Can I afford to work with a decorator?

This is such a great question!     As your affluence increases, and your time decreases, you are bound to wonder if you could get help putting your home’s interiors together.  And unless you grew up with an interior decorator on retainer to your family,  it’s difficult to know what to expect from one.   If you agree with the following statements, then you can probably afford to work with an interior decorator:

• I’m ready to purchase better quality furnishings for my home.
• I’m already shopping at up-market stores, like Art Shoppe, Elte, Union Lighting or Ethan Allen.
• I’ve recently done a mid- to high-end renovation of a kitchen or bathroom.
• I’m already paying for landscaping and/or house cleaning services.
• I drive a late-model luxury vehicle.
• I wear the latest fashions and shoes and (gasp!) I don’t always buy them on sale.

Some of my clients would argue that they don’t fit any of the above criteria, and yet they found a way to have an interior decorator involved in their projects.  But we have to start somewhere, and these are all indicators that you’ve moved from ‘need’ to ‘want’ with your disposable income.   You have nothing to lose by making some calls and speaking to decorators about your project, to get some ballpark estimates.

Whether or not you choose to work with an interior decorator is a matter of priorities.   In my 15 years of design practice, I have discovered that the difference between those who hire a decorator, and those who don’t, isn’t their income or the value of their homes.  I have had clients with very modest homes and incomes, who have made my services a priority, and others who have far larger homes and incomes, who have found my services ‘too expensive’ for their priorities.    So, when someone says they can’t ‘afford’ to work with a decorator, often they really mean that they choose not to make it a priority.   What works for you?

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Creating a well-designed window treatment

When you’re flipping through the pages of your favorite design magazine or even looking at model homes, what catches your eye first?  Would it surprise you to know that most homeowners find their eyes drawn to creatively designed window treatments? 

Beautiful custom drapery panels add drama to this living room, and bring attention to the ornate mirror.

Why?  Well, it’s likely due in part to the fact that windows form a focal point in any room, and we are drawn to natural light like moths to a flame.  It may also be that many homeowners live with the barest minimum of window coverings, and they are wowed by more creative treatments.  So, how does one achieve a well-designed window treatment in one’s own home? 

One of your first decisions is recognizing the functional requirements of your window coverings.    Some homeowners are adamant about not obstructing a wonderful vista like a golf course, while others have an unsightly view of the neighbour’s brick wall, that they want to mask.  Light control is another function of a window covering.  How much light do you receive, and at what time of day?  Do you need to block it completely, for sleeping or TV viewing, or just filter it softly?   Privacy is the third consideration when selecting a window treatment.  Does the window face a street or other busy public space, where people might be able to look into your room?  Keep in mind that, at night, when it’s dark outside and light inside, it may be possible to see inside your home through uncovered windows.    Privacy treatments also act as extra security, by keeping strangers from looking into your home when you are away.  If you travel regularly, or for long periods, this may be important to you. 

Once you have determined functional needs, it’s time to focus on decorative aspects of your window treatments. Think about whether you want to draw more attention to the windows, or minimize their appearance.  For instance, if there is another focal point in the room, like a fireplace, you might opt for an understated fabric treatment on the windows.  If the window are the focal point, but the view isn’t wonderful, then you may want to make more of a statement with your fabric treatments.   And if there is a wonderful view, then any fabric treatments should enhance the view without overpowering it.

These colourful panels were designed so that the stripes would run horizontally, for a more contemporary vibe.

The style of the window coverings will depend on the style of the room.  Are you casual, contemporary, traditional, formal, minimalist?  Problem solving is another element that affects the ultimate design of the window treatments.  Do you want to make the window look wider or taller?  Is the window off-centre?  Does a 2-storey window need to feel more intimate?  Are you trying to create a ‘window’ where none exists?  All of these problems may be addressed with cleverly designed window treatments.

Because there are so many fabulous window treatment design options available today, it’s wise to start doing your homework early.  Visit model homes, read magazines, and attend decorating seminars.  Start developing your own Window Design Idea File!  If you find all the options overwhelming, consider working with a design professional to help guide you through the process, to make sure that you end up with window treatments that you will be happy with for a long time.

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Energy-efficient Window Coverings

Sit by a bare window on a sunny day, and you’ll feel the sun’s warmth.  Sit by that same window on a cold, windy night, and you’ll feel chilled to the bone!  With today’s economic concerns, smart homeowners are continually searching for ways to cut expenses and save on their monthly energy bills.  Not only that, but did you know that window coverings that are directly attached to the window frame may qualify for the Home Renovation Tax Credit? 

Duette cellular shades in this guest room provide insulation, as well as room-darkening and privacy. When raised, they can fit completely behind the drapery valances.

Naturally, the best place to start is to be sure our homes are well insulated.  But all too often, while overall home insulation is a priority, windows seems to be neglected.  No matter what your climate, bare windows are a primary spot for energy escape.  In cold climates, heat naturally moves toward the cold to escape.  And in warmer areas, outdoor heat moves toward the windows of our air conditioned homes.

Since windows make up 20% of a typical homes exterior, and 40% of contemporary home construction, numerous large uncovered windows can break your energy budget.  This is especially true when these windows face a cold northern exposure in the winter or a sun-saturated west wall in summer.

It’s important to know that many window treatment products have actually been assigned an R-Value.  Building materials are assigned R-Values according to each product’s ability to resist heat movement.  The higher the R-Value, the better it insulates your home.  Most windows have an R-value of 0.9 to 3.0, and can be responsible for 40 – 70% of heat or cold transfer for an entire home. 

Using multiple layers at your windows, including blinds (or ‘hard’ treatments) and draperies (or ‘soft’ treatments), can actually increase an R-value by 1 to nearly 5 points!  So let’s look at a few of the more efficient hard window treatment options to help you create cozy room, and cut energy costs at the same time.

Cellular shades are pleated on both sides, to create air pockets between the window and the room, and are one of the most energy-efficient blinds.  Hunter Douglas calls their cellular shades Duette® Honeycomb Shades.  These soft, elegant looking shades actually increase energy values at the window by 25 to 175%, depending upon single, double, or triple thickness in the air-trapping construction.  Available in nearly 300 colors, and a variety of styles, the R-value for Duette’s® can reach as high as 4.8 for the triple honeycomb shade.  They’re durable, easy to clean, mildew resistant, and require little to no maintenance.   

This sunroom addition features Duette honeycomb shades in the overhead windows, and vertical blinds at the sliding doors.

Vertical Blinds are composed of 3” wide strips of fabric or PVC suspended from a metal track hung at the top of the window.  Available in hundreds of colors, textures and embossed patterns, vertical blinds can increase window insulation by 37 to 123% AND block 95-99% of ultraviolet light.  R-Values reach as high as 3.92 for vertical blinds when closed over double glazed glass.

Vignette Shades are roman-style fabric blinds from Hunter Douglas.  These beautiful shades feature the gentle look of a fine drapery, but are made of generously contoured folds of rich fabrics.  They provide a 49% increase in window insulation value and can block 99% of UV light.  They boast an R-value of 2.63 when closed over double-glazed glass, and are available in over a hundred fabric/color options.

Because there are numerous shade options available on the market today, here are three questions you should answer before making your specific product selection:  Do you need special insulation protection, for heat or cold?  How much protection do you need from the sun’s UV rays?  What style of treatment will work best with the rest of your room’s design direction? 

Most importantly, talk to a window coverings expert or interior decorator!  They not only have a vast store of knowledge on which product would work best for your individual situation, but they’ll be able to add that all important decorative element to your overall window treatment design. 

To view all Hunter Douglas products with test results available, see www.hunterdouglas.com for a complete listing.

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Creating a Bedroom Haven

 

Luxury bedding, custom draperies, ample bench and pretty lighting create a haven in this transitional bedroom.

While most of us live too far from a meditative spot in the woods, all of us, at some point in our daily routine, yearn for a place of tranquil reflections.  Your bedroom is, or should be, that haven!  If your bedroom doesn’t offer you a respite from the hustle and bustle of the day, then now’s the time to transform it.  The time and money you invest now will pay off in big dividends in your future.  Especially, as it might mean you’ll be able to be a little happier and saner!

Begin by visualizing the types of activities you’ll want to conduct in your “get-away haven” – letter writing; reading; pursuing a hobby; morning meditation – all types of activities that require peace and quiet to complete.  Then ask yourself….can your bedroom, with the given amount of space you have, accommodate all these needs?  The answer is often yes, although you may need to take advantage of some clever pre-planning.

In arranging your bedroom, first things first!  In most cases that would be the placement of the bed.  Because this is usually the largest piece of furniture, chances are that available wall space will somewhat limit your placement options.  If at all possible, try not to place the bed so you’ll be facing a window, where morning light will wake you up.  However, if your bed must face the window, all is not lost.  Room darkening window treatments can screen out most of the light.   Once the bed has been positioned, you can determine how much space you have left for other activities.  Perhaps a sitting area for reading, or an open space for yoga or meditation.   

A chenille chaise and unobtrusive reading lamp create a cozy spot for reading next to the fire in this master suite.

In your search for solitude, you might consider your favourite boutique hotel.  They have popularized a very clean, simple look, where the luxury is in the quality of the furnishings and top-quality sumptuous bedding.  The foundation of any good night’s sleep is a quality mattress, topped by luxurious natural materials in the coverings.   Lighting that changes with your mood is a must, including overhead lights on a dimmer, plus bedside reading lamps. 

Pamper yourself with a décor that provides comfort and a sense of luxury.  There is nothing quite like the look of beautifully designed custom bedding.  It’s guaranteed to fit, regardless of the size of your mattress or the configuration of your bed frame.  And by adding a coordinating window treatment, you’ll end up with a totally inviting and peaceful room.

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Where to start your decorating project

YOU WANT TO REDECORATE….BUT WHERE DO YOU START?

Thousands of harried homeowners face this dilemma each and every day!  Here are a few suggestions to help you make your redecorating task a fun project.

Most often the “public” rooms in your home are the logical places to start.  Living rooms, family room, entryways, kitchens and dining rooms are typically the rooms that visitors to your home will most enjoy.  Once you have prioritized your remodeling by room, the next step is to begin prioritizing the design scheme and products you will be replacing.

The easiest place to start is by selecting a favorite piece – or pieces.  Build your redecorating project around the pieces you want to keep in the room, or a piece that you especially want to add to the room.  Perhaps a special painting, sculpture, heirloom quilt or even a floral arrangement will aid you in determining your new color scheme.  If you’ve decided to start from scratch, select a dynamic fabric, area rug or wallcovering pattern and use it as your roadmap to harmonize your colour schemes.

Here are 6 additional tips to help you get the most out of your next decorating project:

1/ Dress the Walls — Paint  is  still one of the quickest, least expensive ways to give a room a lift.  Wrong colours cost the same as the right colours, so get professional advice before putting roller to wall.  And if you’re staying put for a while, leave the neutrals to the real estate agents, and do something interesting with your walls. Create a feature wall in a dramatic colour, or a fabulous wallpaper.   While you’re at it, put up some crown molding and bigger baseboards – every room looks better with nice moldings.

Custom drapery panel with luscious fringe and rich tieback completes the room

2/ Add Custom Window Treatments

– No room is complete until the windows are properly dressed.   A well-made-up woman wouldn’t leave the house without mascara; beautiful draperies are the mascara for your windows! 

3/ Upgrade your Upholstered Pieces – If your old sofa is a quality piece, have it stripped down to the frame and reupholstered.  It will look like a new piece, and you won’t be adding to landfill.  If your old sofa isn’t worth reupholstering, then invest in better quality seating, that you can reupholster in 20 years.  You don’t really appreciate how much more comfortable a sofa can be until you’ve lived with a better quality piece.  Custom sofas are worth investing in because they use better materials in the frames, in the foam (most are now ‘green’), and in the fabrics.  This is the hardest-working piece of furniture in a living room or family room, so it deserves to be the best quality you can afford.

4/  Update your floors – Whether you love hardwood, or broadloom, this is a surface that takes a lot of wear and tear, so it looks tired sooner than the rest of the house.  If you redecorate, but you don’t change the flooring, you may find that the new stuff makes the old carpet or floors look even worse.    In broadloom, go for textures; in hardwood, choose a classic stain that won’t look dated in a few years’ time (remember bleached floors of a few years back??)  If you need area rugs, choose natural materials, and buy the best quality you can afford. 

5/  Assess your Accessories – Change the lampshades on your existing lamps and give old lamp bases new life.  Take the lamp with you when choosing new shades, in order to get the right size shade.  Don’t forget to change the harp so the shade sits correctly on the lamp.  Re-frame your art collection.  Like lampshades, frames can really date a piece of perfectly nice art.  While you’re at it, rearrange your art whenever your paint.  You will often find that a change of wall colour will change the way your art looks.  Make sure that mantles and tabletops are cluttered with old junk that you no longer love.  Add a few new  toss pillows in the latest colours.  This is the place to explore new trends, with inexpensive, easily-changed accents. 

An electric fireplace with curved mahogany mantle cozies up the sitting area of a Master Bedroom.

6/  Add a Fireplace – Today’s electric models allow you to put a fireplace anywhere that you have an electrical outlet.  A fireplace creates instant ambience, and adds interest that may otherwise be lacking in a room.  It also creates a focal point around which you can arrange the entire room.

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Theme Decorating

Got a favorite hobby?  Crazy in love with your pets?  Passionate about seashells, golf, cigars, music, movies, or even shoes?  Well, with today’s virtually limitless home furnishings product assortments, you can turn any room in your home into a wonderful thematic design!    

Where to begin?  Once you’ve made the decision on the “theme” of your new room, the next step is to lock in the colour scheme that best suits the rest of your home’s décor.   Of course, some themes will lead to colours that don’t mesh with the rest of your home.  These are best left to basement rooms, or bedrooms, where they are separated from the main area of the house.  Then, take stock of the pieces in your room that you wish to keep, and make a list of the items that you will need to purchase.

Since there are so many themes available for you to incorporate into your new project, let’s take a look at a few of today’s hot design themes!

 Seaside Beach House.  If the sound of crashing waves, walking on sandy beaches, and collecting seashells is your passion – then you’re in luck!  From wall covering patterns, to area rugs, to wicker and rattan furniture – your product selection is unparalleled.  Why not consider a lively multicolored beach-inspired print that could be used on your upholstered pieces.   Adding roman shades at your windows, in a terrific texture – say wicker or rattan —  would definitely complete the look.  Accessory pieces might include baskets of shells; lamps with rope entwined bases, candles complete with sea shells embedded; books on seaside living; even artwork featuring the surf and sand.  If you don’t have a cottage where you can feature this theme, why not try it in a guest room?   Then you can be a ‘guest’ in your own home.

Pet Palace.   Our love affair with our pets has never been at such a high!  Luxury pet hotels have waiting lists and doggie day cares are springing up everywhere!  Why not take one room in your home, and devote its design to your favorite pet!  From Poodles, to Westies, to Labs, accessories are everywhere.  And let’s not forget our feline friends – you’ll find lamps, rugs, artwork and an abundance of accessories that feature your favorite feline.  Perhaps a powder room or laundry room would be the perfect setting for this fun thematic room.  Just think of the possibilities – Soap dishes; tissue holders; switch plates; towels; soaps; even area rugs would create just the look you’ve been dreaming of!

Sports Shrine.  What you’re favorite sport?  For years, it was difficult for decorators to have an innovative and varied product selection for those homeowners who wished to incorporate their favorite sport – or team — into their home decorating plans.  That’s certainly no longer the case.  It’s not only fun to incorporate a great sporting theme into your decorating plans, but it’s easy and oh so very creative.  Just think of all the window treatment possibilities.   Perhaps you’re a passionate hockey fan. A professional interior decorator might help you design a window treatment that would be installed on criss-crossing hockey sticks.  Pucks could be used for finials – and your teams’ favorite jersey could be proudly mounted on a wall to complete the look.  Or if baseball’s where it’s at for you, how about a window treatment designed around a creative use of baseball bats.  Perhaps colorful pendants of your favorite teams could be incorporated as a clever top treatment.  Pictures of your favorite players – or better yet – your prized collection of baseball cards, could take center stage when artfully displayed in wall décor.

Gardening Year-round.   This design theme is a perennial design favorite!  By adding special touches of Mother Nature’s beauty to your home décor project, the peaceful tranquility of your backyard could be yours year round.  Floral fabrics are as whimsical or as realistic as you would like.  From there, you can pull out all the hues that are found in your garden.  Wicker or rattan furniture lends a true outdoor feeling.  With the addition of some watering cans, and other garden implements as ‘sculpture’, and your favourite gardening books and catalogues on the coffee table, you can enjoy the garden year-round.   This could be particularly fun in a sunroom. 

Hooray for Hollywood.   Are you a movie buff?  Why not design a home theatre that really captures the romance of an old-style theatre.  You could mount velvet drapery panels on either side of the movie screen.  Old movie posters, framed in traditional gold, will recall favourite films of old.  Comfy reclining seating, set in rows that step back from the screen, will blend the best of theatre style with modern comfort.

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Outdoor Living

The line between indoors and outdoors continues to blur as many of us want to take our indoor comforts outdoors.  It seems that we want to make the most of our too-brief fair-weather months.   This concept is becoming more realistic as many more manufacturers of home products develop appliances, furniture, lighting and accessories that can be used indoors or out.

People are driven to find peaceful sanctuaries as a prescription for our stressful lives. Outdoor patios and porches are becoming more sophisticated and refined, and are becoming a living extension of the indoor spaces. Three-season indoor spaces are also making a come back.

Creating or renovating an outdoor space has many elements. Landscape design, stonework and carpentry are all critical components of designing your outdoor haven. Outdoor furnishings, lighting and accessories are also an essential element in your overall plan. As you begin the process of  space planning and design,  be sure to include the entire family. You may be surprised at the wish list that you come up with.

Your outdoor space should accommodate all your needs throughout the year. Do you entertain outdoors? Make sure that there will be enough seating for your larger parties. Do you plan to have your family meals outdoors often? If so, make sure that your dining area comfortably accommodates your family and then some.  Do you spend time outdoors in the evenings and at night? Make sure that you have adequate lighting and bug control included in your plan.  Is the outdoor grill used seasonally or all year round? Where you place the grill and whether it has a protective roof will make a difference.  If you are outdoors in spring and fall, a source of heat may be important to you.  What about a built-in fireplace, or portable heater?    

Outdoor furniture has greatly evolved from the folding, vinyl strap versions of the past, to beautiful pieces made of teak, steel, rattan, and wicker.  Many pieces look just like indoor furniture but are constructed and designed to stand up to the outdoor elements. 

Fabrics are being manufactured to resist fading from ultraviolet rays, to resist mildewing from damp conditions and to resist odor absorption. These types of fabrics are a must for any upholstery or drapery that will be used outdoors or in a screened-in location.   Outdoor fabrics have become so attractive that they have moved indoors.  They offer practical solutions for situations that call for durability and cleanability, or for very sunny rooms where regular fabrics might fade. 

Lighting is also a very important aspect in creating an inviting outdoor space.  Be sure you incorporate various types of lighting in your outdoor space, just as you would in your indoor spaces.  Landscape lighting, overhead lighting, ceiling fans or decorative side lighting are good ideas.  Torches or tiki lighting can also be a charming and functional element to your lighting plan. Developing a creative lighting plan can help you create a space with increased ambiance and functionality.

Remember to create a space that is perfect for you and your needs. This is a space where memories will be made so consider it an important investment.  I like to call an investment like this an emotional anchor: a space where your family gathers, shares and remembers forever.

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