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Designing Your Home Office: Window Treatments

We’re back with another installment of tips and inspiration for designing your home office! A well-designed home office is a perfect example of when functionality and aesthetics go hand in hand. As discussed in a previous article, it’s best to choose a room with a lot of windows for your home office to allow you to work in natural light. But what happens when you have an important meeting and there is a terrible glare on your computer? That’s where window treatments come into play.

If you’re unfamiliar with the ins and outs of interior design, you may be surprised to discover how many different curtains, shades, and draperies exist, and how they each have a specific function and look. You may feel overwhelmed at first, but we’re here to help. Keep reading to find out the 3 best window treatments for your home office!

Top Down Bottom Up Shades

Top Down Bottom Up Shades are perfect for any home office. As suggested in their name, they allow you to bring the top of the shades down and the bottom of the shades up, and even do both at once. This provides the most flexibility in how you position them against the light. It allows you to block out any direct sunlight that is interfering or distracting you from your work, while still letting enough natural light in. If your home office is facing the street, top-down bottom-up shades are great for giving yourself some privacy without blocking out all the light.

Roman Shades

Roman Shades have a beautiful shape that cannot be denied! They add beautiful texture and shape into a room when they are pulled up. When they are down, there are no creases and they are visibly smooth. Roman Shades are great if you have narrower windows or window panels. Having separate Roman Shades again provides you with some more flexibility. You’re able to bring some of them down and leave some of them up whether you’re seeking to block out direct sunlight or get some privacy. Unlike Top Down Bottom Up shades, it’s easy to get your Roman Shades lined with a black-out material, meaning that no light will get in when they’re pulled down. Black-out lining is typically white, which pairs well with all colors and tones.

Pairing Roman Shades with a matching valance adds additional texture to the overall design…especially when the Roman Shades are down. It prevents the windows from looking flat.

Drapery Panels

Drapery Panels are a gorgeous and luxurious choice for your home office. Floor to ceiling drapery panels makes your ceilings look higher, due to the vertical folds in the material. These work very well for larger and wider windows, especially when there isn’t a deep window sill at the bottom. For deep window sills, I would recommend Roman Shades. Drapery Panels are also easily lined with black-out material, which is perfect for keeping the sun out during all those important Zoom calls when you don’t want a glare on your computer screen. Additionally, I like to interline my drapery panels with English Bump Cloth, which insulates and keeps out the cold during the winter and the heat during summer.

Mix and Match!

Out of all the different types of window treatments, my favorite is to mix and match! Having Top Down Bottom Up shades is great for during the day. Pair them with some floor-to-ceiling drapery panels to pull closed during the evening. This is advantageous during both winter and summer, as they’ll help regulate the temperature of your home office overnight so that you’re ready to work in the morning! Layering or even using different types of window treatments on different windows in a room adds a beautiful dimension to your home office.

This room was designed to be both a living room and a home office. On the right-hand side of the room, the built-in fixture was designed with 2 desks for a home office behind the double sets of retractable doors. The desk chairs were also designed to fit behind the double doors! So the room has a double purpose, a family or hearth room with four big club chairs in front of the fireplace and a home office. We used the floor-to-ceiling drapery panels for the larger windows opposite the built-in fixture, and roman shades for the smaller windows on either side of the bespoke fireplace.

Having Trouble Choosing? We’re here to help!

Make your home office uniquely your own with custom-made draperies and shades made in our workroom. This combination of unique textiles and custom designs allows each project to have its own aesthetic, pairing form with functionality based on the room function. From measuring the windows to designing the window treatments to the installation we are truly a one-stop-shop.


Preparing for Spring: Four Ways to Brighten Your Home

Spring is just around the corner which means warmer weather, budding plants, Easter celebrations, more sunlight, and new life! This time of year is often bursting with hope and excitement for the coming summer, and there is plenty to do to prepare your home for this new season. Keep reading to find out four easy ways to prepare your home for spring.

Spring Cleaning

Perhaps the most obvious thing to do in preparation for spring is…spring cleaning! Something about the end of winter and the new year makes people want to do a deep-clean and declutter of their home. The concept of spring cleaning dates back hundreds of years and often is signified with major religious holidays such as Easter, Passover, and the Persian New Year.

Going through each room in the house and getting rid of clutter and scrubbing all the corners is the best way to feel refreshed with the weather. Spring marks a new beginning, and thoroughly cleaning your house is one of the best ways to feel that. If you can, try to spread your spring cleaning over a few days or even a couple of weeks to make sure that each corner, drawer, and closet in your house is getting the attention it needs. Get the whole family involved with different tasks for everyone. Practicing spring cleaning each year will help establish good cleaning habits with your children. Start by creating a to-do list of everything that needs to be done, split the tasks up, and plan a small reward for the family once it’s done. If done properly, spring cleaning will surely get you in the right mindset for the rest of the year.

Just add color

Color and spring go hand in hand. If you’ve opted for deeper colors and neutrals this winter, try to find a way to add nice pops of color into your home. This year, a lot of interior design trends are about bringing elements of nature into your home, as we discussed in our previous article, 5 Unmissable Paint Trends of 2021. As you walk down the street, you may be greeted with budding yellow tulips, soft pink cherry blossoms, and fresh green grass. Don’t be afraid to bring these colors into your home! An easy and cost-effective way to quickly introduce new colors into a room includes switching out throw-pillows, cushions, blankets, and bedding. Additionally, switching a lamp-shade to a brighter color, or even swapping out decor can quickly brighten up any space.

Houseplants and fresh flowers

Quite literally, spring is the time of year that new plants begin to grow. It’s the perfect time to bring some foliage inside the house as a joyful reminder of the springing new life outside. Additionally, house plants are very trendy at the moment, so will make your house look amazing! When deciding what houseplant to get, be sure to decide where in the house you’d like the plant to live. Take note of how much sunlight or indirect sunlight this area gets, and be sure to keep that in mind as you choose which plant to buy. Most garden center staff will be able to help you choose a plant that’s right for you, and advise you on how to look after it. Opting for a variety of sizes, colors, and type of plants will give your home the best look. Ask the garden center staff about materials to buy to look after your plants.

In addition to potted plants, one of the easiest ways to brighten up any space is with fresh flowers! Sticking with flowers that are in season adds the perfect pop of color. Additionally, fresh flowers can bring a beautiful smell into your home. Putting the fresh flowers in a colored vase is another easy way to add color. After purchasing a bouquet, be sure to cut the stems of the flowers at an angle and add some plant food into the water. Regularly switching this water out will ensure that your flowers stay fresh for as long as possible.

Prepare Your Garden

Your home doesn’t end with your house – it extends into your yard, and nothing is better than a beautifully landscaped garden. Gardening is an activity that the whole family can do. Whether you want to grow flowers, trees, or fruits and veggies, there is something for everyone! According to Psychology Today, “There is substantial evidence that frequent contact with natural environments [such as gardening] has beneficial effects on both physical and mental health, including reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, enhanced longevity, and for our interest, today, lessening symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety.”

Now is the perfect time to begin preparing your garden for some spring planting in a few weeks. Whether you need to create garden beds, do some gentle weed-pulling, turn your soil, or contact a landscaper, there is plenty to be done in time for this planting season! Now is also the perfect time to start planning what you want to grow, how you want your garden to look, and to do some research on how to best achieve your vision.

Need help?

Looking to do some renovation this spring? We provide a full range of renovation and design services to bring our clients’ designs to fruition. We oversee and manage the entire remodeling and decorating process. We have ongoing relationships with a range of licensed contractors and skilled craftsmen who work under our supervision on all our projects. They include cabinetmakers, tile setters, upholsterers, furniture makers, carpenters, electricians, and a drapery workroom. Visit our services page to find out more today!


Five Unmissable Paint Trends of 2021

2021 is already going by quickly and now is the time to nail down any New Year trends before this year gets ahead of us. The color of a room is one of the most key parts of interior design and will make or break a room. Every year new colors start to trend, and all of the paint trends of this year have one thing in common. They’re all an attempt to bounce back and heal from the tumultuous 2020. Many of them pay homage to the home we all share: Earth. Very little is as grounding and calming as being in nature, so now we’re bringing those tones into our homes. So get out your paint roller and get ready to get painting with these five unmissable paint trends!

Restorative Neutrals

Up first are restorative neutrals. Neutral colored paints will always be in style, but this year sandy-beige tones are taking center stage. Painting your room a neutral color is a great way to create a calming and bright environment without opting for that hospital-like pure white. It creates a beautiful foundation to incorporate colors in other ways.

I recently remodeled a dining room for a client. They originally had a very bright red color that wasn’t right for the space. It made the room seem smaller and darker. As with many of my designs, I started with a beautiful oriental rug that had a lot of green and sandy shades in it. We decided to repaint the walls with Benjamin Moore HC-99 Abingdon Putty, a great neutral tone that blended with the rug beautifully, while still allowing the greens to shine. Just check out the before and after!

Grounded Earthy Tones

As stated above, many of the trends of this year pay homage to nature and grounded earthy tones are at the top of the list. Surrounding yourself and your family with earthy tones will create a calming and comforting atmosphere for everyone to slowly get back on their feet. We painted this entryway with Farrow & Ball’s Elephant’s Breath – a beautiful grounded neutral tone. It’s reminiscent of rocks and mountains, perfect for this gorgeous winding stairwell. It paired beautifully with a brilliant white for the trimming and provided a lovely contrast to the darker woods on the stairs. Once again, this shade creates a bright and serene environment which is just what you want to come home to.

Serene Greens & Olive

Serene Greens and olive tones strike a beautiful balance of color without being too bright. These shades of green are extremely welcoming and calming. Being in a room that’s painted with the right shade of green can make you feel like you’re walking along a forest path, surrounded by animals, plants, and sounds of nature. Serene Greens and Olive tones also make fantastic accent walls. It’s a perfect shade for houseplant-lovers, as the green will complement your plants and help them shine. Opting for a color like Sap Green or Olive from Farrow & Ball is perfect for feeling cozy and safe in this new year. Sap Green is even part of the Color by Nature palette, which was created in collaboration with the UK’s Natural History Museum to, “bring the true colors of nature into your home.”

Warming Reds & Mulberry Tones

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that I absolutely love warming reds & mulberry tones. These are such comforting but invigorating colors that are perfect for all year round – not just the holidays! As discussed in our article about picking the perfect paint color for your home office, red can inspire passion and adventure, and evoke a sense of urgency. If there’s one trending color this year that is all about the bounce back, it’s the red tones. However, red has to be used in the correct way to have the right effect. Oftentimes when an entire room is painted red, it can feel overwhelming. I often choose red as an accent color, as seen here where I used a Benjamin Moore Mexicana to paint this built-in bookcase. It’s created such a lovely reading nook, energizing you to get all your reading done in 2021!

Calming & Smooth Blues

Calming and Smooth Blues are perfect for anyone who loves the ocean. Blue is known to stimulate the mind and increase productivity while maintaining a calm effect, which is exactly what a lot of people need in this new year. A shade like UltraMarine by Farrow & Ball is a perfect soothing blue with a slightly romantic and nostalgic edge. It’s also a part of the UK’s National History Museum’s Color by Nature Palette, officially deemed the ultimate ocean color! Once again, blues work as fantastic accent colors. I didn’t design the room below, but I love how they incorporated the gold with the smooth blue accent wall!

Need help choosing?

We want to help! Interior design can be intimidating if you’re just starting out. Let us take that stress away for you. We offer an array of services from painting to full renovations, and we always put our clients at the center of every design we do. Head to our services page to learn how we can help you today.

Want to learn more about paint? Check out our article on picking the perfect paint color, or how to choose the perfect paint for your home office.


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