There are more than 50 Shades of Grey

I'm looking outside my office window right now and at first glance, I see a very grey and gloomy day. But looking further, I notice how it makes the fall colors just POP! The greens that are still hanging on, the yellows and golds, and the reds and oranges!

Whether the racy book prompted the trend or just that it is time in the cycle, but grey in home decor is everywhere! Whether it's walls or furniture or windows - grey has become the new neutral, (finally!) overtaking the beiges in popularity.

And just like nature, grey can be a backdrop to a bright splash of color in your home.

 

Personal note: this is a treatment I did for a customer about 18 years ago. I recently caught up with her to finish an adjoining room and was thrilled to find this looking great after all this time. Grey is still very much in vogue and looks elegant against a black backdrop with just a punch of red.

 

  Abdendriel/Citrine from Robert Allen

 

Yellow makes a terrific combo with cool greys, warming a color that can be considered cold and unflattering. This is a pairing found in the spring and fall collections of our fabric lines. And you can even update one of those beiged-out rooms by adding grey. The neutral and neutral combination of grey and beige is stylish and sophisticated and a great way to update without starting from scratch!



Look beyond the grey skies and see the color that emerges from that backdrop!

After the Before Before

 

I wish I had the before "before" photos of this contemporary room. Typical suburban two story family room is what I would tell you. But this savvy homeowner brought in some major bling with the floor to ceiling marble fireplace and an incredible chandelier that just dances throughout the room.

But something was still missing! That is where we came in...

 

The first layer we added was privacy - all the glass gave the room a bit of a fishbowl look. We used Hunter Douglas Pirouettes - giving the homeowner complete control over her privacy while also providing excellent light control. Then we played up the height by adding cascades to the centers and panels to the outside of the corner windows. This Fabricut faux silk added a graphic element and a bit more sheen. Depending on how and where you view this fabric, it can pull up grey or gold tones - perfect for the palette of this room!

Anticipation

Carly Simon said it - we in the Midwest have all been feeling it - we are all anxiously awaiting the (dry) arrival of Spring! In my email inbox today, a visual fix from Better Homes & Gardens...

photo courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

I find, however, that I have been cheered by the arrival of the Spring line of fabrics from Robert Allen. Talk about bringing the outside in! Take a look at the pillows below. Many of the colors I find myself drooling over in these new patterns walked right out of the garden and onto the fabrics!

photo courtesy of Robert Allen

 

So cool yet so hot! Viridian is the vivid blue green that pairs so well with chartreuse, giving these pillows a fresh, modern twist.

Use cobalt blue as a rich background and let the viridian just pop!

photo courtesy of Robert Allen

 

Soften that blue green a bit and you have turquoise. I have used these tones both in my own home decorating and in my wardrobe for years. The green cast blue is calming and just makes me feel good! I never seem to tire of the blue greens and always find myself drawn to them. I have found them to complement most skin tones, so many people look fabulous in these shades. The bridesmaids at my wedding (back in 1980!) wore a deep turquoise, and we used rich shades of gold in their flowers to complement - very bold and dramatic then, yet would still be wonderfully fashion forward in 2013!

Here's to bringing the garden indoors!

Vertically Challenged?

Those who know me might say that I am "vertically challenged". That may be so when reaching for a box on the high shelf in the grocery store comes into play, but I love to be challenged when it comes to treating a tall wall of windows!

New construction just loves them. Consequently, buyers love the drama. Those fabulous two story family rooms, living rooms, foyers or even dining rooms can be jaw dropping and show stopping! They sell the house! Then you move in and are faced with the question - do I just treat the first bank of windows? That takes care of the privacy issue and that is where your eyes are normally focused. But, since you bought the house because of that incredible two story room, why don't you address the entire room? Do you have the courage to make such a bold statement?

Walk into this home and this stunning dining room treatment is the first sight you encounter. Basically, this is a very simple, traditional window treatment incorporating simple sheers, side panels and cornice. Cover an entire two story wall and the impact is undeniable! Had this homeowner chosen to be more consevative and scale the treated area to just the first bank of windows, the effect would be less than spectacular. The botanical print for the panels is charming, but the results are much more impressive when you take it up another nine feet!

Price is a factor to be considered. Two story side panels need more width in addition to the height or they'll be out of proportion. That will add some $ to your bottom line. And either a chunky rod or a top treatment (cornices work well - a bold pop of shape and color without breaking the bank) help bring a horizontal line to give your eyes a place to rest. More $. As seen above, the extra long sheers will draw the eye upward with their vertical line, achieve privacy and soften the window. Once again more $. However, if you weigh the extra investment versus the end product, you'll find that over time you'll forget about the dollars. But the drama you'll achieve and the compliments you'll receive make it money well spent!

My biggest challenge with two story treatments is capturing them with the camera. My talents with a camera do not seem to do justice to the impact on the room itself. Whether I shoot from up or down, the result is never as great as seeing it live. In the end, the best thing to do is to do it yourself. Take advantage of that two story room: be bold and GO VERTICAL!

"Elephant" on the Wall!

Beautiful window treatment, right? Absolutely! Sheers soften the not-so-pretty outside view and the rich, full, fabric panels complement the colors of the room. The simple design takes two oddly placed windows and brings them together as one.

The biggest success, however, revolves around the corner of the room.

Before the draperies, came the speakers! Set low, close to the window and not allowing for much leeway on placement of rods at all, these speakers became a bit of an issue in the design of this room. The customer was adamant about not being able to move the speakers - it would involve rewiring, patching, painting, etc. So, any plan to match the windows on the other side of the room literally flew out the window!

Solution?
Number one - a great installer! I can't say enough about how much an installer with a keen eye and careful tape measure impacts the final success of a tricky drapery treatment.
Number two - working around the elephant (speakers) in the room. We eliminated finials and used simple end caps. Also, we further unified the two windows by using one long pole across the entire expanse. The result is simple, clean and elegant. The speakers stay unobtrusive keeping the great sound in a beautiful space!

When placing items like speakers in a room, give some thought to the overall design of the room, whether completing the plan happens all at once or down the road a few months or years. Likewise, artwork placed too close to a window destined for draperies can also be a challenge. Generally easier to move, but consulting with the window treatment designer before you hang that portrait of Aunt Martha may make the completion of your room design go more smoothly!

By the way, never a good idea to refer to Aunt Martha or even her portrait as an "elephant"! :)

She's Got Legs...

To quote ZZ Top "she knows how to use them". What does this mean when you're talking about window treatments? Most windows end somewhat short of the floor, generally 24" or more. You can treat the window itself with some kind of hard treatment, like a Duette or a Silhouette, and that's great, but stand back and take a look. Why does it feel like something is missing? Because it is like a body cut off at the knees, or worse yet, at the hips! It needs legs!

This was a very formal space with very deep windows. The customer wanted a simple roller shade for privacy. But the room would never have been complete without the addition of the faux silk drapery panels (and the marvelous pagoda style cornices to complete the oriental theme). Not only did the drapery panels add softness to a room with many hard surfaces - think about a typical dining room - lots of wood in there! - but it gave that much needed vertical line to offset the chair rail that cuts the room into two pieces.

As simple as this sheer treatment is, the "legs" that reach to the floor, give weight and more importance to a rather nondescript window in this dining room. Yet, because of the choice of the sheer rather than a heavier, lined drapery, the window still feels light and airy. Simple or ornate, framing your window with drapery panels completes not only the window, but the entire room.

Morale of the story... stretch your "legs" and your windows will be in much better shape!

Color Your World - 2013 Style

Color trends are a fascinating study into the psyche of America and the world. As I have spoken of previously, the Color Marketing Group determines what will be hot and what will not based on world politics, social trends, ecology and even entertainment.

What we are beginning to see and what will be emerging in the next year are pastels. Soft, not in your face, can be used as a neutral, pastels. Benjamin Moore has announced its color of the year for 2013 is Lemon Sorbet - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/color-of-the-year-2013.

Take a look at some of the new fall fabrics. Yellow, which you could not find for many years unless you were looking at children's fabrics, is back! We're seeing this soft as butter yellow paired in fabrics with grey - which is not the stuff of baby nurseries! Instead, this touch of sunlight warms the cool, sophisticated grey tones that are replacing all the browns we've been seeing these past few years. A sense of optimism and simplicity permeates these new tones. You feel warmth and comfort just stepping into the room below! And after the turmoil we've been through as a nation with the economy in recession - it's nice to see that things are now looking up!     

              

Room by Benjamin Moore