pennquaker09

[pennquaker09]

Date: 1/9/2009 9:54:38 AM
Author: crown1
no offense penn, i think your home is lovely and you have great style but those drapes make me think bunting and the fourth of july.

None taken, that's not my house. But that's some serious drapery right there. I love them.

 

[janinegirly]

hi penn,

those are very eye catching--but a little too strong for me I think. I prefer understated and subtle so that''s why i have a hard time choosing color. I''m thinking maybe just sticking with solid soft yellow drapes and then using the cream couches and throwing some red floral fabric pillows on the couches for some offset (and possibly another chair in that theme)--what do you think? A neutral rug to go. I think either red or blue can go with soft yellow as an accent, but blue with yellow is a bit too china-patterny too me if that makes any sense, although it''s also very pretty.

I''m just learning that rooms visible from main rooms should have paint that are in same family...boy didn''t think about that!

 

[pennquaker09]

Actually, I was heading in that direction.

Faux Silk Panels

Pink-Pleat Drapes

 

[pennquaker09]

Okay, don''t be alarmed, this is just an idea. I think you need a wing back chair and it would great for it to be upholstered in a print.

 

[janinegirly]

I agree--a winged chair would be a great finishing touch. My DH wants a leather chair, but I''m not so sure about that. The drapes are great, thanks!

The chair pattern is a bit strong (I feel like a broken record hehe), but gives me ideas. How about this pattern and the next 2 I''m about to post?

In general do you think red works with yellow and cream without being too bright--or is a pale blue a better palette mix? Would these be considered "cooler" colors?

 

[janinegirly]

another one

 

[janinegirly]

one more in stripes with yellow

 

[pennquaker09]

We''re both pretty much on the same page. Believe it or not, we have the same traditional style of design, but I tend to incorporate a little more modern elements to give it some balance. To not make it look so uber traditional.

I like all 3 of your fabric selections, but I like the last two the most. I think I need to see a bigger sample of the first. Florals and stripes work very well together, just in case you didn''t know.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but yellow and cream are neutrals and they''re going to go with everything. The addition of red adds a warmer tone. The pale blue/gray would also be consider cool, but at the same time they are neutrals. The reason why I mentioned the blue/gray is because it''s very classic colonial.

What do you think of this?

 

[pennquaker09]

Here''s a red damask.

Red Damask

 

[pennquaker09]

Another drapery idea. The idea is the mixture of two colors, btw.

 

[crystalheart1]

PQ.. I love the last post of the two tone drapery.. Where is that from ?

I have another question for you.. SOrry to threadjack ! I am looking for a darker tan paint color - not brown
Kind of like a mushroom.. taupe, but no gray tones. The ones we have looked at come out like dark bandaids on the wall.
I have cream glazed cabinets and brown ( Marroom Castor ) Granite. The tile looks like natural stone with
black granite inserts ( every other tile ).. sorry if that is too much detail
Any suggestions ??

 

[pennquaker09]

If we''re talking Benjamin Moore, I would recommend Whispering Woods 1012.

You can buy that exact draper from Silk Trading Co. Here is the link for you. I will warn you, they''re expensive, but silk drapery is like the warm chocolate sundae of drapery, lol.

Two-Tone Drapery

 

[sunkist]

Date: 1/9/2009 3:13:10 PM
Author: pennquaker09
Okay, don't be alarmed, this is just an idea. I think you need a wing back chair and it would great for it to be upholstered in a print.

Penn, love the print on this chair! I think big patterns rather than smaller patterns on upholstered chairs make them so much more interesting.

 

[icekid]

penn, I am not even close to decorating a house yet, but just wanted to say how much I love reading your design threads. you have such great taste! I am storing away loads of great ideas for the future.

janine- I hope you''ll share with us what you choose. I love seeing how others decorate!

 

[janinegirly]

Penn,
I do like that grey/blue yellow print--where''d you find it? Also love the look of silk draperies! On a side topic, any idea how much custom drapery costs--for one window for example? I''ve heard it''s exorbitant, but no idea.

also DH mentioned that cream couches will get dirty fast. I don''t expect them to get much use (living room mostly is for entertaining, display)--but still. There''s also a fireplace in there, so maybe that means more soot/dirt.

Thanks for all your ideas and help!

 

[Anastasia]

Hi Janine,

I am not Penn, but I can help on the custom drapery costs (I do it for a liiving). If you can give me a few details, I can give you a pretty good idea.

Are you looking for panels only (like Penn is showing you), or are you interested in valances also?

About how wide are your windows?

Do you want the draperies to close, or are they just for looks?

 

[janinegirly]

hi anastasia,

right now I''m only thinking of doing one window (dining room). It''s a large window facing the front of the house but I''m not sure of the measurements since I''m not in the house yet. I''m going to guess 4 feet wide and maybe 5 feet high. It''s somewhat square and doesn''t touch the floor. I thought a valance style would look great, and I think they only really look right if done custom. (Panel seems a bit easier to buy ready made). I''m not sure if I''m describing them right, but I''ve seen valances which also drape the sides a bit, but it''s more for display than closure. I guess a simple shade can be put in for closure, right? Anyway, I have an aunt who had a few done and said it cost $10K or something, which sounded crazy to me, but maybe I''m just not aware of how much these things cost.

Thanks!!

 

[tcm]

Could you tell me where the wing chair is from? I LOVE it!!!

 

[crystalheart1]

PennQuaker is the BOMB... lol.

Thanks for your advice and all your great design ideas. We went with a stone / taupe color ( NOT BEN MOORE )

It came out GREAT. My husband kept saying it looked "rich" It made some of the other tile work in the house POP... My husband tiled a Column in the hallway and it just came to life with the walls being this color.. Now off to the new tile floor.

THANK YOU PENN!!!!!!!!!

 

[pennquaker09]

Date: 1/12/2009 12:23:03 PM
Author: tcm
Could you tell me where the wing chair is from? I LOVE it!!!

Pottery Barn.

 

[pennquaker09]

Date: 1/10/2009 11:02:45 PM
Author: icekid
penn, I am not even close to decorating a house yet, but just wanted to say how much I love reading your design threads. you have such great taste! I am storing away loads of great ideas for the future.


janine- I hope you''ll share with us what you choose. I love seeing how others decorate!

Thank you very much.

 

[pennquaker09]

Date: 1/11/2009 8:17:26 PM
Author: janinegirly
Penn,

I do like that grey/blue yellow print--where''d you find it? Also love the look of silk draperies! On a side topic, any idea how much custom drapery costs--for one window for example? I''ve heard it''s exorbitant, but no idea.


also DH mentioned that cream couches will get dirty fast. I don''t expect them to get much use (living room mostly is for entertaining, display)--but still. There''s also a fireplace in there, so maybe that means more soot/dirt.


Thanks for all your ideas and help!

That silk blue and yellow strip is sold by The Silk Trading Co. I''ll have to go back to the site and find it for you, but I think it''s really pretty and it has the qualities you like.

You can still get your cream sofas, but get them covered with scotchguard.

I think the primary cost of custom drapery is the fabric. From there, I think it''s hoe much sewing and everything.

 

[Anastasia]

Janine -

I would figure $150.00 per linear foot and up for a custom valance. So, for a four foot window, I would figure at least $600.00. This is assuming average priced fabric and trim.

Keep in mind that the "up" can be waaaay "up"! There are so many beautiful things to choose from. Trims and hardware can run the price up also. But there are many beautiful fabrics in the average price range.

There are some options that are less pricy than others. Upholstered cornices tend to be on the less expensive side, because they don't require a ton of fabric. Some of the less complicated styles (Inverted box pleated valances for example) are on the less expensive side, because the labor isn't quite as expensive as something like a kingston valance.

There are some nice websites for looking at fabrics out there. www.kravet.com and www.robertallendesign.com are good, but not real easy to search.
One of the vendors I use a lot is www.greenhousedesign.net. Their website is excellent, and most of their fabrics are pretty reasonable.

Your area tends to be super pricey, so you may find things more expensive there.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Window treatments are one of my favorite topics!!

P.S. Penn - you do have excellent taste!

P.P.S. Does the "subscribe" feature work for anyone? I have tried to subscribe to various threads, but have never gotten e-mail notification of posts.

 

[crystalheart1]

Anastastia... I have a question for you. Are London Shapes ( or some call them elephant ears ) still popular ?
I am thinking of having this made for my kitchen windows .. one large in the breakfast nook, and the other over the sink. I think you are in Philly area. I was just at 4th street looking at Fabric and I stopped off at John''s Workroom to talk to him about the job..

 

[Anastasia]

Hi Crystalheart

London Shades are most definitely in style. I love them.

How did you make out on 4th street? I find it kind of hit or miss there.

Is John''s workroom in Philly? I know there is another co. out our way that is John''s also.

 

[pennquaker09]

janine, I just wanted to check in and see in which direction you were headed in? I still have more ideas if you want them. I actually scanned a bunch of pages from House Beautiful and Home and Traditional Home, but I can''t get them sized small enough to post on PS. I think I might make a photobucket album.

 

[gailrmv]

Janine,
We just got done with window treatments in our house. we found that Restoration Hardware had a really nice selection of silk drapes. They have some with the darker brown on bottom and a color on top, similar to what Penn posted. I believe they ran about $200 per panel. Pottery Barn also had a really nice selection that was slightly less expensive. We got Resto drapes in our living room that had a nice stripe pattern in the same colors as our rug. For most of our windows, we got roman shades or plantation style blinds which we custom ordered from Levelor (through Lowes, but they are carried many places). For one other window, we found some other nice silk panels in a cream stripe at Bed Bath and Beyond which were much less expensive than Resto. Maybe this gives you some more shopping ideas? Our friends did their entire house with window treatments from Pottery Barn and it really looks great.

Hope this helps...

 

[gailrmv]

And now I have a question for Anastasia and Penn and anyone else who knows about window treatments, if it's OK for me to threadjack for a moment?

Many of the windows in my house have plantation style blinds (2 inch thick slats). We chose that because our windows have nice trim around them that we didn't want to hide, and I like the clean look and functionality of blinds. Now I'm wondering if there is a good way to add a bit of color as an accent. I was thinking of a valance, but I don't want it to look too cluttered or busy with having the blinds also. I also don't know much about valance styles - of course I want to avoid that bunched up style that was popular in the 80s/90s. I do like the scarf style valances.

What do you all think?

Thank you!

 

[janinegirly]

Hi Penn! Took a bit of a breather since we''re trying to choose furniture right now, but the other design thoughts are still on my mind. I''m still hoping for the cream couches with some red accent (wing chair and/or pillows) with pale yellow paint and drapes. I was actually just at the house yesterday (been awhile) and it brought up some other questions/issues.

*paint: if you stand in the center after entering the house (center hall colonial which has staircase up the middle and dining room to the right, living to the left), how important is it that the 2 shades of rooms are the same or compliment? Can I have one side (dining) in blond wood and the other (living) in pale yellow for example? Does a kitchen typically have to be in the same shade as a dining room?

*window treatments: is it necessary to have either panel or valance in one room (and not mix the 2 styles?). I ask because looking at the rooms, some have alot more windows then I remembered and not very high ceilings so starting to wonder if in those cases, ceiling to floor panels might be too heavy looking.

I''d love to see what you''ve got (photobucket or otherwise)--let me know! Thanks Penn, you''re the best.

TanDogMom: thanks for the tips on windows-I like resto panels too..and they''re pretty reasonable.

 

[pennquaker09]

Date: 1/17/2009 10:39:16 AM
Author: TanDogMom
And now I have a question for Anastasia and Penn and anyone else who knows about window treatments, if it's OK for me to threadjack for a moment?


Many of the windows in my house have plantation style blinds (2 inch thick slats). We chose that because our windows have nice trim around them that we didn't want to hide, and I like the clean look and functionality of blinds. Now I'm wondering if there is a good way to add a bit of color as an accent. I was thinking of a valance, but I don't want it to look too cluttered or busy with having the blinds also. I also don't know much about valance styles - of course I want to avoid that bunched up style that was popular in the 80s/90s. I do like the scarf style valances.


What do you all think?

Thank you!

There is one room in my home that has plantation style blinds and that's the one room that doesn't have drapery. I just let the blinds be my window treatment. I like the simplicity of it.