A Peak in the Office

Remember I said in my last post that two of the blue/green silk panels were in my office? Well there they are. Jeff is installing photos of my work. Wow, my office is a mess! I did straighten it though. The bookcase I bought is too small. I'm going to move it to the basement. I'm in search of the perfect piece for my office now... always something!

Come On Upstairs...

You may recognize these drapes from my old house. I really like the way they compliment the mirrors above the bed. Those mirrors use to be in my old dining room. Its always fun to see where things land when you move. See the chests and lamps? They use to be in my living room. So pieces from three rooms ended up here in one of our guest rooms!

This is the second guest room. Love the blue! The drapes conveyed with the house. The previously homeowner made them. They were in the sitting room on the main level. There were actually six panels in this silk. Two are in my office; two are in this guest room; and two are in my assistant's home :)

This is the master bedroom sitting and dressing table area... large silk panels for extra yum!

And my daughter's room complete with wide black and white stripes, a fuchsia ceiling and drapes to tie it all together. The black and white portion of the drape was in my daughter's old room. Her windows then were in an alcove. We still loved the peace signs so all I did was add fuchsia silk to the bottom to lengthen and add a few more baubles. I love the way they turned out!

We still have to put the fuchsia paint splatter decals on the walls. All is good time... all in good time.

More Drapes at Home...

What about other rooms in the house?? Drapes went up in the living and dining rooms, and the room formerly known as the music room. I now call it the sitting room since there is no longer a baby grand piano in it. Above is the living room where Joe meticulously finishes the drapes.

Simply linen drape panels everywhere on this side of the house. Above in the sitting room...

and in the dining room. Here's a detail...

Instead of just leaving the drape panel inside the bay window, I brought it out. I did this to soften the corner and fill the negative space a bit more. I don't like something on every wall so the eye may rest in between interesting things. The walls that flank the bay are a bit too large to leave completely alone so bringing out the drape is just the ticket to soften and frame the window.

Next, I'll show you upstairs....

Up Goes the Family Room Drapes

As you may know in my neck of the woods two story prevails! My home is no different. We have a lovely large bay in the family room. I had drapes from my previous home that would work wonderfully in this room but I had to think of how to connect them with new drapes to soften the two story windows. See the detail border on the lead edge and bottom of each panel?
I had the same detail on the original drapes. However I did not want to have dark two story drapes so I chose silk very similar to the wall color. The detail border though is in the same silk as the border on the original and...
where the original and new drapes meet, the bottom border continues the line.
And that's how the old and new connect! That and the fact that they are both in neutral silks. Rolling, rolling, rolling...

"It Ain't Nothin' but a Thing"

I have a wonderful team. My installers, Jeff and Joe, like to keep things simple. Here is a project I'm working on that had a dilemma. You see in my neck of the woods, we have many, MANY two story whatever... family rooms, foyers... you name it, we have it in a two story version.

Two story installation of drapes is not for the faint of heart. Trust me ~ it can be a bit scary. I am not afraid of heights. Heck I have parachuted before. But sometimes when way up high on a ladder, one may need to stretch to reach what's needed.. or sneeze... or have the ladder start to slip a little. At least when I jumped out of the plane, I knew the parachute would open and I wouldn't crash to the ground. That is not the case here. So up they go. I still say a prayer every time.

Then the magic happens and I appreciate their efforts so much. But what if a designer is faced with two story almost everywhere in a room. Here's the situation... the window to the left of the fireplace is partially over a landing of the stairs. One of my installers, Joe, has a saying..."It ain't nothin' but a thing." And he's right. If the room demands silk from head to toe ~ you give it to it freely, without reservation or complications.

Even if the ladder needs to be placed in an unconventional manner, you smile at the sight of it and marvel at the effect.

Once the room is completely furnished in all its splendor, the quirk will disappear and all that will be left is enjoyment. See... it ain't nothin' but a thing :-)

It's All in the Details

I came across this photo of one of Barry Dixon's rooms. I just love the panels flanking the shelves. It dresses them up and provides a calming affect. It's all in the details...