't commit to an ottoman or coffee table option for flow purposes, but we would definitely appreciate something to prop our feet up.

In trying to round up a style aesthetic, I culled some of my fave Pinned images - and whadya know? Velvet couch takes the lead! But first:

I considered doing something like this - keeping the couch in a neutral, and working in lots of color and pattern elsewhere, but really, a fug couch is a fug couch, and must be put out of its misery.