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Pillow Talk

March 2, 2021 by megan Leave a Comment

Have you ever felt like you were struggling with how to pull all the elements of a room together? Pillows can often be the answer.

Start with Your Inspiration

Choose the one thing in your room that you love, or you feel is your starting point and use that as your guide for other soft goods like pillows to help create unity in your design.

For one customer, it started with a fabulous piece of art in the dining room of this very open Hillcrest condo. It’s not just about the color, which is important, but the contrast of the rich velvet with the silk that work together to combine the art to the luxurious elements of leather and metal and sleek lines that make up the room. Without the pillows, the room might feel cold with just a single punch of color from the art, but the pillows work to bring life and warmth to the cool neutral palette.

Pillows Add a Visual Cue

The other way pillows work hard for your room’s design is as a visual cue for comfort; an invitation to sit down and relax. They tell your guests that you want them there, and that you want them to feel at home and to engage with you. Pillows can do this for you too. Think about your home, it’s your safe place, your respite from the world, a place to connect with family and friends and simple design elements like pillows, can make the room seem unique and inviting and create a sense of well being and calm.

Express Yourself

Pillows are also a great way to express your personal style throughout your home and bedrooms are no exception. A bed provides a great opportunity to layer in combinations of patterns, textures and sizes that a sofa or chair just don’t have the space for.

The Best Pillows

Pillows can be hardworking as well as visually appealing so keep this in mind when choosing the pillow form that goes inside the cover. Polyester is often used by furniture manufacturers as it’s inexpensive and looks good when it’s first delivered. However, the polyester will quickly flatten out and make the pillow look deflated. No amount of plumping will fix it.

The very best pillow forms are a combination of feather and down. These will last for years and only need to be plumped up to look fresh and new again. Because pillows are meant to be used, keep in mind the purpose when deciding on the feather / down combination. A typical combination is 10% down to 90% feathers. This gives a lot of softness that will be comfortable behind your back or under your head, but retain enough shape to be supportive. A combination of 25% down with 75% feathers will be very soft and luxurious but will require a lot more plumping as the down will settle easily and may not offer the support you need.

Pillows are like the jewels of your design scheme, and work in the same way the right accessory elevates an outfit. It may be a small thing but can make a powerful statement in the way it pulls everything together for a polished and cohesive look.

Myrna Everett is the founder of Home Vogue Interiors where we specialize in custom window fashions and other soft home goods. If you have enjoyed this blog post, please share it with others. If you are ready to start a conversation about your next project click on the “Your Project” button above and tell us what you’re working on and we’ll reach out to you and help you get started.

The Power of Pink

February 16, 2021 by megan Leave a Comment

Pink is not just for little girls. When you use pink in your design plans, the effect can be everything from sugary sweet, glamorous, bold or ethereal, it just depends on your style.

I love the flat lay above from Stout Brother’s, it’s a great example of adding layers of pink into a color scheme. In this case it’s used to create a casual, feminine and somewhat earthy feel that is very soothing.

Everyone is familiar with the intense pink little girls often love. I was once asked to do window treatments for a little girl’s room. This is what it must be like to be inside a piece of bubble gum, but she adored it! And since the client is always right – I adored it too!

If you are going for a more glamorous vibe, you’ll want to tone it down to a subtle blush, (which, by the way, is very flattering to most skin tones). Add lots of white and mirrored or glass surfaces for a very sophisticated version of pink. Click on the photo and you’ll see this over-the-top glam bedroom and get an eye-full of pink that is all grown up.

Another trend we’ve been seeing lately, is pink being used in very dramatic ways like this handmade peony wallpaper from England. I love how they used it here to create a bold look with a vintage feel. It would also be great in a powder room to make a big statement in a small space.

Domus Venus, is one of my favorite Instagramers and she always manages to use pink without making it feel at all “precious” as you can see in the two rooms seen below.

The soft pink curtains and rose colored crown molding create a wonderful contrast to the giant mural that dominates one wall.

In the second photo, she uses a framed wallpaper mural that would normally be considered very feminine but in this case creates a dramatic impact through the sheer size and depth of the image.

Pink is on trend right now and it’s fun to see how using it in different ways can create such different effects. Just remember, no matter what your color scheme, you can create a dreamy, soft look or make a bold statement by changing up the intensity of color and the scale of pattern you choose to use.

Designing for a Baby’s Room

February 7, 2021 by megan Leave a Comment

Every project starts with an end result in mind and the journey there always requires creativity and often a little bit of engineering. This was the case in a project we did recently with with Dana, a wonderful designer from The Dana Touch

Creativity

It’s going to be an interesting project when I get a call from Dana, she always has a vision for the window treatments and just assumes I can figure out a way to make it happen. The baby’s room we worked on recently was no exception! She had the idea to add ombre linen side panels to the one large window in the room. It already had shutters, and she wanted something feminine but not too babyish. Her color scheme was shades of mauve and she envisioned curvy drapery rods to go to the left and right of the shuttered window.

Engineering

Curved drapery hardware is something we do when we need a curtain to follow the curves of a room, or to accommodate corners and bay windows with fully functioning draperies. Typically, we are working with a gentle curve for a bank of bow windows or a 90 degree corner. What Dana was asking for was a curved rod over a very short span. With bent rods the fabricator always requires a full scale template and we create this by using the existing curve we are trying to follow, but in this case, the curve was inside the designer’s head, and it took a few sketches and conversations to get it out of her and onto paper.

Inspiration

The color scheme was set, the fabric, paint and wallpaper were already selected, it was just a matter of figuring out the drapery hardware. The sophisticated palette and materials being used called out for something glamorous not babyish and I had the perfect thing – crystal finials! With that decided, we moved on to the job of creating the perfect curve. In the end, we used a piece of cording to manipulate the shape into a pleasing curve that was not too snake like but not too flat. Once we had that, we figured out exactly where the brackets would go so they were hidden but able to properly support the weight of the finial and the drapery panels. Then it was up to the fabricator to bend our new creation into shape.

Installation Day

The best part of my job is how it all comes together on installation day. All the creativity, inspiration and problem solving finally come together as the installer, who has the hardest job in my opinion, makes it look effortless as he patiently waits for us to decide exactly how high the rod should be, how close to the shutter the panel should fall etc. And then he does his magic as he secures the hardware and dresses in the new curtains to make them hang “just so” ready for the big reveal.

Window treatments are an important part of interior design helping all the elements in a room come together in a cohesive way.

Whether it’s a simple project or a challenging one, creativity, engineering and inspiration are all involved to ensure a successful installation every time.

All that Glitters

January 10, 2021 by megan Leave a Comment

Bring a Little Bling to Window Fashions and Other Soft Designer Goods

I know this style is not for everyone, but if your jam is to always add a little more sparkle and shine to everything you touch, consider all the ways you can make that happen in your home. Practically every type of textile can be found with a bit of sparkle. Bead trims, metallic banding, silk fabrics embellished with crystals all pull off the look effortlessly whether you use it for draperies, pillows, bedding or upholstery.

Drapery hardware is another great way to add extra sparkle. It can be as simple as using a polished chrome or brushed gold finish, or you can mix your favorite metal with acrylic rods for an old Hollywood glam feel. If you want to go really luxe, take it to the next level with crystal studded finials

Another way to make a room feel truly glamorous is wallpaper! There are so many gorgeous papers out there that can add depth to a room with their subtle sheen or metallic touches. Phillip Jeffries is one of my favorites with collections of wallpaper for every style and taste. Here are three of my favorites; Enchanted Woods which is made of cork with metal undertones randomly highlighting the low spots. Quartz with it’s textured feel and subtle sheen in gorgeous shades from ivory to charcoal and The Metaluxe II collection with an unusual metallic ombre design on grass cloth for a very unique look.

No matter your style, there’s a way to add a little extra luxury into your home. Use a little, or use a lot, but I promise you will love the compliments you get and the way it will make your home feel somehow more “you”.

Good For Your Windows, Good For Our Beaches

January 10, 2021 by megan Leave a Comment

A Window Shade Made from Recovered Shoreline Plastic

Although I love custom draperies, sometimes a simple shade is all that’s needed to control heat, UV rays or block the sun. When that’s the case, I always turn to Hunter Douglas. I’ve always been a big fan of their window shades because they are so fashion forward and very innovative with their products.

And now they have done it again, I was thrilled when Hunter Douglas introduced a new sample book in 2020 and discovered they had created “GreenScreen Sea-Tex”. Screen shades are simply roller shades that provide shade, heat control and UV protection all without blocking your view. What makes the GreenScreen Sea-Tex special is that it is made from plastics that have been discarded and wash up on our world’s beaches endangering the lives and habitats of sea creatures.

From the front of my sample book I learned that over 9 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the world’s oceans each year. Hunter Douglas is part of a program that has reclaimed tons of plastic washed ashore and recycled it into something new. I loved the website and video they created to explain not just the problem but also the solution that includes volunteers from communities around the world who help in the recovery.

Solar shades have been popular for many years, especially here in San Diego with our sunny days and extra big windows. And now the solution to protect our homes without compromising our views just go better…and so did our beaches!

Motorized Window Coverings

December 1, 2020 by megan Leave a Comment

Almost every window covering can be motorized, no electrician required!

The beauty of Silhouette shades combines with the room darkening properties of a roller shade all at the touch of a button.

Have you ever wished you could open your bedroom drapes to see a beautiful morning unfold without getting out of bed? Or perhaps you find the drapes covering your large sliding doors really heavy and wish you could just pick up a remote control to open and close them. Or maybe what’s making you crazy is the ten shades in your family room and kitchen that seem to take 20 minutes to open up each morning when you have better things to do.

Why not just automate all of it?

Post Construction Automation

If you are already living in your home and want to automate your window coverings, chances are you do not want to hire an electrician to bring power to each area. It will be messy, disruptive and expensive, not to mention, completely unnecessary.

Fortunately, motorizing window coverings without the need of an electrician is easy. For draperies, all you need is a new motorized drapery rod. The plug-and-play style allows you to select which side the motor is located on. In most cases there will be an outlet nearby and the power cord can be made the appropriate length to reach it. The installer simply plugs it in, hangs the drapes and programs the remote. The motor and the power cord are hidden behind the drapery panel so there is rarely any visible evidence, just a clean look and an easy to use remote control that can be hand held, wall mounted, or both. There is a beautiful range of motorized hardware available that can be designed to suit any style or situation.

Motorized shades are a different story, but still straight forward and electrician free since they are usually light enough to operate with just a battery powered motor. Most blinds cannot be retrofit, so you’ll want to select new shades that come with motors. The variety available is amazing and it’s worth exploring all the options. The good news about battery operated blinds is that many manufacturers now offer rechargeable batteries. This is great for both the environment and your pocket book since the old style battery wands required 8 – 12 AA batteries per shade. Now, you can simply pop a battery wand into the charger, and two hours later your blind is good to go for another year. The slide below shows some of our favorite Hunter Douglas shades, all of which can be motorized and controlled through your smart phone, tablet or a hand held remote.

Pre Construction

If you are in the middle of a construction project, whether it is a remodel or a new build, you should definitely start considering your window covering options sooner than later. The opportunity to “hardwire” your window coverings allows you to automate your shades with the power in your house instead of batteries. You’ll want to work with a window covering specialist during the planning phase to ensure you know what kind of window covering you will need for each area. Then they can guide your contractor on the correct wire to use as well as the correct placement of that wire at each window, as both of these are critical to a successful installation once the walls are buttoned up.

Aside from getting the motorization portion of your project done right, your window covering designer should be able to review floor plans and make suggestions or tweaks to ensure your window coverings have the best opportunity to fit and function properly. The planning stage is a perfect time to consider things like recessed pockets for shades to disappear into when not in use or having drapery hardware installed flush with the ceiling for a very modern look. Adjustments can easily be made during the planning stage, but if you wait until everything is finished you may have to compromise on style or functionality.

This rendering was sent to me by a designer prior to construction and is a good example of how planning for window coverings before construction starts can create opportunities to make adjustments for a better installation. In this case, the designer wanted to have draperies on the sliding glass door but didn’t think about how it would impact the book case and ability to access the cabinet at the bottom. The addition of a recessed area on the left side of the built-in would allow the drapery panel to tuck in beside it rather than in front of it. There are many other options that could be considered as well, but the key is planning ahead to avoid compromising style or function once construction is complete.