Window Dressing

By Nanette Catarinella

Dramatically change the personality of a room with a new window treatment. From country casual to sleek contemporary, you can create instant, no-sew window fashions from everyday items found around your home.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas to start you thinking…

• For an instant valance, attach table runners to café rods with clip-on rings.
  Frame a window with plate racks. Add a series of decorative plates and change with the seasons.
• Use coordinating bed sheets draped over a decorative pole or attached with rings.
  For a young boy’s room, tack a series of sports pennants across the top of a window frame.
• For girls, hang rows of pretty ribbons, bows, beads, or tassels.
• Teens' rooms – use frayed, cut-off jeans shorts. Just slip a slim decorative rod through the belt loops.
• Cut out cardboard stars, spray paint silver and attach in varying lengths with clear fishing wire.
• For a rustic cabin look in winter – attach old ski poles above the window frame. Hang plaid blankets over the pole.
• For spring and summer - nail a lace table cloth to the window frame. Wire bunches of dried flowers at the corners.

You get the idea…anything goes! Just have fun and let your imagination soar! Happy Decorating!
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Nanette Catarinella, owner of Room Styles Interiors, is an interior decorator, award winning re-designer and Certified Staging Professional. For more information call, 412-351-2525 or visit the web site at: www.RoomStylesInteriors.com.

When and Were to Put on Your Sunglasses at Home

By Ada Gonzalez

The location of your windows (North, South, East, or West) reveals how much sunlight you can expect to receive. So be prepared (find that compass!) and choose window treatments according to your (and your furniture’s) delight or fright of sunshine. Here’s the guide:

North: most consistent light & coldest exposure (brrr!)

South: good warm light (aah!)

East: warm bright light, especially in the morning (where’s my toothbrush
& sunglasses?)

West: hottest light of the day (take out that sun block lotion and consider getting a window treatment that diffuses light to protect your furniture).

Remember, live BEAUTIFUL and COMFORTABLE!
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Ada Gonzalez is the principal of Ada's Interior Design, Inc. in New York. She designs solutions that provide comfort & function with a BIG SPLASH of style without having to spend hi-end prices on furniture & furnishings. Her designs have appeared in the Life & Style section of The Journal News and the Lohub Blog of Westchester County. In April 2007 she won a design competition called "Interior Motives". She was an Interior Decorating subject specialist for DETC (Distant Education Training Council) spring 2007. Her weekly newsletter called “Smart Decorating! E-News” is her way of reaching out and sharing decorating tips to people across the United States. To subscribe for FREE (a $47 value) email your name to e-news@adasdesigninc.com with DANA as the subject to receive the FREE subscription.

Email: ada@adasdesigninc.com
Web: http://www.adasdesigninc.com/

Window Treatments – Adding Value to Your Home

By Mary M. Bajor, CWTC

While we may not give it the attention it deserves, our window treatments can make an overall statement in our home décor as well as add value to our largest investment. There are numerous options today that mix function and comfort with great style while enhancing our interiors. Choices in window covering products allow us to completely personalize our spaces. Today, as we focus on the home as our haven, a peaceful and enjoyable sanctuary, we can understand the benefit window treatments bring to our interiors, both in aesthetics and increased home value.

Wood shutters and wood blinds are not only functional by diffusing sunlight and providing privacy, they are a handsome furniture addition to the room. As well as painted and distressed options, shutters and wood blinds are available in various slat widths and wood stains to complement our decor. Shutters can be fabricated to cover arched and uniquely shaped windows. Shutters add exceptional beauty to the home when juxtaposed with drapes or fabric valances.

Cornices bring an impressive architectural element to the home. Upholstered fabric, wood or metal cornices can add decorative detail to an otherwise ordinary room. Curved or tailored cornice design can reflect the decorating style of the room from elaborate and heavy to sleek and simplified. Cornices can bring height to the window and can be constructed to visually widen the window when combined with a drapery under-treatment. Metal cornices or inlays can be customized from an array of intricate designs and may be selected from several metal finishes including copper and forged iron. Upholstered cornices may be trimmed in crown molding, adding charm and character to the space.

Nothing surpasses custom drapery treatments in terms of aesthetic satisfaction and added value to our interiors. Beautiful, one of a kind, drapery treatments add instant luxury to the home. A high ceiling or long window can be enhanced with extra long panels which may puddle on the floor for added emphasis. Window treatment design can accentuate an architectural feature or disguise an unattractive one. A classic Palladian window fitted with arched swags and cascades repeats the form and shape of the window style. Gorgeous trims and tassels can be selected to coordinate with the fabric. Whether it is sewn from an exquisite silk or a more affordable polyester blend, fabric window treatments can make a room completely captivating.

Adding value and function to window treatments is possible with the addition of motorization. Remote control technology allows one to conveniently regulate the raising and lowering of difficult to reach window blinds, shades and shutters. Motorization can be customized to open and close window treatments with the use of a timer for added security to the home.


With our mindfulness in preserving our natural resources and protecting our environment, we now have window treatment options that will benefit this interest. Solar panel track and roller shades offer beauty as well as provide added UV protection, further reducing heat loss and gain in our home. As a result, we can lower our energy consumption and protect our environment.

Decorative hardware should not be overlooked when assessing home value. Custom quality wrought iron and metal decorative rods, rings and finials add beauty and distinction to any home. Unique forged iron designs can complement the home décor and embellish the window treatment. As the “jewelry” of the room, crystal and colorful glass finials can provide ornamentation to a modest space.

With numerous options available today, dressing our windows for added home value is another reason to rethink our design decision. From decorative spring roller shades to custom arched shutters and luxurious antique silks, it is possible to choose a window treatment which will give us a return on our investment. Treatments that protect our home from winter cold and summer heat can be practical and beautiful, while conserving our natural resources and resulting in reduced utility costs. Unique and custom crafted windows can be dressed to preserve their architectural beauty and integrity. Technology today allows us to operate our window fashions with the press of a button, making our treatments functional and convenient.

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Mary M Bajor, CWTC
A Beautiful Room
(845) 216-5928
www.abeautifulroom.net
mary@abeautifulroom.net

Mary M Bajor is a WCAA Certified Window Treatment Consultant and owner of A Beautiful Room, an Interior Redesign & Decorating Company in Brewster, New York. Mary is also an affiliate member of the Interior Design Society. A Beautiful Room provides residential decorating services in all design styles and budgets, from one-day interior redesigns to full service decorating, paint color consultations and custom window treatments. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.abeautifulroom.net, or by phone at (845) 216-5928, or e-mail at mary@abeautifulroom.net.

What Do Your Windows Need?

by Marie Mouradian

Windows were created to let the outside light into our homes. Homes seem to have more and larger windows these days; I love those builders! Haven't a clue what to do with your windows? Some of your windows may require no treatments at all. Here is a list of questions to ask yourself about each of your windows before making your decisions.

• Do you need privacy? How close are your neighbors? Do your windows face a busy street? What is the room used for? You may feel comfortable if you can be seen in your kitchen but not in a bedroom or bath. At night, can passerbys see what you're watching on TV or what you're serving for dinner?
• Can you control the light? Light may be a welcome mood booster on a dreary day but what is it doing to your furniture? Strong UV rays are damaging your carpet, artwork, upholstery and fabric. Even with low E glass the rays are harmful. Are you blinded by the rising sun as you eat your breakfast? Is there a glare on your computer or television screen?
• Are your heating and air conditioning dollars going out the window? Glass is a very poor insulator. Layers of fabric, lining and shadings help keep the heat in during winter and the summer heat out. Your window treatment selections can lower your energy consumption.
• How secure are you? Are your windows easily accessible? Would someone be able to peer in and see your valuables? How safe do you feel alone at night with the lights on?
• What about child safety? Curious little hands can give you big worries. Dangling cords can be cause for serious dangers. Don't forget about your pet's safety too.
• Is noise an issue? Do you live on a busy street with lots of loud traffic? Want to improve the sound of your audio system? Sound waves are better absorbed by some soft fabric instead of bouncing off glass.
• Do you have something to hide? Do you want to create an illusion and visually alter the size of your windows? Do you have different size windows that you need to unify?
• Want to add some style? Do your windows need some decoration? Do your rooms have that cold hospital feeling? Want to add some color? Window treatments add psychological warmth and comfort.

Window treatments can provide more than something pretty to look at. A well-designed window treatment will transform a stark window into an extraordinary statement of beauty that is also functional. The mood and overall feel you establish in your rooms is a reflection of you. Create your home to be a safe haven for you and your loved ones.

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Marie Mouradian
WFCP Master
Window Designs Etc.
508-829-5503

25 years of creating beautiful interiors for you to love.
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