Hello Fall! Let's get ready for (a little) more time spent inside.

Fall is such a beautiful time of the year, isn't it?  Mother Nature really struts her stuff.  You think green leaves and flowers in every shade are pretty?  Then they all turn a riot of hot shades and it's hard to keep your eyes on the road when you drive as the scenery is so stunning.  Love it!

We start to think of fun holidays and gathering with family and friends, and of cozy evenings snuggling on the sofa.  I might change out a few of the accent pillows, using richer colors and fuzzy textures and then put a warm throw over a chair near a big window with a beautiful view, but has a bit of a draft.

Flanking that beautiful-but-drafty window with a pair of gorgeous drapes in a color like Spicy Amber (shown here on our Modern Stripe pattern with q European header) is a quick and easy way to get ready for the season.  We use a thick nap lining with this fabric, to give it nice body, but it also provides some great insulation against any coolness coming in from the window frame.

Modern Stripe also comes in 2 fantastic blues.  This one is Aqua Delight.  It's more of a bird's egg blue with a raised detail that features a tiny pop of rust with stripes in a range of warm beige.  

And this one is Modern Stripe in our Grey Blue.  A cooler blue, with that raised detail in grey with a stripe that leans toward chartreuse.  This pattern is a great way to use a stripe without going too cabana-y.  We love this pattern in every room, but it's a standout in the Dining Room.  

Since our drapes are custom made upon order, they take 4-6 weeks to arrive at your doorstep.  Now is a great time to start thinking about getting the house ready for parties, pictures and presents!

Ciao,

Anne

I like this room makeover!

House Beautiful, February, 2011

I just finished reading the new issue of House Beautiful and found this great "One-Day Makeover" in it's pages.  It's got lots of good ideas.  Above you see the "before" room.  Large but narrow space, good light coming in.  What the homeowner was doing was using 2 sofas, back to back.  So we're looking at the blue sofa, but there's a white one right behind it.  It makes for difficult conversation and narrow aisles on each side of the room.  Poor use of space.  Kind of boring.

Room by Healing & Barsanti

So here's the "after" shot.  Love the new floor plan. Not sure if you can tell, but there's a dining table and chairs at the far end of the room.  Great use of space.  Love the vibrant artwork on the left wall and the purple lamp.  I like how the white coffee table gives the eye a place to rest amid all the color.  Not sure I'd have chosen those drapes, but I'm quibbling.  They pulled blue and purple throughout the room and that's one of my all time favorite color combinations.  That tie dye rug is delicious and all the furniture looks useful and comfortable.

It's not a boring room anymore!  Very liveable and attractive.  This is a room that would make me smile!

Ciao,

Anne