Special Spaces - Tucker

Special Spaces of the Triangle is a non profit organization that does bedroom make overs for children with life threatening illnesses. I was so excited when the director asked me to be the design coordinator for the chapter because I had so much fun helping with the previous two rooms. This is what the room looked like when we first got there Saturday morning………

Tucker is a 3 year old boy who loves the outdoors and camping. He has a lung disorder called PCD and has to do a lot of treatments and hospital visits. As the lead designer, I wanted to create a wilderness lodge where he could relax and get away from all of that !

We had a great group of artists from Carolina Creative Artisans volunteer to paint a faux wood wall and the two doors. They also painted the fish and “Gone Fishing” sign.  I made a tent flap valance for the window and ordered the bedding from Serena and Lily.

We painted the wood signs and installed this amazing mural from Magic Murals. I’m going to have to show you the whole thing.

I wanted Tucker and his brother to feel like they were looking right out into the wilderness when they were in their beds.

My Dad built the porch roof/canopy from cedar planks.

Spoonflower donated the “Mod Grain” fabric and Janet made the poufs and pillows. The artist there was so nice to change the color way to orange because that is Tucker’s favorite color.

We ordered the log furniture and dozens of volunteers worked on sanding and applying poly, it turned out beautifully.

My Dad helped so much pulling this room together….Thanks Dad !

And thanks to ALL the volunteers who worked so hard on Tucker’s room.

I think he loves it………………

 

We even got some coverage on the local news, Yay !

http://www.wncn.com/story/22834282/3-yr-old-battling-illness-gets-dream-room-makeover

Custom window treatments can be the single most important element in pulling together your decorating scheme. 
Contact me to provide you with up to date window treatments that you are excited about.

Art Project

Have you ever looked at something and thought, “Why did I ever like that ?” That’s what I’ve been thinking about the art over the bed so I decided to change it. It had five wooden pieces with Asian inspired paintings on it.

I painted over those with a dark gray then modge podged some of our wedding photos on top.

The first piece was too skinny for a photo so I used a piece of scrapbook paper on it.

Before shot of the frame………….

Ahhhh, much better !

Don’t you think ?

Custom window treatments can be the single most important element in pulling together your decorating scheme. 
Contact me to provide you with up to date window treatments that you are excited about.

Soft and Serene Bedrooms

Don’t we all need a calm and restful place to relax at the end of our hectic day ? Suzanne Kasler’s master bedroom is peaceful because it has light furnishings and white window treatments. I’m loving all the gold rods that are popping up everywhere lately !

Her guest room is so feminine with pink linen by Nancy Corzine.  Suzanne says she keeps the interiors cool and calm because, “sometimes design is about how much you don’t do.” That’s a tremendous piece of advice !

                                                         Photos via AD

This Atlanta bedroom designed by Phoebe Howard also has light furnishings and window treatments. I know a lot of curtain ladies in Atlanta………. Did any of you make these ?

                                    Photo via pheobehoward.net

Phoebe’s advice is that, “you should always be the best decoration in your house.”

Could you be cozy in these bedrooms ?

Custom window treatments can be the single most important element in pulling together your decorating scheme. 
Contact me to provide you with up to date window treatments that you are excited about.

Before and After

Today I’m sharing a before and after of my client’s guest room, with the most frequent guest being her granddaughter.  This was before the bedding and drapery but after we installed the plantation shutters.

The custom fitted, outline quilted coverlet is fun without being too juvenile. It’s a pattern that will grow with her. The striped dust ruffle is gathered and attached to the wood rails with velcro.

It’s much warmer now and flows with the rest of the home.

My favorite part is the twisted iron rod and triple scroll finials from Helser Brothers, Inc.

What’s your favorite part ?

Custom window treatments can be the single most important element in pulling together your decorating scheme. 
Contact me to provide you with up to date window treatments that you are excited about.

Romantic Sheers

Did you miss me ? I really missed all of you and blogging but I had a record breaking month ! There just wasn’t enough hours in the day to sew and blog.  We just installed these sheers in a bedroom yesterday, they are scalloped and hung from medallions with ribbon.

We treated the bay window in pairs and the single window was tied back to one side.

The medallions are by Select and the finish is Parchment but they are available in lots of colors…………..

I have a little time to blog because I just got back from urgent care, tried to screw my thumb to the tufted headboard I’m making. OUCH !

I’ll be back tomorrow with pics of the  cushions for the pool house……..

Why should you work with an interior designer ?

They can visualize the end result.

I just finished a job for one of my designers that turned out beautifully despite the concerns that the homeowner had after she brought the fabric home.  They got a great deal on a very expensive fabric  but she was worried that she wouldn’t like it and could only focus on the birds in the print.

Her designer had the vision to see all the fabrics, paint and wallpaper come together.  We chose a quilting pattern that really highlighted the design.

Do you see one bird on these draperies ?

It’s now her and her husband’s favorite room in the house !

Custom window treatments can be the single most important element in pulling together your decorating scheme. 

Contact me to provide you with up to date window treatments that you are excited about.

Top Projects of 2010

Rhoda from Southern Hospitality is hosting a party to celebrate and highlight our accomplishments from 2010.  It’s fun to look back and see all the progress we have made in our homes.
My master bedroom draperies received an update this year with the addition of banding and new hardware and a roman shade with blackout lining.

The guest room had the biggest transformation with projects like a new roman shade…………….

A headboard with silver nail heads and a sunburst mirror made with an automotive mirror …………

And the show stopper, my Henredon buffet redo with custom spin art records ……………

The year started with a new color for the front door, caramel latte by BM …..

And ended with a new gallery wall art project……………

I’m going to include my favorite project at BG Custom Windows, this is really hard but I’m picking the king size upholstered bed because I love a challenge and I love how it turned out

My client’s living room was one of my favorite rooms……

Looking ahead to 2011……… my top project is going to be redoing my stairs like Rhoda.  My Dad has so awesomely agreed to help me, thanks Dad.
Wishing you a happy, healthy, beautiful new year !

Spin Art, Lampshades, Record Bowls………..

I’m taking a break from my alphabet series to fill you in on some projects I’ve been working on for the guest/music room.  I have been trying to come up with some unique art and I found a post on Blue Hydrangea about spin art and I knew that was exactly what I needed.

I wanted to make the art on records since it is a music room and Mr. Stitches is a DJ.  After a trip to the thrift store to find an old turntable was a bust I remembered that my son had a spin art machine when he was little and found it in his closet (he never gets rid of anything) A couple of washers, a pencil and some super glue and it was ready to spin a record.

My friend Eva and I put it inside a cardboard box so it wouldn’t splatter all over my kitchen.  This reminded me of when I was little, my Dad worked for IBM and we did this at their family picnic every year.

Here they are over the bumblebee yellow buffet/dresser.  My Dad is going to help me cut some picture molding to make a frame to go around them.

Today I covered the lamp shades with Trina Turk’s Sunglasses print in a very dark grey. If you want a tutorial, Janell has a great one at her blog Isabella and Max.

I ordered this Live What You Love print from made by girl and put it in a $10 frame from Big Lots and used some of the roman shade fabric for the mat.  I’m trying to decide if I should paint it white……. what do you think ?

The record bowl was super easy.  I just put it on top of a bowl and let it melt in the oven for 3 minutes.  It’s probably toxic, not recommending you do it ! But I have seen them sold in gift shops for $40.00.

I found the little bedside tables on Craigslist and covered them with the headboard fabric.

I was going to say I need some guests but I just found out my niece is coming today !

I’m linking to Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.

J is for Jabots

The ABC’s of window treatments

I had a really hard time coming up with something for the letter “J”.  Jabots and Jackie Von Tobel was the only thing I could think of and since I have already done a post on Jackie ………. jabots it is !

According to WFCP jabots are additional pieces of a top treatment, often shaped like a tie, cone, or cylinder, which are used between and over swags as decoration.  I use the term jabot interchangeably with cascades, which are often seen on the sides of swags.  The first summer I ever worked in a workroom I’m pretty sure I called them “jags and swabots”

I’m not sure who made this but the picture above is from M’Fay, where you can order patterns for window treatments.  It’s a nice simple tail.

The zig zag shape is accentuated when you add fringe to the edges and I highly recommend it.  These are both lined on the back with the main fabric.

 

In the bedroom below, designed by Armando Guereca,  a contrasting plaid fabric is used on the back of the jabots.  Notice there isn’t a fringe but they did use a solid bias banding on the edge.

                        Image via Window Dressings

                                              Image via All the Best

This 1962 photo shows Jackie Kennedy’s dressing room in the White House.  The jabots are about one-third the length of the overall treatment, which is another pleasing length. 

There’s your drapery terminology for the day !

Master Bedroom Redo

One of the hazards (or perks) of being in the drapery business is that I’m forever changing things.  I see new fabrics or styles and I want to start over.  I really don’t get the story about the cobbler’s children not having any shoes because if I were a cobbler we would all have even more shoes than we already do !

This what my master bedroom looked like before the redo.  I quickly made these window treatments and bought wood blinds when I first moved into the house.  The rods were too short and made the windows look small.  I made this duvet cover from suede fabric and it was so heavy it would slide off the bed at night !

This is the after view:  Ahhh, much better.

I ordered 4 yards of  Trend fabric and added a 23” banding to the bottom of my panels.  I put the same trim between the two fabrics that I used in my study for the upholstered wall panels. HERE


The panels were a deep rod pocket but I changed them to a euro pleat.  I added crinoline to the header and pleated the panels at the very top instead of down 4” which is a traditional pinch pleat.  This allowed me to move the rod up 2” closer to the ceiling.
 
I used 4’ wooden poles in Dark Walnut and end caps instead of finials.  Here’s an old trick to hang panels without using rings…….Put screw eyes in the bottom of the pole and hook your pins to them and you don’t have to buy rings !

I took down the wood blinds and made silk roman shades with blackout lining and added a tassel fringe to the bottom.  This duvet came from TJ Maxx, the lamps and nightstands were Christmas presents.

Here’s another shot of the cherry blossom wall decal, you can see how we did it HERE .  The little arm chair is high on my list of things to paint and possibly reupholster, although I still love it with the velvet leopard.

Did I mention how much fun I’m having with my new camera.  It’s a Nikon D 60.

I got tired of chasing Zoe out of the room and let her stay for a few pictures.  She is quite the star !


I quickly made this sham Friday afternoon with scraps from the workroom. 


This is the view from the bedroom into the master bath.  My Dad replaced the original cabinet with these vanities and sinks from Home Decorator’s Collection .

Doesn’t it make the windows appear much larger ?

Do you think I should change the fabric on the chair ?
I’m linking to these parties:
Metamorphosis Monday, Make it for Monday, Make your Monday and Funky Junk Interiors SNS .