Simple and Harmonious ~ Elegant

The design rendering to show the client exactly what the treatment will look like in the fabrics we selected.

 The swag and cascade is a timeless classic style window treatment. The fabric is cut in a rather odd shape.  Pleats are formed along the top with lots of fullness that falls into graceful curving swags.

The tapered and folded fabric along the sides is the cascade or sometimes called the jabot.  This design will have the cascade mounted underneath the swag.  A custom swag and cascade treatment dresses the window and frames a beautiful view.

Fabrics on the cutting table ready to be made into classic swags and cascades

Swags and cascades are best made from softly draping fabric like this beautiful embroidered fabric from Trend Fabrics.  The solid silk-like fabric from RM Coco will be the accent for the swag and the lining for the cascades.

Check back later to see how fabulous they’re going to look in my clients home. The motivation to redecorate……..their daughter is getting married this summer.  So exciting!

The room is going to be a beautiful backdrop for pictures!       xoxo

Marie

Custom Window Treatments and Decorative Accessories are the Details that Transform a House into a Home You Love

Contact me today to begin the transformation for your house. You and your house deserve it!

Swags and cascades embellished with tassels and trimmings frame the view of this window seat.

Window “coverings” do much more than cover the window.  These custom swags and cascades frame the view on this cozy window seat.

What is your view framed with this sunny spring morning?

Happy Sunday

xoxo

Marie

Here I am before Vision 12 Chicago opens.

I recently attended the International Window Coverings Expo Vision 12 in Chicago. It was FABULOUS!

The WFCP-Window Fashions Certified Professionals-Advisory Board

The collaboration, inspiration, and innovation of being with other window treatment professionals has left my head bursting with new ideas for the windows I treat.

An expert designer panel with Erik Bruce, Cheryl Draa, Melinda Peters Elliot and Tobi Fairley

One can always learn more.  These experts approach the window and design process from all different avenues.  The result is exquisite windows and ecstatic clients.

Chicago Architecture

I enjoyed the various architecture of Chicago.  Each building had its own unique personality, like the windows I treat.

I loved the undulating curves of the balconies on the building outside my hotel room. This curved building is a high contrast to all the harshly straight and linear buildings surrounding it. I imagine the bottom of a valance with similar curves softening a room.  See there is window treatment inspiration everywhere!

Navy Pier Chicago

A little whimsy and fun should be added to everything. Navy Pier is Chicago’s version.  Lake Michigan seems endless but it is no Atlantic Ocean.  For this New Englander, the giant Ferris wheel reminded me of Nantasket Beach and the towers seem to be taken from the salt and pepper bridge aka Longfellow Bridge over the Charles River.

Vision 13 New Orleans

New Orleans next year!  I can’t wait!

I’m bursting with fresh ideas!  Contact me today to begin transforming your house into a home you love to live in.

Great rebate savings from

Hunter Douglas

Duette
Silhouette
Luminette
Pirouette

Contact me today to dress your windows in these

Light Diffusing Window Treatments

and

Get money back for your summer vacation!

It’s time to freshen, brighten and update all the rooms in your house.  A few quick changes this weekend will improve the outlook of your entire family.

1. Clear away the clutter.  Are there things on your coffee table, kitchen counter or nightstand that have piled up since the first of the year?  While you are clearing, now is the time to pack away any leftover holiday decorations.  Please take the Christmas wreath off your front door and put those long-lasting poinsettia near a sunny window in the basement.

2.Freshen up your reading materials.  Break out the gardening books and magazines.  Even if you don’t get excited at the thought of digging in the dirt; you can still be inspired by the beautiful photography.

Amazon has a gardening book for every style.

3.Front door decor.  Add a pretty spring wreath to your front door.  Choose materials that are a high contrast from your door color.  Add a pretty bow that will blow in the breeze. Nothing adds a welcoming touch to your home as an inviting entrance does.

Popular on Pinterest from Inspired By Charm

So there you have a few things to get you started on refreshing your decor for Spring.  If you’re confused whether something is a decorating do or a decorating don’t, email me a photo.

 I am always happy to help make your house into a home you love to live in.  

You deserve it!

     Like most people, I spend a lot of time on the computer.  As a designer I am always searching and researching new ideas and products to bring into my clients homes.

     These are just a few that have caught my eye and started my creative juices flowing.  Please visit their websites/blogs and let them know I sent you.

Creative Artwork

Small pieces of artwork make a huge inspiring statement in this Back Bay Condo designed by Kati Curtis

House of Turquoise featured this entire Back Bay condo on her blog from Design Life by New York interior designer Kati Curtis.  I love how she has filled what little wall space there is with unique art media.  There are 27 pieces artfully arranged.  I wonder if the 27 pieces were a conscious decision to be congruent with the teachings of  Feng Shui.  Following Kati’s designs, I am sure the wall was well planned out and didn’t happen haphazardly. It’s hard to tell what the treatment is on the window; a white pleated shade perhaps.  I’ll have to ask Kati.

Be Your Own Decorator by Susanna Salk

Taking inspiration and cues from today’s top designers

Susanna Salk's new book-Be Your Own Decorator

Tobi Fairley introduced me to this book on her blog a few weeks ago.  I believe you can never have too many books or too much inspiration and this gives me both.  Compiled by Massachusetts’ own Susanna Salk, of NBC’s Today show Design Ideas, 75 of the world’s top designers and taste-makers share their favorite rooms and design advice.  Salk invites and encourages readers to commit “design plagiarism” by copying designer’s styles and ideas for your own home.

Tobi, is included in the book where she describes a foyer “An entry is like a great party invitation: it sets the tone for what’s to come.”~Tobi Fairley.  Tobi is one designer who LOVES window treatments and uses them boldly in her projects.

Runway Fashions For Your Home

Clothing designer Jonathan Saunders meets House Beautiful

     Benjamin Moore’s blog, Color Chats!, featured guest writer Gretchen Aubuchon this week.  Aubuchon, also from Massachusetts, is an expert at bringing fashion trends from the runway straight into your home decor.  She encourages you to take colors from the season’s stylish fashions and paint your walls. Benjamin Moore paint, which I use for all of my color consulting,  selected from New England’s own Aubuchon Hardware would probably make Gretchen happy.

I love how this room has several solid colors that decorate the space playfully.  The patterned drapery panels work to pull all the colors together.

Happy Friday!

What are some of your favorite things this week?  I would love to hear from you.  Just leave a comment below.

What?  You don’t have any favorite things about your house?  I can help you uncover the simple hidden treasures to make your house into the home you love to live in.  Contact me today.

XOXO,

Marie

Happy Valentine’s Day

The bedroom is the most important room to a romantic couple.  It is your own little sanctuary away from family and work demands.  Your bedroom should be calm, clean and uncluttered.  The decorations set the stage for the mood of the room.  Paying attention to some simple details will transform your room from just a place to sleep to a lush romantic getaway.

• 1. Get rid of the clutter. A cluttered room makes for a cluttered mind. Eliminate the distraction of bills, laundry and kids toys.  Pack away everything that does not say “love” into boxes and put them someplace else in the house.  (Under the bed works fine too.)

• 2. Make an inviting bed.Invest in the best mattress that your budget allows.  You spend 1/3 of your life in bed; you might as well be comfortable.  Splurge a little on your bed linens.  Sheets that are worn and scratchy are just going to be irritating.  I like cotton flannel to keep us warm in winter and luxurious cotton sateen for summer.  Add a down filled or fluffy fiber filled comforter for an inviting look.
  

  Romantic bedding with lots of pillows and a custom throw

• 3. Pillow talk. In addition to your sleeping pillows, add lots of throw pillows in various shapes and sizes.  Use luxurious and sensual fabrics.  Pillows create the romantic ambiance of a bed that you just can’t wait to jump into.

• 4. Candle light. Place lots of candles around your room. Use different sizes and colors.  Be sure they are in a safe and fireproof place.  Light them all, turn off the lights and feel the warmth and sensuality of flickering light.

• 5. Something pretty to look at.Flowers are nature’s gift of romance.  A few simple flowers will brighten up any room.  Float rose petals in a glass bowl.  Keep the decorations simple but meaningful.  Dig out the valentines you gave each other in the past, frame a picture of the two of you when you were first dating, add anything that has special meaning to both of you.
  

  I saw these flower over on Design Sponge. Click on the photo for a closer look.

• 6. Heavenly scents. Entice even your nose in the bedroom.  Studies show that vanilla is the most appealing scent to both men and women.  Burn scented candles, put out a bowl of potpourri, lightly spray the sheets with your favorite perfume.

• 7. The sound of music. Do you have a special song?  What played at your wedding?  Special music will trigger happy memories. Make a play list on your ipod and plug it into speakers.  A favorite CD you both like will work too.  No radio stations with interrupting commercials.

• 8. In case you get hungry.Bring in a tray of plump juicy strawberries, smooth dark chocolate and tickling bubbly champagne.  In addition to how yummy they taste, the colors, shapes and textures are beautiful to look at too.
  

  Even cupcakes can be romantic. My daughter Amy made these.

• ½. You. The most important thing you can do for your partner is take care of yourself.  Get plenty of rest (just not tonight with this romantic bedroom you’re creating!), eat healthy foods, get some exercise and spend time enjoying what you love to do.  I have given you all the necessary steps to decorate your room for romance.  Now go find your other half!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

When it’s time for you to transform your house into a home you love,        contact me.

Copyright 2012 Window Designs etc. by Marie Mouradian

A place to sit, read, dream and reflect

This anti room off a formal living room was designed as a garden room with three walls of windows and a tile floor.  The Worcester Massachusetts homeowner wanted a warmer feel for quiet conversation and reading.

The window treatments are mock relaxed Roman shades.  The bottom swoop makes them more relaxed than straight fold Romans.  The shades are stationary so they are more like valances.  The fabric is a rich chocolate-brown dupioni silk.

A Hunter Douglas Silhouette window shading protects the furnishings from harmful UV rays while still letting in the light.

The room gets its pop of color from the love seat that is reupholstered in the warm fiery shade of Tangerine Tango.  Down filled pillows of the window treatment fabric are trimmed in black brush fringe to pull the room together.

What do you think of this room?

Where would your armchair adventures take you?

On the work table-Dust board covered in matching fabric.

Unless decorative hardware is used, most custom window treatments are mounted onto a dust board that is attached to the wall.  I believe every aspect of a window treatment should be custom so I cover the board with matching fabric.

Yes, I am that particular about the details and hey you never know who might be peeking to see how your gorgeous new window treatments are installed!

Four button detail

In order for this style to stretch the entire width of the window a seam is required.  A false placket and buttons hide the seam and become a design detail.  Notice how the pattern matches up perfectly.

The print fabric is a linen and rayon blend from RM Coco , one of my preferred vendors. I have their complete library in my studio.

A jabot is flipped back to show the accent fabric.

Printed fabric is always more interesting combined with a coordinating  fabric that highlights one of the colors in the main fabric.  This classic custom window treatment adds a touch of the stylish Tangerine Tango~Pantone color of the year for 2012.

Micro cord in the accent fabric finish all the edges~another custom design attention to detail. The accent fabric is from Trend it’s available in a variety of colors.

Completed custom Madelyn valances are hung in the studio awaiting installation.

Valances are hung in my studio with special under mount clamps before installation so I can inspect them to be sure everything is just right.  Note-I have placed the treatments in the opposite position they will be installed, the longer cascades will be towards the ends not the middle.

If these custom treatments look this good in my studio, can you just imagine how stunning they will look hanging in your home?  Maybe I’ll reveal that in tomorrow’s post!

Are you ready to bring some Tangerine Tango into your rooms?

Leave a comment or shoot me an email and I’ll show you how to transform your house into a home you will love in 2012.

Tangerine Tango

Pantone's Tangerine Tango

 “Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

A few more of my favorite rooms and custom window treatments I’ve done featuring Tangerine Tango.

Vibrant Tangerine Tango walls are the backdrop to this cozy window seat with custom-made cushion, pillows and relaxed Roman shades.

The addition of a Tangerine Tango border transforms this custom valance from a neutral brown and beige to WOW! The contrasting banding not only adds a great punch of color, it also highlights the shape of the triangles.

Tangerine Tango walls add warmth and whimsy to this dining room. Heirloom furniture and an art deco light fixture add personality to a room. The custom window treatments are made of a multi color (including Tangerine Tango of course) fabric with a contrasting band of teal. The sheer Roman shades diffuse the light and offer a little privacy.

What do you think of this dramatic and edgy color?

Would you be able to live in a Tangerine room?

Have you purchased anything in this trendy color yet?

Expect to see lots of Tangerine Tango in 2012

Leave a comment or shoot me an email and I’ll show you how to transform your house into a home you will love in 2012.