Window Wednesday

Sometimes we like to say, "A door is a door", meaning that we don't treat it like a window.  But this door, which we had recently outfitted with a new 2" wood blind, looked a little lonely in a beautifully designed kitchen with it's lovely window treatments we did about a year ago. We used the same fabric and trim that we used in the rest of the room.

And now, everyone is happy! (Even the valance is smiling!)

A little inspiration

 

Autumn

 



Crochet (??!) Chairs

I saw this recently at design-confidential.com.
Pictures of crocheted chairs or "swivel thrones" by Olek as presented by Todd Merrill Studio.

Proving again that it's ALL art!

How do you create YOUR work of art?

Pillows

Finished a fun project and need to add a little color to a neutral sofa that we had just reupholstered.
First, the gold pillows were added but it wasn't quite enough, so we added the center pillow which looks like a mix of two fabrics, but is really the same fabric turned over to the reverse side.

The red side is the "face" of the fabric and is what we used for the draperies in this room.  This silk fabric is so cool because depending where you place the pattern it can look completely different.

And while we are on the subject of pillows, look how adding just one pillow to the center of the bed makes it look more complete.

 

Sofa and pillows - both fabrics by Duralee

Bed - pillow shams and bedspread - fabric by Vervain

Bed - Square pillow - fabric by Highland Court

Weekend High Notes

It was a beautiful weekend here, filled with morning and evening walks in town, a high school reunion, and cozy gatherings inside

and out

as we bid a fond farewell to summer........

Silk and Sheers

Rarely would I (or anyone, for that matter) show you a window treatment that a client disliked.

But the truth is, I liked it and thought it turned out beautifully.  Rich, full silk side panels over a polka dot sheer looked soft and feminine.  The client thought it "too polka dotty", but she had chosen this sheer specifically. We had used the existing rod.  The client hadn't touched up the paint from where the old valance had been removed.
Which brings me to this point:  be sure to paint, or touch up paint, at least a week before your new window treatments are installed.  It is so much more difficult to do afterwards.

A little inspiration

A little inspiration

Window Wednesday

It may be Wednesday, but there were no windows involved in this particular Wednesday.  It did involve putting on a new bedskirt with a client, and with much huffing and puffing and pulling and weightlifting a giant mattress, and falling apart with laughter as said client did a face plant into the mattress when I pulled at just the wrong moment, we got the bedskirt safely on the bed. More about that later.
I thought I'd share with you the most repinned window treatment on my Pinterest "Window" board this week.  I can never predict which it is going to be.

I have not done many swags lately, but these pointed swags really interested me and apparently, interested a lot of other people as well.  Although I love color, I really liked the softness of this neutral room and I adore the woodwork.
The two other most pinned pictures were also from the Mrs. Howard website. They were both brightly colored, large scale printed Roman shades, a trend that seems to be on the rise.
Check out MrsHoward.com.  It is a great site!
And to see thousands of wonderful window treatments, follow me on Pinterest
Pinterest.com/ToniKorby

A Spectacular Monday

Just when I think I can't get any luckier, I do.
In spite of really good intentions to get a little work done on Labor Day, we decided to take advantage of the most beautiful of days and head to a place we'd never been. How we have missed The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards, I'll never know.  It was 7 minutes from our town of Leesburg, Virginia -- 7 MINUTES!!!
There are many many wineries in our general vicinity and some have a beautiful setting, while others make some pretty good wine.  This place had BOTH!

It was absolutely necessary that we sit outside. There was an excellent musician, Todd Brooks, playing. The view looking the other way was just as lovely.

The inside tasting room was perfect if you like a rustic old barn - and I do.  Wouldn't this be a divine place for a wedding reception? I can imagine at night with a fire in that fireplace and those twinkling lights, that there is no place cozier to share a glass or two.

Near the end of his set, Todd Brooks sang "Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker, one of my Top Ten. That's it! I was done!

 

For more information and to see more pictures of The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards, click here

 

Curves

Nothing quite as anxiety producing as a window on a curved wall that needs to be dressed. Most people don't know that you can have a rod bent to match the wall. The results are spectacular!

The same can be done with a bay window. Not only rods that have rings, but also your basic traverse rod can be bent, and the draperies can be opened and closed!

An easy way to create such a rod on your own is to use a bendable "elbow" that attaches between two rods. That's what we did in this guest room.

I know you'd love to see those gigantic finials close up so here's a better look:

These gorgeous finials in a rose gold finish looked handmade and weighed a ton!

First two photos from Brimar.
Rose Gold finials and rods are from The Finial Company.