Color is the Question

Last week I wrote a post about the overuse of the color gray.  If gray is not the answer, then I suppose color is the question.  The most common question I get regarding color is what color to paint the walls. The answer to that question is so dependent on the room you are considering and what is going on in the rest of the house.  Today I'd like to give you ideas of ways to add color if you already have a neutral backdrop.  Remember, the wall color is NOT the color scheme.  It can be part of a color scheme or it can be a compliment to the rest of the colors in the room. Here are a handful of ideas:

Colorful fabric is an obvious choice, even muted color.  

More colorful fabric, vibrant this time.  And colorful trim.

You may remember this colorful wallcovering from Dana Gibson with her matching trim on a white Roman shade.

Fresh flowers brighten any spot.

Colorful walls, tablecloth, artwork and draperies.  Notice how the adjacent wall space on the far left is another shade of blue!

This master bedrrom in shades of green and violet is still restful and inviting.

This trim from Brimar is able to withstand the elements, so your outdoor areas can be colorful, too!

The MOST colorful drapery hardware from Duralee.

Gorgeous fabrics and wallcoverings from Kim Parker.

Floral fabrics are everywhere! This one from Kravet Couture.

My all-time favorite fabric from Osborne and Little.

Pillows from Jaipur.

Pillow from Surya, when you want SOME color, but maybe not LOTS of color.

Colorful furniture, rugs and pillows in the EJ Victor showroom at High Point.

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:

Get an "A" in Geometry

Geometry was the only kind of math I did well in.  I've asked other designers about this and many agreed that they were good in Geometry, too.  Not one said they got an "A" in Calculus!  We tend to think in space and shapes.
The geometric embroidery on this fabric was really appealing.  In a room of solid fabrics, it gave us some pattern to work with.

The family room was in really good shape, decoratively speaking.  It just needed the finishing touch of window treatments so we chose to do soft stationary drapery panels with a French pleat header. Some people call it a Euro pleat.  And those corner windows - a matching pair! thank you Mr. Architect! - were going to be a challenge.

My installers did an incredible job, as usual.  They make an installation like this look easy.

I give this project an A+  !!!

Fabric by Kasmir

Drapery hardware by Graber 

Blinds were customer's own

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.  

Small Town Life

I made a trip to my favorite hardware store for some last-minute supplies for a recent 

window treatment installation and couldn't resist taking this picure.    

I mean,  just look at all the years of  love and hard work and elbow grease 

that have made this cabinet so charming.  I love the drawers. 

 I love the labels.  I love the tools and gadgets that make our lives easier.   

But mostly, I love that this kind of store being run by helpful, honest folks still exists. 

Open since 1914,  Nichols Hardware in downtown Purcellville, Virginia 

still gives personalized attention and cares about its customers.   

Thank you,  Nichols.  

  

*Blog by Ruth, Director of Marketing for Antonia Korby Design.  

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

  

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.

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.
 
 
 

Miss Mix-a-Lot

Mixing it up in the studio today

fabrics by Kravet and Kasmir

Today's Installation

Remember the throw swags of the 80's and 90's?  If you ever tried it, you quickly realized that you couldn't make one long piece of fabric dip and dive and swag and come out even like you wanted.  If you were successful it was because you used an entire box of pins, AND velcro, AND a glue gun AND there was a lot of swearing involved.
I learned quickly that you could fake the whole look, and actually improve it, if all the sides of the window were treated with separate pieces.  It is SO much easier to control this way!
Today we started with a blank window. We added a cordless honeycomb shade for light control and privacy.

Prepare yourself - the rest of the pictures are just about this dark.  I sent a phone in to do a camera's job!
Since this was a traditional living room, we went with a slightly more formal pole swag to mimic the style that looks like it's just been "thrown" over the rod. The three pieces we used were a rodpocket panel, a pole swag and a double cascade on a tack strip. We chose a wood rod so we could staple the swag and the cascade to it.

Wonder why it's asymmetric? It's because it's one of a pair!

And here's the look with the blind raised:

All this - and NO swearing!

Damask fabric by Duralee - #D161328 in Pearl
Drapery hardware from Graber with Urn finials.