Gray is not the Answer

I'm going to make a politically charged statement:

You don't have to paint your walls gray!

I know, I know.  It's everywhere.  JoJo paints a lot of her walls gray on her show, as does Christina.  It's everywhere, and gray's demise has been predicted for months.  And yet.......it's still here.

My friend recently listed her house for sale and a stager was brought in who told her to not only paint her walls gray but her beautiful cherry kitchen cabinets as well.  She refused.  Seriously, do people think that gray is the only neutral color?

I get it.  The realtors are trying to present the most neutral home possible, but is it really true that people can't visualize their way past a paint color?

And don't get me wrong; I love gray.  When I was 10 years old it was my favorite color.  I have gray in two of my guest rooms.  One is gray and yellow (mostly yellow), and one is gray and pink.

Duvet cover by Callisto Home

All gray bedding from County Road. Pink pillows with glass bead trim designed by Antonia Korby Design.

And that's my point.  In a world where you can have any color you want, gray is not the answer.  I have decorated more gray on gray rooms than you would believe, but that is because it came at the request of the homeowner. "How about if we add a little yellow in the draperies, because there is some yellow in the painting in this family room?"  "No", was the answer, "I think I'd like some some white draperies with gray embroidery on them." The dining room was already gray and white, as were the living room and kitchen.  That kind of decorating is highly photograph-able, and also has a model home quality, but can get a little boring.  And drab. And lacking much personaltiy, or CHARACTER, as they say on TV.

Roller shades by LuXout

And I get it that gray goes with everything.  Everything. Every color looks good with the right gray.  So please, feel free to use a LOT of color.  Because that is the trend that I'm seeing now. 

I know that I have shown a lot of gray/yellow combinations but I also love gray with red and gray with bright green.

I agree that a technicolor house would be a difficult house to sell.  But if you are going for neutral, there are so many other "colors" to choose from.

In  the end, my friend sold her home for more than her asking price. The buyers said that when they walked through the house for the first time, it just "felt like home"!

One fabric, Two rooms

If you want to unify two spaces, especially if they are side by side, try using one fabric for both, like we did here: 

fabric by Kasmir

Here is the Dining Room, before:

And after:

And a different view: 

                  

And here is the Living Room before:

And after:

Another view:

And finally, a close up of one of the drapery panels and the hardware:

Roman Shades - and a promo!

Photos courtesy of Graber 

We are seeing more and more interest in Roman shades to dress the windows as of late.  These, from Graber's Regal Collection shown with the cordless lift option (*free promotion right now available through May 31, 2018).   Also shown with drapery in 

Esmeralda and hardware all by Graber.

These relaxed Roman Shades from Graber's Ainslie in Arctic,  

are great for a casual office, nursery (where we ALWAYS recommend the cordless option for safety) 

mudroom or anywhere that you want a look 

that is dressed but not fussy.  

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

How to Set a Festive Table

I was recently asked to decorate some holiday tables for an Open House at Picket Fence Homes in Leesburg, Virginia.

The first was a snowman-themed table for four starring a jolly fellow perched atop a bed of marshmallow snowballs.  Completing the scene were snowman mugs and whimsical paper placemats.

The "tablecloth" was actually a chalkboard paper runner with a message on the front written in chalkboard marker.

The second table was a romantic setting for two, decorated with an intimate New Years Eve in mind.

Gold chargers, glittery silver ferns, beaded gift boxes and martini glasses full of treats created a festive, sophisticated mood.
Inspirations, instead of names, were in the placecard holders.

And a little Picket Fence wine doesn't hurt, either!

Our last table had a natural, woodland theme and featured a tree branch suspended from the ceiling, resplendent with old fashioned tinsel. (Use your imagination - it IS a conference room, after all!)

A carved wood stag sits as centerpiece among white pine table runners and glittered pine cones and leaves.

Cranberry colored chargers and plates featuring birds complete the picture.

Here are my guidelines for Setting a Festive Table:

Theme - choose one, however subtle it may be
Layer - texture, color or pattern
Shine - add metallic accents for some shimmer
Surprise! - use an accessory in an unusual way (like the marshmallows)
Glow - soften the light with candles or a dimmer switch
Remember my mantra:  Pleasing, not Perfect!!

Many thanks to all the fun people at Picket Fence Homes - 212 S. King St., Leesburg VA 20175
They were expert hot chocolate makers and also provided the holiday recipe cards that we gave away.
 

Really Beautiful Homes

I love to tour really beautiful homes so on any given Sunday, you might find me at a real estate open house.  The house above is located nearby in Creighton Farms which is a lovely gated community.  Although the home was completed a couple of years ago, it has never been lived in.  The craftmanship of this home is impeccable!  You had me at Habersham kitchen!!   When I asked the listing agent, Lisa Thompson (super friendly, by the way) what she loved about the house, she said there were too many details to list, but that the five fireplaces and multiple outdoor living areas were really what set this house apart. 
This is a golf course community.  The Jack Nicklaus signature golf course is recognized as one of the the premiere golf courses on the Eastern Seaboard.
Even if you can't travel to Leesburg, VA, you can take your own virtual tour here.
Contact Lisa Thompson if you want your own personal showing.
As of today, the home is listed at $2,999,999.

While I was in Creighton Farms, Lisa told me about another listing she had that was a little older but just as beautiful.  This one was in the neighborhood of Beacon Hill, which is also in Leesburg but at the opposite end.

Take the virtual tour here.  And see more photos, here.
If you are looking for a house that is traditional on the outside, but with contemporary touches inside, then this is the house for you!
What was truly striking about this home were the 12 foot ceilings! Even in parts of the basement! The dining room was expansive and light.
The pool area, the patio and the loggia were so inviting, especially in the 100 degree heat we had the day I was there.  This home had a very cool hand painted mural in the bar area and the largest home theatre I have ever seen.  You could host a movie viewing for, I don't know, about 75 people in there.  There was also a great bonus room over the garage which was a perfect teen hangout.
The home is listed at $1,699,000.
Contact Lisa Thompson.

Who Loves Pink?

Was so excited when this Instagram photo from Tony Baratta crossed my screen:

I am currently working on a project that we are calling A Study in Pink. It too is a living room and we are taking our palette of pinks and blues into the dining room, study and now kitchen! We are also adding a mix of silver and golds with splashes of those metallics on the mouldings and some furniture. I cannot wait to show you the finished design!
Here are some of the fabrics:

You can see, we are also mixing a lot of patterns.  This is going to be so bold!

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.

Help me choose!

It is our own projects that get away from us. Long days and sometimes even longer nights leave little time for creating our own homes when we are busy making a client's dreams come true.
Here is my dining room prior to moving in three years ago:

We had the floors cleaned up and since I was ok with the stripes on the wall, we moved our furniture in and that was that.  The constant repairs took up a large portion of our time and our money.  I had bought some lovely silk velvet at a seconds store at least 4 years ago and want to use it here for draperies, although it isn't enough.
I think pairing the velvet with a print on the same drapery panel could be really interesting, not to mention dramatic. Both of the prints I have in mind are devilishly expensive, so it really comes down to color and style.
Here are my two choices:

Since there is so much orange in the rest of the house, the fabric on the right, with the orange paisley makes sense.  It is so much fun and the pinks are a good match to the velvet.
The fabric on the left, however, makes my heart sing! What you can't see or feel from this photo is that the green and white printed section is actually an embroidered velvet applique. Now that you don't see every day!
Here are the choices from a different direction, which really shows the color of the velvet.

So which would you choose?

Fabric with orange paisley is from GP&J Baker, available through Duralee.

Fabric with green appliqued white velvet is from Lorca, available through Osborne and Little.

 

100 Windows - #97

This is a picture I found on the internet to show a client who had exactly this arrangement of windows and furniture.

As we had already put woven wood shades in other parts of the house, I thought it was a natural to add them to the windows in the dining room.  The printed drapery panels add softness and also a touch of elegance.
Later, I was delighted to find out that this picture was taken by my friend here in Virginia, Bob Narod.

100 Windows - #75

Just finished this project.  As usually happens, it is so difficult to photograph a window treatment because of the light coming in.

The walls were already painted a deep beautiful blue and the lovely rug was in place. The blue and white toile from Kravet was the perfect companion, along with the hardware from The Finial Co.

Though I'm not usually a "blue" person, I have to say, this wall color really set off the large collection of artwork that was on the other 3 walls in this room.

100 Windows - #73

Some days you just have to be up to the challenge.
What do you do when faced with a sheer polka dot fabric that a client adores AND she also wants grommet draperies?
First you figure out that your workroom will never speak to you again if you ask them to put grommets anywhere near a sheer fabric, so you design a band of heavy weight cotton for the top of the treatment for the grommets to go.

Then you line the sheer with a taupe colored sateen fabric.

The panels had a beautiful drape to them and the Robert Allen drapery hardware was the icing on the cake!

 

100 Windows - #71

Here's a combination treatment to end the year.

This combination of swags was made for a breakfast room.  The arched window over the center window presented a challenge. I created a hand draped swag over the arch.

Then I stapled this to the tops of the boards of the side swags.

The hardware on this board was purely decorative, but matched the piece at the top of the arch.

The side swags were traditional swags with asymmetric cascades, that included one regular cascade and one double cascade.

This was definitely a "sum is greater than it's parts" kind of window treatment!

Happy New Year!!

 

 

 

100 Windows - #64

A little pumpkin color for this Halloween!

For a traditional cottage in Arlington, VA we chose to do swags.

This was a very small dining room, that included a door to an outside porch.

I added a matching relaxed Roman shade to the door.

The clients had JUST moved in when we added the window treatments.  I'm sure the room is even more finished looking today.
Happy Halloween!  Trick or Treat-ments!