Posts Tagged ‘windows’
22 Divine Draperies That Indulge and Delight
Monday, July 30th, 2012
If you crave truly beautiful draperies, take a look at these luxurious examples of drapes and learn how you can create these looks in your own home.
Tags: Design Tips, Dining Room, drapes, fabrics, Interior Design, Living Room, luxurious draperies, Window Treatments, windows
Posted in Cool Ideas, Cool Stuff, DIY, Design Tips, Interior Design, Trends, Window Treatments | No Comments »
Portland Interior Designer’s Top 10 Tips to Make Your Small Space Look BIGGER: part 1
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Are you living in a smaller space than you have in the past and feeling a little cooped up? Do you want (or need) to downsize, but you’re not sure how you’ll feel in a smaller space? If you are selling a smaller home, your place could be perfect for those looking for smaller or starter homes. But the very people who are looking for those smaller spaces may have a hard time imagining how to live in them. Whatever your reasons are, I’ve got 10 great tips for making small spaces feel B-I-G-G-E-R!
1. Fewer Pieces … of Anything! In small rooms, the more pieces of furniture you put in, the more crowded it begins to feel. Think carefully about each piece you put in. If you have a coffee table, will you really need side tables too? It also begins to feel more crowded with lots of accessories on top of tables & shelves. A few nice, large accessories will create stronger focal points and give the illusion of a spacious room. Even with art, which is hanging on the wall, a single large piece of artwork will make a place feel larger than groups of small pictures.
2. Reduce “Visual Weight” of Furnishings: Believe it or not, the style of your furniture is even more important than the actual size. Select seating pieces that have open space under the cushions (8″ or more is good) rather than upholstery or skirts down to the floor. Think “leggy”! Because you can see under the furniture, it doesn’t stop your eye, and the room feels bigger. Glass table tops can be seen through, so they don’t take up as much “visual space” even though they may be just as large as a wood table. No sharp corners on these because it is a bit easier to bang your shins. I’m speaking from experience here. Simple, clean lines are also easier on the eye than very ornate pieces and keep the room looking bigger. I would tell you this even if I didn’t love modern design. I swear!
3. Smoke & Mirrors: Okay, well I was kidding about the smoke. That won’t help you at all. But mirrors are pure magic when it comes to adding the look of large! Consider putting sheet mirror on an entire wall. In a miniscule kitchen I once had, I had mirror custom cut to fit on the wall behind the sink and continued it under the cabinets above the backsplash. It was amazing how much bigger my kitchen felt with the windows on the other side reflected in this mirror. Or you can try standing a large, framed floor mirror against a wall. It will feel like an open doorway into another room, thereby expanding the space. Just remember the one cardinal rule of mirror placement: The mirror needs to reflect something beautiful and bright – not a vacant white wall.
4. Floors – the Foundation for an Expansive Feel: That’s expansive – not expensive! Having the same flooring continue throughout your home will allow your eye to move past the boundaries of the doorways, making each room feel a little bigger. If you have tile flooring, setting it on the diagonal always makes the room look larger than setting it square. This is a great trick for tiny bathrooms!
5. A Room With A View: Opening up any views the room has will improve the feeling of extra space. Window drapery panels should be floor to ceiling and the curtain rod holders should be set at least 8″ to 10″ past the sides of the glass so that when the drape is pushed back, it exposes the entire window and gives the maximum view. Hanging the draperies this way makes the window look larger too. Do you own your home? If you have smaller windows, replacing them with larger ones or with French doors will visually expand your space into the great outdoors. If you don’t have a view, consider a full wall mural of an outdoor scene. A good one can really make you feel like you have more space. Continue reading part 2, tips 6 through 10 … PLUS Bonus Tip For Home Sellers!
Tags: Design Tips, Flooring, floors, mirrors, small space, wall coverings, Wall You Need is Love, Window Treatments, windows
Posted in Cool Ideas, DIY, Design Tips, Flooring, Home Staging, Interior Design, Space Planning, Top Ten, Uncategorized, Window Treatments, windows | No Comments »
Portland Home Staging Tip #1: A Room With A View
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Welcome to the first in a series of tips, advice and secrets that professional Home Stagers use.
Home Staging Tip #1:
Clear Those Windowsills!
I often go into homes that have lofty, vaulted ceilings and lovely high clerestory windows that follow the angled lines of the ceiling … only to see the view of the sky cluttered up with lines of sporting trophies, glass bottles filled with colored water, collections of ceramic tchotchkes … you name it. Then I move to the kitchen and see that windowsills are dotted with tiny potted plants, jars, candles and so on. Bathroom windowsills sprout a tacky little row of roll-on deoderants, lotions & tiny air fresheners. In fact, I have been in homes where it seems that every window in the house has something sitting on the sill, or if not on the sill, then one of those little (or giant) light catchers applied to the window with a rubber suction cup. Oh, yeah! Gorgeous!
I do get the magnetic attraction of the horizontal surface. My husband and I cannot seem to keep any table, counter, or flat railing wider than 4 inches free of objects for a period of 24 hours. But considering how much we want light, I cannot understand this penchant for sitting things on windowsills. Any objects sitting in your windows are going to reduce the light. Little objects in the windows stop your eye, therefore interfering with the view. It is clutter!
I have exactly one exception to the “nothing-on-the-windowsill-rule”, and that is a LIVE CAT. No matter how many times you remove a cat from the windowsill, it will sneak right back up there … hopefully knocking all the other little tchotchkes to the floor.
So, be brave … repeat after me … “A windowsill is not a display shelf” … and put all that stuff away or in packing boxes. It may seem empty for a day or two, but soon you’ll look at the window and suddenly see …
THE VIEW
Tags: Design Tips, Home Staging, home staging portland, portland home staging, windows
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Window Treatments & Floor to Ceiling Windows
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
So, you have floor to ceiling windows and a wonderful view, but unfortunately, so do your neighbors across the street … and they are looking right at YOU! How do you afford yourself some privacy when you need it without giving up your light and your view? Here are a couple of ideas that I absolutely LOVE!!
In this first photo of a bedroom in the Belmont Street Lofts in Portland’s Belmont District, my client wanted some privacy while still being able to enjoy light and the view of those awesome leaves even when he was in bed. Look carefully at the windows. There are roller shades installed at the top of the windows where you would expect to see them … but he also has a roller shade installed on the crossbar above the LOWER window. That way he can pull that one down, but leave the upper ones open while he is lying in bed.
These lovely drapes in the Streetcar Lofts in Portland’s Pearl District are hung on rods fixed on one end that can be swung open or closed without having to pull the drapes back and forth. There is a sheer drape and an opaque silk drape. Both can be gathered together at the center with a fabric holder that snaps, thereby exposing the view softened with the fabric, or the sheer can be left hanging down with just the silk portion gathered, which gives some privacy while admitting light. If both the sheer and silk drapes are down, they have total privacy, or the rods can be swung away from the windows opening up the view entirely. Quite a bit of versatility!
Another type of window treatment I love for contemporary spaces are the sliding window panels. These are high-end Chilewich brand panels. They can be slid independently to close or open as much of your window as you like. Perfect for sliding glass doors!
Below are shades that slide either up or down. These come in varying styles, both translucent and opaque. A set of these combined with opaque drapes would give you all sorts of options to block out whatever portion of your window you like.
So, there are great options for every need. Call me today to find the perfect solution for your windows and glass doors.
Tags: Belmont District, blinds, curtains, Design Tips, drapes, Hawthorne District, Interior Design, Lofts, Pearl District, solar shades, Window Treatments, windows
Posted in Design Tips, Interior Design, Lofts, Window Treatments | No Comments »