Pam's Place Needs Some Punch

Hi,

I'm a first time homeowner and I'm very overwhelmed with making decisions! I have one wall with three large windows and I'm not sure what kind of window treatments would look best (or color). It's a small condo, and really the only windows for the living room/dining room. Valance? White blinds? Long panels? I've attached photos for you. The walls are an olive green "olive branch" from Benjamin Moore. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help

- Pam

Hi Pam,

It looks to me like you are trying to play it safe.  Brown leather mixed with brown leather and accented with brown furniture.  Then you have a green wall color. 

A few things you need:

      1.  Pattern.

      2.  Texture.

      3.  Variety.

      4.  Unifiers.

Your window treatments are a good place to start.  I would do floor length drapery panels.  From the ceiling to the floor.  You will want a patterned material.  The one I found for you is from Beacon Hill.

Notice how it has the green in it, as well as the brown in it.  If all of your furniture is going to be brown, we want to make it more unified by finding a fabric with both green and brown. 

Now take down your blinds.  I am so sick of stupid white mini blinds.  They are as bad as the ceiling fan.

Replace your mini-blinds with woven woods.  I would choose a color close to the color of your sofa.  This will bring the leather in more as a color.  If your room were large, and you had many elements, you could have a leather sofa without having to bring the color into the pallet. It can act more as a pair of blue jeans, where you wear any shirt with it, and it matches. But, because you have limited space for more furnishings, we need to bring brown into the pallet. 

Your drapes will be different than above, as you need four panels, since the windows are further apart.  Make sure your drapes are lined and weighted.  Just because they might not be functioning, lining helps to have them hang nicely. 

Can you have just one pattern in the room?  No.  A minimum of three.  Add a pattern in the rug, and another in throw pillows.  These additions will also increase texture and variety.  By the way- your current rug is WAY too small.  Is it a 5 x 9?  Go up to at least an 8 x 10.  Show your chair a little love by letting him sit on the rug as well.

The rug can be simple, but it should still be a pattern, not a solid color.  The rug above was found on Homedecorators.com

Add at least five pillows to the mix, all different, incorporating the colors in your drapes.  Look for textural variety, as well as variety in size and shape.   The pillow above is from Pottery Barn. 

OK- now I let you keep your brown furniture.  ( Although I would move or sell the chair and add two chairs in a fabric. )  But the table is putting me to sleep.  I say- paint it.  Select a nice blue from your drapes, and paint the table blue.  Make sure to unify the look by having some blue in your pillows. 

There you go.  I know you only asked me about window treatments, but that is not how to decorate.  Even when finances don't allow you to do everything at once; in order to make good choices, design the room as a whole, then start implementing it one element at a time. 

Donna's Living Room

Christine,
I just had a new leather couch delivered today - as you can see, there is no place for it except under the window..I am keeping the side window panels..but want a new shade or something under -- I usually do Kirsch..also - need a suggestion for 2 chairs around fireplace..need to replace pink one (from my blue/mauve days)..and maybe do something else on other side of fireplace? Any suggestions would be welcome (but the couch cost a fortune, so don't say anything bad about it!!!) thanks!
- Donna

Hi Donna,

I really like your new sofa. Don't worry- I won't say anything bad about it. :) With that said, I might say something bad about combining the camel leather with red... ;) Look at the photo where you see the sofa right there with the red in the drapes. It is not working together. The red pillows are screaming, "Take me off of this sofa!" I would take the red out of the room- or at least minimize it. Replace it with the color of the leather- and you will LOVE that room. Everything will fall into place.

Start with the rug. You can go more contetransitional if you choose- or keep it traditional- I selected both for you. I kept the green you had in the room- but replaced the red with your leather color. If you do not repeat your leather color- it will stick out and not fit in. Repetition is the key. These rugs are from Homedecorator.com. (The more I think about it- I think your furnishings overall - especially the more traditional case pieces in the room- would lend themselves to the more traditional- only go more transitional if you want to make more changes.)

I found some inexpensive drapery panels for you from JC Penny- a semi-sheer- only $20/ panel- so replacing something you told me not to- won't break the bank- but will make a striking difference. Check out these panels- DO NOT DO THE swag. I hate those. :) I would do the desert Khaki or the Tennessee sage. The blinds below are from Kirsch. Here I would really repeat the sofa color. There are some really great woven grass shades that incorporate both a sage green and the sofa color. Check out Harvest Straw on this page.

So- for your chairs- first of all- I would move your sofa to FACE the fireplace. Is there a TV in that armoire? DO you need a TV in this room? Can you do a flat screen over the fireplace? I will just tell you that your room is far better balanced if your main sofa is facing the fireplace. If you can- move it around. Follow that move by adding a sofa table. I wanted to bring in a pattern on the chairs. With that said- the best options are going to be in custom pieces- so I tried to find some non-custom less expensive options for you. The green one below is from CSN sofas. I have found their prices to be an excellent value. I would get two matching chairs in your room. In a larger room, with more furniture- it is easier to shake it up- but in a room with as much symmetry as yours has- I wouldn't fight it- keep it symmetrical.

The chair above is only $399, CSN sofas. If your budget is closer to $900- check out this one. When you do all of that- take photos and e-mail me back- I would like to address your wall decor, mantle decor, and wall color. ;)

Modern Family Part II- Claire and Phil's Place

Claire and Phil's House is very much your typical California- young family home. Check out the kitchen above- great painted cabinets.

The family photos up the stairway is nicely done. The wainscoting makes this work- without it- you would need much larger pictures. Look at the trim molding about 8 inches from the ceiling... a nice idea- you know I love trim... but way too small in my opinion.

I wanted to get a shot of the plate/picture collage in the kitchen. But alas- all you can see is the bottom bit of it- have to watch the show for that one- but I did like it.

OK- now look at the three pictures on the wall to the left. The perfect way to keep it to scale. The window treatments are the very popular combination of woven Romans with patterned panels.

They layer color very well in this home- architecturally it really invites it, with trimmed out large openings- and a common color pallet throughout. If there was a unifier in this house- it would be the pillows on the sofa above.

This blue color on the wall seems to change dramatically from picture to picture- I wonder if they keep re-painting it- searching for the perfect shade?? Look at the wall in the three different pictures in this post.... This shot above is the most recent- last night's episode- and it is the grayest blue. They could have started with this one if they would just have read my blog post on painting walls blue. ;)

What do you think of this house? Like it? Don't? Have a favorite part, or something you'd like to put in your own home?

Hannah's Window Treatments Take 2

Dear Christine,

HELP! You gave me some great advice in your Nov. 27, 2009 post.
I've finally started on tackling the window projects now that the holidays are behind us.

Anyway, since reading your ideas, my mind has been set on trimming the windows, getting the nice roller shades, and then flanking the group of windows with fabric panels.The "decorator" for a local store that supplies and installs window coverings was here to measure my windows. Her advice is to match the faux wood blinds that are already on the bottom windows for the top "transoms". She also suggested wood shutters that would encase both top and bottom window, eliminating a need for trim. Now, I'm so confused.

I don't know this woman. I have been following your blog for months and I love your taste and trust your judgement. What do you think?

Hannah

Dear Hannah,

Don't worry- there is more than one way to skin a cat. (Is that the saying?) The advice the gal gave you is fine. (of course-I still think my advice is better)- but you would not go wrong with hers either.

Just a word about faux wood blinds vs woven wood Roman Shades.

Reasons to stay with your wood blinds:

1. The wood blinds give you greater flexibility in light control.


2. Greater flexibility with privacy and view.


3. You already have a lot of wood blinds- so you would save money.

Reasons to go with Woven Roman Shades:

1. You add more texture and style to the room.
2. I absolutely HATE cleaning wood blinds. And- I hate dusty wood blinds. The flat hard horizontal design is simply a dust catcher. They annoy me- but hey- maybe you have someone doing your cleaning for you... (lucky girl) or maybe they don't bother you. I love how roller shades and Roman Shades don't collect dust in such an obvious way.

3. There are many "options" with these products and you can get the amount of block out you need- and bring in the colors that will add to your overall look. I kind of feel like white wood blinds don't add- but they also don't really detract- they just are there. (of course they are highly functional :)

A word about the shutter option. I love shutters. They do tend to block your view. (which is sometimes a good thing- sometimes bad.) They are a much classier option than wood blinds- but you pay far more for them. So- consider your view- consider your budget. They are one of the best window treatments available.

OK- everyone- help Hannah out- tell her what she should do on her windows. :)

Photos from Country Living

Renee's Window Treatments

This is a follow up from Renee's posts earlier this week. Catch up here and here and here.

Christine,
Any ideas for window covering for the window in the kitchen? Would I use the same wallpaper if I change the floors and paint color? I enclosed pictures of colors and styles I like.

Can I get your address? I would like to send you a token of my appreciation.

Thank you,
Renee

Hi Renee,

Knowing that you are changing the floors does change the need for the wallpaper. Wallpaper was necessary as a unifier for your different surfaces. Now you can still do wallpaper- as it would be lovely- but you could also not do wallpaper. Your choice. As a general rule, I would choose two rooms in your home to wallpaper. Think through your home, and decide where wallpaper would be the most advantageous for you.

OK- so let's say this is your floor (seagrass limestone from Walker Zanger)- and your cabinets are natural maple.

Use woven woods- like the sample above from Smith and Noble. Notice the natural maple color in the shade- this combined with grays and greens is a perfect choice. (if I do say so myself :) I would use these everywhere that you now have white wood blinds.

Then, as your second layer- add panels. ( A reminder for everyone to LAYER your window treatments.) One thing that would balance the large mass of maple on the kitchen side of the room, would be to select a drapery fabric like the one above from Lee Jofa. The maple color in the drapery will give your room a nice balance. I would still do your wall in a soft shade of green or blue- whether it be paint or paper.