New homeowners are always excited about the possibilities and a favorite part of my job is to present them with great options. I try to keep up with the latest materials and find ways to incorporate them to fit my client’s needs.

My new customer already had most of her furnishings planned, but what she needed from me was window coverings. Because these always need to be custom-made, more guidance is needed for this than the rest of the design plan.  However, right from the start this new homeowner knew exactly what she wanted.

Bamboo shades on the smaller windows with white linen draperies for her bedroom and living room.

The Window Covering Vision

Her vision was light bamboo style shades in a light color to go with the floors. The white linen drapes were to hang from simple black iron hardware.  Some homeowners can be this specific, others not so much, but either way, this is where my expertise comes in.  The bamboo shades were easy, we looked through samples until we found the perfect color and texture.  For the draperies, white linen was fine in theory, but the idea of all those wrinkles made us both cringe!  So, I recommended one of my favorite go-to-fabrics when people ask for linen. It looks like linen, but is 100% polyester, can withstand strong sunlight and has virtually no wrinkles.

When it came to the simple black iron drapery hardware, I knew just the right style.  French return!  This style of hardware incorporates a beautiful curve at the end that serves as the bracket and eliminates the need for a finial. It’s clean and simple, yet elegant and sophisticated.  From a practical standpoint, she needed this as the space to stack her draperies off the door was limited. This style allows the drapes to stack a little tighter because some of the pleats can slide around the corner.  The pleat style we choose is an updated version of a French pleat, sometimes called a pinch pleat.  It involves only two fingers in the pleat instead of the traditional three.  This allows for less fabric and a smaller stack back.  It’s also more contemporary, which fit our vision perfectly

Not everyone has such a specific vision for their home and that’s OK. It’s fun to work with someone who knows exactly what they want because I know how to turn the vision into reality.  But it’s also fun to tease the vision out of someone who is unsure. People always know what they like or don’t like, but sometimes need to be presented with ideas they can reject or embrace to understand their style is and how they want their home to feel.

Which ever design personality you happen to be, the journey is collaborative and enjoyable.  I’m accepting new projects and I’d love to hear about yours!