Window Wednesday: The Bench That Butts In

A few weeks back, a reader named Susan commented on my post How To Hang Window Treatments...

"I have a window treatment dilemma. In my living room, I want to use drapes mounted high, rather than shades. But on one side of the windows, there is a bench seat that begins where the vertical frame of the window ends. It is lower than the sill but would prevent keeping the drapes off the window. Therefore, the drapes would be partially stacked on the window. I am considering installing linen drapes anyway. What do you (and your readers) think? Any suggestions?"

After I read this, and invited Susan to send me some pictures, the light went off and Window Wednesday was born.   Windows can be tough.  Susan's is no exception.  Yikes.  Here is the picture of the sneaky little built-in bench that has crashed the window party in this room.

From this angle, it looks as though she could eek out a little extra space by pushing the cushion back, or having a new one made as it seems to stick out over the bottom frame.  Another angle, however, shows that this cushion is resting on crown molding and is in fact in line with it.  Darn.  Thought I had something there.

Here is a look at the whole window (and let's get one thing straight right off the bat -- sill length panels are absolutely not an option here, unless you're into squatty and dated as your look of the moment).  (Addendum -- there are exceptions to every rule, but this isn't one of them.)

When considering what to do with any window, you have to take in the whole picture, including the furnishings in front of it.  Here, and if a valance were used instead of panels, the table is too small for that expanse, and the lamps too close.  But when things change, below, the lamps become a purposeful focal point and distract from the bench butting in and breaking the line of the drapes.  (Ok, if we're talking more than windows, I would also loose one lamp to prevent over-crowding and do a nice, well-scaled vignette.)

Anyway...Susan figures that she would have to stack the drapes onto a good portion of the outer windows and she's right, if she desperately wants the panel look.  My suggestion, however, would be to completely cover the outer windows, and bring each panel's leading edge to the inside edge of the glass on the center window.  Why, you ask?

Two reasons: 1. It gives more importance to the center window and makes the window treatments look purposeful for that one window.  2.  The inevitable bunching against the bench cushion, combined with the bench breaking that side vertical line will be, in my opinion, less noticeable with more fullness. 

Now for those of you with a trained eye, you'll see right off that the panels done this way are a smidge too wide for framing that center window.  In my mind, I'd rather trade too cramped against the bench for a little more fabric in the panel.  Completely subjective (isn't everything in design? :)

Susan was spot on when she talked about hanging the rod high for more height, and certainly she has the space.  Given that the picture rail (extending out from the window casing) is already creating a strong horizontal line, however,  I would opt to hang the rod about one quarter to one third of the way up the wall between the top of the window and the ceiling.  Going much higher than that would feel too choppy to me, unless, of course, there was an element like bookcases on the other side of the room to warrant balancing out the height.  This is not an exact science -- the whole space and it's furnishings always need to play a part in choosing the right look for the window.

So, what would you do if this was your dilemma?  How about some debate in the comments today?  As time permits I'll respond to any questions :).  I've got an insane next three days, however, so I'll try my best!

Thanks for sharing, Susan, and I hope this helps.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

 If you would like me to solve a window issue, suggest a treatment,  critique what you have, or anything window related, please send me an email and picture to SofasandSage@gmail.com.  The only requirement is that you 1.  Become a Follower in the right hand column, or let me know that you already are, and 2.  Leave a comment on this post.

My Secretary Has Been Slacking Off

Typical story.  You know the scenario...papers piling up, not keeping things up-to-date, lacking focus and attention to detail.  Yes, that's been my girl of late.  Not holding up her end of the room.  Yes, I said the room.

I'll admit it.  She's all mine. A bit of dust, summer roses and last year's leftover Christmas things still in there (come on, it's only a couple of little things).   And I call myself a professional Decorator?  We all have our limits (time and energy!), sad to say.  So, tonight, I straightened out my girl, gave her a makeover for this short time between now and Christmas (that's when she's best at her job).  See what writing a blog does for you?

Bad photography, I know.  I couldn't seem to get it right between the lighting in the hutch, flash or no flash, etc.   It's been exhausting.  She and I worked very (ok not really ) hard.  I had a glass of wine when we were done with all this work.

My Secretary.  She's been with me, loyal and faithful, for almost 8 years.  I'll have to do right by her at Christmas.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Workshop, Anyone?

 Holiday Decorating -- Building a Beautiful Table and More

 Friday, November 19th

11:00 - 11:45

at

Located in the Stop & Shop Plaza, Rt.140, Franklin, Ma.  

Visit their website here.

Please join me and my good friend, 

Decorator and Floral Designer Charlene Rosata, as we share with you how to create a festive tablescape to wow your holiday guests.  You will learn decorator's secrets to taking every-day items and combining them with holiday decor to make a table your family and guests won't want to leave.  You'll also learn how to create a floral arrangement using both real and decorative elements, as well as other tips for making your room festive.

 Join Us, Won't You?

Window Wednesday: Too-Low Windows

November 11th Update:  Steve began changing his windows!  Check it out at An Urban Cottage...

Steve from An Urban Cottage was one of my first followers (thanks again, Steve!), and the first to email me pictures of his window dilemma when I announced my new Window Wednesday feature last week.  So, he gets to be first up as we journey toward making windows beautiful everywhere!!

Steve has been painstakingly and lovingly restoring and furnishing an 1842 Greek Revival cottage in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He's now looking for solutions to his too-low windows. When Steve moved into the house, his room and windows looked like this...

Nothing makes a window look short and squatty like hanging curtains on the casing.  And, hello, the length of them doesn't help, either!  He told me that having the curtains hung on the casing (by the previous owner) made him feel like he had to hunch-over as it made the ceiling feel really low.  Keep in mind that this is an antique home and the ceiling can't be all that high.

Steve was right on when he hung rods almost to the ceiling when he redid the room.  He likes the light the sheers let in, but he still feels like he needs to do something about the over-sized gap.

Ready to invest more in his furnishings, he tells me he'd like to upgrade his window treatments and address that nagging space.  Steve's thinking about adding some Roman Shades, but doesn't know at what height they should be hung.  I totally agree that romans, either in fabric or perhaps a woven wood blind of some sort, are the way to go.  Here is a quick sketch of how I see the windows...

My color choice aside (it's what my kids had in the art box), I'm thinking "dead hung" or "dress"(non-operating) panels will improve the illusion of height, by drawing the eye to the ceiling without the distraction of the angular lines created by the current sheers (thereby highlighting the gap).  In this situation, the top of the shade ought to be about 3/4 of the distance up the wall between the top of the casing and the bottom edge of the drapery rod.

I like that there is breathing room between where Steve hung the rod (I made it longer so that the panels "stack" off the glass completely).  By doing that and hanging the romans a bit under the rod (instead of directly behind it, an option for a different scenario), the length of the shade will remain comfortable and proportional to the eye and the windows will look larger.   (I should have drawn the bottom edge of  the left shade a little lower so that no wood shows -- woops!)

I hope that helps, Steve!  It was fun to feature your windows this week.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

 If you would like me to solve a window issue, suggest a treatment,  critique what you have, or anything window related, please send me an email and picture to SofasandSage@gmail.com.  The only requirement is that you 1.  Become a Follower in the right hand column, and 2.  Leave a comment on this post.

How To Create a Floral Arrangement on the Cheap

I love arranging flowers.  They are never perfect, but the process -- perfect relaxation on my day off.  In need of an arrangement I could use through Thanksgiving, I went about the yard looking for some greenery (free!) to mix with $7 worth of flowers I picked up at the market.  I thought you might like to learn how to make a Fall arrangement on a tight budget.

First, the materials.  I cut some evergreen branches off my weeping shrub (don't know the name), some king's gold cypress (mine's more green-gold since it gets no sun), azalea branches, pachysandra, and a bit of catmint.

You can see here I have my mums, some cinnamon scented pine cones (clearance at Michael's right now for $.99), some long cinnamon stick (another clearance for $1.99), and my $20 tin that was reduced to $3.99.  Woo-hoo!!

Step one is always soaking your floral foam in water (at least 10 minutes) to keep everybody in the group drinking.  If I'd remembered to buy it, I would have used florist's tape to keep the foam in place.  Oh, and make sure to line the container so it doesn't leak.  I used foil as I didn't have a plastic liner.

Make sure to put the foam in snug.

An arrangement should have a high, middle and low rhythm, which florists sometimes call the sun, moon, and earth.   To build support for these three elements, you need to start with the greenery.  (I have a floral designer friend, Charlene, who recently told me to work from the greens up -- I had always started with my sun, moon, and earth and filled in around them.  Who knew?  Thanks, Charlene!)

Here, I want a longer, oval arrangement, and I've decided I want it a bit asymmetrical so that it doesn't look too contrived.  I start with my weeping evergreen...

I put the branches in almost horizontal to the container to keep them low and droopy.  I'm also showing you how I propped my container up to make it easier to work with.  Next, I add in the king's gold and the azalea to start to beef things up.

Here's a look from the top-down to give you a sense of what your framework should start to look like...

Adding in some pachysandra and some catmint...

Catmint is very soft and wimpy.  To get a bunch to go into the foam together, I wrap them with some floral tape that is made for this purpose...

 

Make sure as you assemble your arrangement that it looks good from all sides, especially if it's going in the center of your table.  Next, I'm adding my sun, or the height...

As with decorating, remember to use odd numbered elements when you can.  Now, I'll fill in with smaller mums (again, like decorating, vary your scale).  It's important to carry a bit of the color over to the other side, which I did with the red mums.  It provides balance.

For my moon, or mid-height, I'm adding some fresh fruit.  Here, I'm taking a floral stake and putting it in a pear. (I like the freshness and autumn color it provides).

Now for some apples...

The asymmetry continues with cinnamon sticks added on the right...

To add pine cones, I tie them to a stake with floral wire, first wrapping the wire around the stake, then the pine cone to the stake.  Make sure to hide the wire by pulling it in to the center of the pine cone as you wrap around.

The pinecones are added, and wha-la!  The arrangement is done.  Oh, I did add one sprig of orange "lanterns" from Michaels ($1.99) for a little extra height.

So, not all that hard, right?  You can use anything you have in your yard, and hopefully, if you follow this simple construction, you'll have something fresh and great smelling to add to your home, like I did, here...

In my "buffet-scape" I added a background picture of my husband's quaint hometown, as my guests will be from the same area.  Just a little personal touch when Thanksgiving comes...

I hope this inspires you!  If you make your own, please send me a picture and perhaps I'll do a follow-up post!  Email me at SofasandSage@gmail.com

Talk to you soon,

Carol

Creating Inexpensive Artwork

When you can't find what you want for artwork, either because the subject matter isn't readily available or it doesn't fit your budget when you do find it...create it!  It really is pretty easy.  Here's the story behind the super inexpensive artwork I have in my living room...

I have really grown fond of using birds in my own decorating (I know, I know, some people are totally freaked out by the very thought of birds in a house, but I love it.)  Why?  Because when we took our girls on vacation at age 4, they were totally enamored by these little sparrow-like birds that hung around the pool area of our hotel.  Everywhere we went on that vacation, the girls would think the same birds followed them because they saw them everywhere (any place that served food outside, that is). The point?  Having reminders of that sweet time makes me happy.  So I have a few birds in my decor. 

Anyway, I wanted 6 pieces of artwork to flank my sofa, 3 on each side.  This was my inspiration, at $229 a pop -- a little beyond my budget for 6 of them.  (Available here.)

So, being a make-it-yourself-er from way back in the day, I went on a hunt to find a book that would provide me with some "prints" that I could frame.  The heavens parted and a light shone down on this baby, for $3.99 at a discount store, one day when I actually wasn't looking for it.  (Much like love, don't you think -- you find it when you're not looking?)  I digress (again).  Here's the book...

The pages had no copy, save the text notes by Audubon, so they looked very similar to my inspiration.  Next came the sagey-olivey double mats at $5 each from Michael's craft store, along with $5 clearance frames.  Can you say "making mamma's day?"  I love the frames because they are sort of branchy looking, and I thought that added the perfect texture.  They also add balance to the darker wood pieces on the opposite side of the room.

I chose the bird "prints", or pages, which worked the best with my colors.  Here is one of them close up...

Ok, maybe not quite as rich looking as the inspiration, but I'm really happy with the outcome.  When a few changes are made to the living room in the coming months, I'll photograph the whole wall so you can appreciate the symmetry they provide.  (Sorry for the lack of accurate colors in the images in this post today!)

The very best part?  My grand total was a mere $63.99, as compared to $1,374 for my inspiration!  Can't beat that.  Ok, the caveat?  Beautifully executed artwork, be they prints or originals, always trumps an imitation.  But, there's always something for every budget!

What's your best artwork creation?

Oh, and don't forget to check out Window Wednesday this week for the first reader dilemma! (Please feel free to submit your challenges and photos to me any time at SofasandSage@gmail.com).

Talk to you soon,
Carol

One more thing!  Vignette Design is celebrating one year today with a giveaway -- check out her GORGEOUS blog :)!  I also linked today's post to Colour Me Happy -- check that out, too!

Christmas Tree Ideas

On my recent trip to Cary, North Carolina, I was suprised and thrilled to find some gorgeous Christmas trees, ready for me to blog about!  It seems that purple may be the color of the season this year, and I'll start with that.  However, it's all about what you love.  Most of the pictures are from sections of the trees as it's hard to capture a tree in a store without all the other background stuff.  Maybe something will inspire your look this year!

First, some trees and looks from Family Home & Garden...

I loved this candy tree...

All the images below come from Carolina Pottery USA, a wharehouse-type discount store with fantastic accessories for your home.  I was amazed by the number of gorgeous trees they had on display, along with all the available decorations.

 

For a little peace on earth...

So, do you feel inspired and delighted?  I hope so!  Leave a comment and tell me which is your favorite.

Have a great weekend, and,

Talk too you soon,

Carol