Friday, October 30, 2009

Our Holiday Open House: November 7, 2009

If you live in the area, we hope you can make it next Saturday to our Holiday Open House. We'll have spiced cider and cookies and by late afternoon we'll serve wine and cheese! Our hours will be 11:00 until 5:30. If you noticed the pretty silver boxes in the picture above, you'll want to make sure you open the lid and smell inside. There is a Trapp Candle inside, and they are featuring three special scents for the Holidays. We will be holding a Trapp Candle sweepstakes, too. You'll have to stop by the special table upstairs to register.


Many shops are able to "unveil" their Christmas decor at the last minute. We had to "make hay while the sun was shining", and do much of our work several days ago. We won't light everything up until the final day, though!


Well, that fall decor table is now holding all our serving pieces, including the wonderful Beatriz Ball platters. On the right side of the table are some great little bamboo cutting boards that'll work great for your next wine and cheese party!

There's still many special items around the shop that we'll keep as a surprise. Hope you can make it in to find them all.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

From just OK to just perfect: Banding and Drapery Panels

Here's a one width panel, beautifully done with cartridge pleats, lined in a napped sateen and ready for installation. Nothing wrong with this linen-looking fabric---has great color and texture. However, the room that will eventually house these drapes needs just a little more punch, and this window treatment will do that.



To the rescue: a decorative flat trim, a good measuring tool, needle and thread (and a few hours of sewing time!).


Since these are currently hanging in our workroom, not the customer's home, you can't see the full effect. But, keep looking for the "after" shots. These are due to be installed this week, and we are anxious to show you the finished product. You can already see the "punch" the trim gives these drapes.



Here's a close-up of another type of banding. This one has been made from a coordinating fabric and applied to the leading edge and wrapped around to the back making the hemmed edge.


Here's a different view of the drapery panel. You can get a better idea of how banding really adds a tailored detail to a more decorative fabric. In this case, the tiny check helps break up the busy look of the floral fabric. You don't have to use a solid to use banding. It has also given us an opportunity to include the coordinating fabric in the pillows, as you can see in the chair.



One more example of banded panels. This one has the coordinating fabric used as banding on the leading edge and the outside edge. That is the same fabric on the euro shams. The banding was cut to take advantage of both the dark and light stripes in the fabric.


Whether the banding is cut from another fabric or purchased as a pre-made trim, it really can turn your drapes into just the perfect frame for your windows.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Art Glass for the Fall Season

Most of us imagine fall decor needs to include pottery and the usual browns, greens and golds. Just like the table we set up to showcase our own pottery, ceramic vases and tiles. Of course, it is a good look, nothing wrong with it! At least we thought so.




Too bad this beautiful bowl hadn't arrived sooner---it would have been a great addition to that table. We could have used a different throw, a little rearranging here and there, and probably had a little "fresher" look to our fall table. A beautiful glass bowl is really a great anytime, don't you think?


And this gold glass vase with the etched ginkgo leaves would have been another good addition to the fall table. It was just a little late on arrival, too.



And while we are looking at art glass, you might remember our Kitras Glass. We know have a full collection of the "monthly" glass orbs. These are wonderful birthday gifts, as each one is representative of each month's birthstone. Hanging in a bright window, these are a cheerful reminder that someone was remembered on their special day. Customers may want to start their own collection for each family member and hang from the Christmas tree each year, too, but we'll be talking more about the Holiday Season in upcoming blog posts!


Look around your home this Fall and see if you need to add some of these beautiful pieces to your decor. Don't forget that entry table or coffee table. And if these few pictures don't entice you, maybe if I told you we received over 40 boxes of various glass last week you'll at least be curious. We'll be placing many of these downstairs as soon as we find the perfect spot!

Bet you've got just the place for art glass!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Thank You, 417 Magazine!


We would like to thank Savannah Waszczuk, with 417 Magazine, for the great article about Madison Lane Interiors! If you live in Missouri, you are probably familiar with the magazine. It features a lot of Springfield information, and that's most likely because Springfield would be the largest city with the 417 area code.

We felt honored to be part of 417 Magazine, and as we all know: there's nothing better than free advertisement! You'll find the article in the on-line digital version for the month of October, pages 76-77, which shows a few more pictures. By next month, the digital version may not be available, but you can still view it through the archives. And if all else fails, we already have our mugshot in the left-hand column of this blog, which should allow you to click through to the article, too.

Thanks again Savannah and 417, you really topped off our year!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Curtains on arched windows?

So many homes built in the last ten years are featuring arched windows. Some just have one or two on the front of the home, and others have them in every room. They are also sometimes called palladian windows, but that isn't always the correct term for the style we see everyday. That's a discussion that is best left to the architects. Most homeowners want to keep the arch visible, but still have a problem with sunlight. Here are a few solutions we have come up with in the last couple of years that might help you if you are on a mission to dress you arched windows.


This dining room as a triple window with an arch on top. Sun was not a factor for this customer. The windows just needed dressed. Even though the panels are a single width, we got the look we needed by adding the necklace swag with bullion fringe. The contrast color and added weight of the trim was just enough for this lovely window. Any more width would have covered too much window and the swags would not be to scale. It is a good idea to use a more decorative pole when so much of it is exposed.



Another dining room with a triple window, but with only a small arch above. The poor photography does not show the beautiful finials and tassel holdbacks that are part of the treatment. The color of the drapery hardware is very close to the color of the light fixture. Since the pole is closer to the light, we chose to match it. The table and chairs are a darker finish, as well. These panels were custom made to fit the wall space above the outside windows. They style is an inverted pleat which is very flat across the header to give a tailored look to the extra long panels. The fullness comes more from the back of the panels and falls into very pretty, deep folds.



Medallions are sometimes used for drapes on arched windows. This room already has a straight, horizontal line from the trim on the wainscotting. We didn't need to repeat that with a pole. We were also able to use the same medallions on a valance in the adjoining living room, which serves to tie in the two different treatments. Click here to see the earlier post about these two rooms.


A bathroom arch doesn't have the same problems as a living room arch---sunlight isn't such a problem. We used this asymmetrical treatment mounted below the arch to help offset this off centered window.


This window isn't actually arched on top. We just wanted it to look that way. However, if sunlight is a huge problem, this would be a good alternative. Then the blinds or shades could be mounted below the valance and used when needed.



It can be helpful to see a rendering of the proposed treatment and how it will work. This was done for the window in this office to not only explain to the client how far outside the window the drapes would extend, but to also help us determine the rod length. The sunlight was a problem in the morning, but by afternoon, the clients wanted to be able to raise the shades. Our solution was to use a window film (tinting) on the arch and a cordless Duette mounted inside the trim to cover the double window. The panels are stationary and really added the height and color we needed in the room. The shade is easily operated by pushing the bottom rail upward---no searching for the cords on the sides. The view into the tree tops is still there, but no sun is glaring through the arch. The panels and shade also provide a great deal of insulation during the winter, as well as summer.



A straight-on view was just not possible in the smaller room, so this is from the side. The right panel is somewhat distorted in size due to the angle, but you can see the finished product. The Duettes stack to a very small size when raised, which we see as a plus. The 2" wood blinds were considered, but because of the wood floors and large fireplace, it was decided that the room really needed more soft window treatments. The "echo" that was once a problem was eliminated and the office became a cozy retreat!

If you have an arched window or something out of the ordinary, you probably need to see us for a "fix". Call us to set up an appointment. You really can put curtains on arched windows.

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