I had the pleasure of working with a lovely client recently.  Dr. Joy Montes called me because her ready-made Draperies where just not working for her.  Having never worked with a designer, Joy was curious why custom draperies are far superior to ready-made, that was until I installed her new draperies recently.

The Photo Joy sent me of her ready made drapery reveals her Design Style in her furnishings. She identified her style as contemporary traditional.  She wanted black, red and white as part of the drapery.

Once I saw the stone Color walls and white sofa with accents of black, I suggested this lovely Fabric from Fabricut.  The large scale floral was an instant hit with Joy.

This black natural woven shade from Horizons is the perfect compliment to the fabric, and it plays nicely against the Dunn Edward’s Porous Stone paint color on the walls.  The color is named Madeira Espresso, you can see it installed in the photo on right side.

On the installation day, the draperies need to be trained to pleat, otherwise, they will flair out and be shapeless.  I suggest clients keep them in the training ties for 5-7 days, so the pleats remain in place, open or closed.  In the photo above, the draperies had been just hung, next photo, we train the pleats.

During the two and a half hour installation, Joy watched with amazement as her living room and dining room were transformed.

I line my draperies and Roman shades Bella Notte blackout lining, which has a beautiful soft hand, not like the stiff cheap stiff kind you may have seen at a motel.  This allows the true pattern of the fabric to be featured day or night, as the sunlight will not alter the color of the weave in the fabric.

If you need help with one window, or your entire home, help is only a phone call away!  Tami Smight Interiors will custom design your draperies, shades, shutters or blinds to express your design style.

Give me a call to discuss your design project, and as always, please comment, so I can blog about things you want to learn about!

Happy decorating!

xo

Tami