All that glitters. . .

vervain.com

How easily we are distracted by baubles, sequins, 
and shine, especially at this 

wonderful,

sparkly time of year!

Sophisticated gold and cherry tones have us swooning and looking for more places to decorate.  Wouldn't this make a lovely holiday tablecloth?     

Luzzano in Carnelian by Vervain

Fab Fabrics

A Regal Fabric

 Falanghina by Vervain 

Sends us to the drawing board with blue and gold specks in our eyes

Time to get the cobwebs down?

  So maybe you didn't literally use spiderwebs as your    Halloween valance like we did,  

but is it time to TREAT yourself by dressing your windows?  

Seeing Red

                                   Rojo 




                                                                 Rouge

We are seeing RED everywhere especially now that Benjamin Moore has announced its color of the year 2018 as 

                          C A L I E N T E 
                              AF - 290

Are you ready for a color consult? 

-image courtesy of Benjamin Moore

Our Arch Nemesis

Palladian Windows

                     gorgeous in their symmetry, deceptively difficult to dress.

Enter the PALLADIAN SHELF!  It holds the blind or shade when there is no existing support between the window and the arch.   It's a little tricky to measure for it,  but this brace is made of strong, lightweight material that can be used on palladian and other custom window shapes as well as unusually tall windows.   

And we know just the person to install it.

                               Simply gorgeous for the sunroom!                                

Palladian shelf, drapery hardware and woven wood shades by Graber (Pattern: Beachfront, color: Tidepool)

Beachfront is our most popular woven wood pattern.

Drapery panels by Kasmir Fabrics. 

Detail of Kasmir Fabric

  

O.K. You can spot it-- I mean Stop it, now

Stop seeing spots, you say?  We can't help ourselves . . .

J. Crew 

CPK Floral Designs 

CPK Floral Designs

Cindy provided gorgeous floral centerpieces for a recent Wine-Tasting Event at Eddie Merlot's in One Loudoun.   Spot the ribbon...

 J. Crew calf hair boot 

             Duralee spotted-yumminess ready for us to fashion into something for you. . .

This pillow!   

These ottomans?   

Okay,  we really will try to stop now. . .    

More Zebras?

We just can't get enough of animal prints, 

 as you know from our recent post.   

So how about this find in the retail jungle?   

    

A comfortable and gorgeous zebra sofa for the movie theater room and matching animal prints for the walls. . .   

located in the same consignment shop at the same time in one of our favorite local haunts, but in two separate rooms.  We were so thrilled at the spoils of our "hunt"! 

Detail from zebra sectional sofa

Leopards and Giraffes and Zebras, oh, my?

                            

We are seeing so many wonderful animal

prints in the design AND the apparel

world this season. . . it makes us 

want to go on a  photographic safari! 

         

courtesy of Nat Geo 

Caracole in Purr-fect

Or perhaps a daydream in this chair?  

Driftwood Plantation Shutters

   

Our client sought a clean look for controlling light in her reading nook.  We warmed the space by suggesting plantation shutters in a Driftwood finish.  The effect is not only inviting, but thoroughly authentic with lovely flaws.  She loves the perfectly imperfect result;  we do as well.  

Shutter detail

Color Makes the World Go 'Round

Remember dancing with a pinwheel on a summer day?   800 colors of window shades look like pinwheels to us----and offer light control, privacy and energy efficiency!

Courtesy of Color Lux by Comfortex

Connecticut Blue

If you think choosing a fabric for a project is difficult, try finding a matching solid for lining and facing.

For our upcoming Greenwich, CT project we have two window treatments. Both designs include a colored facing for part of the treatment.  The fabric above, from Charlotte Moss, was easy.  The client wanted something silky and this faux silk in a rich gold color from Maxwell Fabrics was perfect.

And then we went in search of blue.

You may remember this powder room, also located in Connecticut, that we showed a while back:

The Dana Gibson wallpaper had the most delicious, vibrant shade of blue that turned out to be a challenge to match for banding on a white Roman shade we were making for the window.  We ended up using a Dana Gibson trim, because there was no solid blue to be found!

Now we call this particular shade Connecticut Blue, because it is the exact same blue as before.

We are not ones to give up easily!
We found a beautiful cotton sateen that will work perfectly!

This one from RM CoCo.
Want to use Connecticut Blue in your next design? Bring it!

Blue and white fabric from Bailey and Griffin, available through Duralee.
 
 
 

A Little Design Hack

Maybe you remember these sheer draperies from a couple of months ago:

The homeowners decided they wanted tiebacks for this window treatment.  Easy enough.  But they were out of town and wouldn't return until long after the tiebacks were installed.  Which posed a bit of a dilemma.  How to hang the tiebacks. 
The finished draperies extended quite a ways beyond the width of the window.  If the drapes are the same width as the window you can usually get away with a hook or a nail in the side of the wood trim surrounding the opening.  In this case I was going to need to install something in the wall.

I don't enjoy punching little holes in people's walls without their consent, especially in a brand new home.  Then it hit me! Command Hooks!  I use them all the time for Christmas decorations, hanging pictures, etc.  I found some very small, clear hooks and they worked great!  And if the clients don't care for them or want to change the height of the tiebacks, it is easy to remove them.  Magic.

Play Outside!!

I'm a summer-time girl for sure.  I'd stay outside all day if I could, but since most of my work is in the INTERIOR of a home, I do spend most of my work day inside.
While I have hundreds of ideas for outdoor living, here are lots of ideas from other industry experts.  Thanks to MakeSpace for featuring me in their recent article.
 Here's the link:

 https://makespace.com/blog/posts/best-outdoor-decor-ideas/

And since summer is the biggest season of the year for moving, check out MakeSpace's blog for other ideas for storage, moving and organizing.

And You Don't Have to Wave at Every Golfer!

Last week's installation in Williamsburg was interesting because it was the first time I'd every designed something "blind".  I was sent the measurements by the homeowner and she chose her fabric from memo samples I sent her.
This is the room I walked into:

 

That trash on the chair is mine! 

 

What a light, bright room with lovely views of the golf course! Which is OK if you are sitting out on the deck, but there was no privacy when you were inside.
The fabric we used was an embroidered linen-look from Duralee.

The sheers were chosen to coordinate with one of the embroidery colors, and were also based on the following phone conversation:
"Are your walls more grey-ish or more yellow-ish?"  "More yellowish."  Talk about your leaps of faith!  I have to say, those sheers were such the perfect color against the walls, I wanted to do back flips.
We used a napped lining which gave the pleats a beautiful roundness:

 The hardware had a bronze finish and we used very simple finials:

And here is the finished design of stationary panels over sheers:

 Isn't that chair in the foreground to die for?  We recovered it at their previous residence.  Feels like I've been working on this room for 10 years.

 And now there is no need to wave to every golfer or neighbor who passes by!
Sheers are from Kasmir.
Decorative drapery rods from Select Hardware.  Traverse rods from Kirsch.
 
 
 

Peacock

There is an incredible swatch floating around the studio with peacocks on it.  It has one of the largest pattern repeats I have ever seen (40" vertical, and 54" horizontal!!)

That's the one from the RM Coco website.
Here's the picture of the swatch in the studio:

So you see, you get two peacocks for the price of one!!
(Wouldn't this be amazing upholstered to the back of a chair!)

Gold!

Gold!!

From the sublime to the ridiculous!

 

Tony Duquette Wisdom

From a 3-day lecture series given by Tony Duquette at UCLA in the early 1970's

 

Designer Luncheon

What a great day yesterday! I attended an event for designers at The Sweetwood Collection and Valerianne, where we had lunch and caught up with friends. 

This is a beautiful spot for shopping.  The girls, Stephanie and Denise, from The Sweetwood Collection, are the ones to see if you are looking for unique finds, accessories, art and repurposed antiques.

Aimee, from Valerianne, carries gorgeous high-end bedding and other textiles. 

When I got home, I removed the bow from my little giveaway, and it landed right on a paint swatch on my desk.  It looked so pretty there.  It made me smile. Sort of life imitating art.

Then I noticed that it looked good with a citrine stone that my son had given me for Christmas and told me to keep on the corner of my desk to attract prosperity!

 Valerianne and The Sweetwood Collection
295 Sunset Park Dr.  Herndon, VA 20170
703-437-3500

Be Mine

This bit of divine lusciousness showed up today without a card. The box says these were fresh from "the farm" . They came wrapped in brown paper! I love the addition of succulents, the loose branches, the barely there color, the unstudied look.

but who sent them?

Text to my daughter, Skylar:

Me:  Did you guys (Skylar and her brothers) send me flowers? Because there is no card.

Sky:  Yes! There should've been a card that talked about how pretty your are, but oh well

Me:  Wait! I found the card, but it doesn't mention my looks or anything.....

Sky:  It's implied.

Me:  I knew that.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and those you love!

Winter Poetry

The font of this poem looks like it has been outside in today's high winds - all whipped and wispy.

"While the slant sun of February pours into the bowers a flood of light.  Approach! The encrusted surface shall upbear thy steps, and the broad arching portals of the grove
Welcome thy entering."
 - - William Cullen Bryant

How Pinteresting !

Just like you, probably, I love Pinterest as a way to save ideas for future projects (and for the funny pet photos).
My "Windows" board is a place for me to file away great window treatment ideas for myself and for clients. I have over 3000 pins on that board, so I guess that makes me just the slightest bit obsessed.
This photo caught my eye:

 Something I've never seen before: a swagged tieback on a drapery panel.  Very fancy and what an opportunity to use multiple kinds of trim! I count at least three!  Oooooo, and that beautiful rosette.  I miss the days of employing so much detail and really expressing your artistry.  Now it's just plain drapery panels and Roman shades. Let's hope the tides turn soon (and they usually due) and we see a return to touches of luxury in our homes.
Pinterest credits this photo to Donna Hovis Interiors.  I'd like to meet Donna Hovis.  I bet she's a doll!

Seeing Stars

Isn't this cabinet with inlaid stars from Jonathan Charles amazing?
My rep told me (and I hope I remember this correctly) that it takes 7 men 7 days just to lay out the stars.  Each star has 8 pieces to it. Can you imagine?

This closeup isn't great because I took it from their website.
As if the beauty of this piece isn't enough, there is another reason why you want this cabinet -

Use it as a bar or anywhere you want a little storage with style!
See lots more stellar goodness at  Jonathan Charles