So Pretty and Flattering

I just love the way this scalloped valance turned out for one of my clients. She was working with the colors of nature and neutrals and wanted a treatment to complete the decor but not cover the window as blinds were there for privacy.

This valance adds curves and contrast. The color "Leather" adds the highlights in the jabots and top cording. See more images of my work on my online gallery and set up your own personal design consultation.

Its all in the Details

I had the pleasure of visiting Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC last week. The beauty and design of the place was amazing. Nothing was left to chance. Everything was finished to the last detail. Lots and lots of detail. Each of the beams in the ceilings was decoratively finished with a pattern painted on or papered on. The raised panel doors also had a fluted edge in each of the panels of the door. The door latches had large adorned brass platings. Arched doors that had arched wood moldings also had a patterned decorative arched wood piece next to the moldings.
It may sound like more than you want for your home but the concept to remember is that it is the details that make the decor unique and beautiful.
What a great place. Plan to visit there!

The Best Fabric For Your Home- By Far!

I just finished reading a blog about the beautiful variety of indoor/outdoor fabrics in the market and I just love them! If they are meant to stand up to the elements of summer weather, then imagine how good they would be for indoor use where fabrics get a lot of wear and tear and use by the whole family. I am currently designing a sunroom on the river that sees a lot of family traffic, wet swimsuits, and fruity thirst-quenching drinks. We are covering the dining table benches and the furniture in that room in an indoor/outdoor fabric for easy maintanence and less worry and more summer fun and enjoyment. Pictures will follow when the room is complete.

Colors Lead the Way in Senior Friendly Design

Americans are living longer these days thanks to modern medicine and healthier lifestyles. As a result of all this good stuff, the elder segment of our population is mushrooming and many new living issues have cropped up. Today’s focus is the role of color in design for empty nesters and seniors, whether they age in place at home or downsize to an age restricted community. Good senior design addresses furnishings for their safety as well as colors for their living environment.
The human eye undergoes major changes with age. Vision and color perception diminish over time. These changes can make everyday life quite challenging. A very important part of every senior design I do is to create a color scheme for elderly eyes that will improve their quality of life. The key to this is good use of color contrast in their living environment.
I always start with the walls and the doors since they are the biggest surfaces in a room. My recommendation is to use light colors for the wall in a matte finish. They increase light reflectance and do not cause annoying glare that can be hard on someone with cataracts. Furniture and fixtures show up easily if their colors are in contrast to a light wall color. In addition, when contrast colors are used on the baseboards and floors, it is easier to identify the edges of a room. Skillful use of contrast finishes can define a doorway and indicate the top and bottom steps of a flight of stairs. These painting ideas help make life easier for our aging population. One final word about paint- use low VOC paints to cut down on fumes which can affect the respiratory systems of some seniors. It is also eco-friendly.
I have some additional thoughts on color and pattern. Skip wallpaper patterns with large stripes. They tend to appear as bars in motion to senior eyes and can affect mobility. Wall coverings in small patterns are always winners. Be wary of using two intense colors side by side in the same room as their borders can appear unstable and jumpy. Limit the bright intense colors to grab bars, levers and light switches. It will make them easy to find.
Making the right interior design and color decisions can go a long way to a better life and comfortable living environment for our older citizens. Through my interior designs, I hope to impart a sense of safety, comfort and enjoyment for all seniors. They deserve the best in this new stage of living!

Persian Rug Inspired Design

I love the deep brick red and royal blues of the living room that led the way for the interior design color scheme of this living room. The 2 wing chairs were recovered in the brick red. The banding on the draperies and the throw pillows also got a dose of this color. In front of the drop leaf table, a floral arrangement of the color scheme was added and highlighted by the rich wood of the table.The deep blue was added only as the accent color on the pillows and in some of the accessories around the room. The result was a room of beautiful colors that meshed so nicely!

Favorite Things Fine Designer Fabrics

I have been pouring over 3 new custom fabrics from Kasmir and I certainly have my favorites. If you like beautiful tapestry weaves, unique fabric color palettes and lovely softness then this exclusive volume set of fabrics is for you. The experience of seeing this variety of quilted, woven and layered styles is a feast for the eyes. Imagine the substantial hand of a woven fabric with threads of many wonderful colors hanging at your windows or on your sofa. They are so luxurious and dreamy. See them in the comfort of your own home. Let me know how I can help!

A Window Treatment Fresh Idea- Quilted Cornices

My client’s dining room got a “quiet elegance” interior decorating makeover last week. The beautiful quilted cornice boards played a big part in the decor. The grey Chinese wallpaper in the room had a soft luster to it. Soft coral flowers with green stems were randomly placed on the wallpaper. Grey peau de soie cornices in a custom quilt pattern nicely coordinated with the wallpaper. The carpeting pulle

d out the coral of the flowers. Silky custom pleated sheers completed the interior design of the room. The look was a huge hit especially with the chandelier lights dimmed to a soft glow.

Accent on Color

I am so proud to have one of my designs featured on the AVA Living premier designer website. It is a great honor.
The photograph is the feature listing on AVA.
This was a small wall in between the family room and the formal rooms that needed its own pizzaz to stand up with the other colors in the rooms. It became the accent wall in the room with a color taken from the rooftops shown in the painting. It was Behr Warm Terra Cotta. The rest of the walls facing it were in Behr River Bank. This little wall carried a big impact!

My Top Organization Tips for You

They are everywhere this time of year, those colorful storage bins. They are the promise of an organized life and all we have to do is neatly pile our stuff inside, close the lid and put a label on the outside. That would be nice but it is not reality! It takes training to be organized and stay that way. It goes hand in hand with interior decorating and can help create spaciousness in your living space. So I have some great organization tips to pass along to you.
Create a desk/bill paying area in your home. Keep all your important and time sensitive mail and bills together there for ease of locating. You will find that if you have a designated area for those important things, you will not spend time searching around the house and risk losing your paperwork. If you can have a file cabinet with manila folders to hold all important documents in alphabetical order in the desk area, all the better for organizing. You can put a hook there for your house keys and never search for them again!
Everyone can find a small wall area in their home for organizing coats, hats and backpacks. You don’t need much space. Coat hooks are available at your local home improvement store and are very inexpensive. So, there is no excuse for not having your family’s coats, hats and etc. hanging neat and organized!
Don’t you just hate trying to find the right suitcase/travel totes when you need them? I got you covered. Store your suitcases one inside of the other when not in use. They will be easy to find all together and take up less space in your home. While you are at it, put your jewelry travel cases and other carry-on travel items with your luggage. Everything will be at your fingertips when you need travel.
This is one I love. Instead of throwing all your laundry together and waiting for laundry day to sort the wash, buy a hamper with divided bins. Then every time you add a piece of laundry to the appropriate bin of the hamper, your sorting is automatically done. Laundry day just got a whole lot easier!
Now, as ambitious as all this organization stuff may sound, I have a greater reason for doing this neatnik kind of work. The unseen benefits for me are a simpler, easier lifestyle with less work in a home that is definitely easy to care for. That is the ticket for me! Maybe the idea of less work sounds appealing to you too. As someone once said, life can be messy- let’s clean it up!

Interior Design Swag Window Treatment

Swags are a timeless and beautiful addition to any formal room in your home. The ones pictured here are where the swag is placed over ( on top of) the cascades. You can see the full, graceful effect of the swoop. This is that new peau de soie type fabric. The colors and the soft hand of it are just so graceful.

Easy Decorating Idea

I love ideas that we can all use for unique design. From the Better Homes and Gardens July 2010 issue , an inexpensive rectangular tablecloth 60" x 90" was remade into a tailored skirt for an average size round end table.
Cut the short ends of the rectangle to your round table height plus about 1 inch for a seam. Add even more extra if you want the skirt to puddle on the floor.
From the center of the cloth, cut your circle 1" larger than the table top diameter.
Pin the skirt sides to the top and sew up. Any extra width can be box pleated or cut to fit at the top. See the magazine for complete details and give it a try. Great idea!

New Fabrics and the Resurgence of Draperies

I have started to receive my semi-annual group of new fabrics. Faux silks have just exploded with beautiful lusterous solids and embroderies. Sheers have beaded swirls. I always embrace the new selections to show my clients and offer them the latest.

Window Treatments 101

It is a good time to review 2 of the basics of window treatments for you.
1. Fullness= This is having more fabric on the window either in pleats or gathers and not just flat fabric on a rod. Fullness is a good thing! It keeps whatever you are putting at your window from looking skimpy. Custom sheers are made at 3 to 1 fullness. That means if you have a 50" wide window the workroom will use 150" worth of fabric for that width. Custom draperies are usually done at 2 1/2 to 1 fullness. So if you use ready-made treatments, be ready to add extra pieces to get enough fullness on your window. Some ready-made treatments are 1 1/2 to 1 fullness- very skimpy.
2. The Look= This one is easy and often overlooked. No one would take a man's shirt out of the wrapper and put it on. It has folds and wrinkles! The same with your window treatments. Before you hang them, make sure they are pressed and looking good. My installer steams and dresses down every fabric treatment we put up. Now you know that you have to do the same!

Look at the wonderful fullness put in the 2 drapery styles shown here. That is how they all should look!

To Do Draperies or Not??

I am getting this question from my clients more frequently. It would seem that the era of minimalist treatments at the window is slowly changing. The styles and designs from my workroom reflect that emerging trend. I love them! There are many styles available that are not your mother's pinch pleated antique satin draperies. The look has been modernized for today's homes. More at the window also translates to better coverage and energy savings. Lots of air exchange takes place at even the best of windows. Draperies help stop that and look beautiful also.I think this is a win-win for everyone! So next time you are contemplating a change of window treatments, consider 21st century style draperies.