We made it! Now everyone can buy our drapes online--easy ordering, great prices, unbeatable quality.

The website is up! Live! DeCocco Design Drapes!  Click and see!

Ok, enough with the exclamation points.  It's been up for about a week, but there were lots of little computer issues to address. Who knew the differences in Internet Explorer and Chrome and Firefox and Safari?  So much to know.  What Gail and I  DO  know about is fabric, color, design, workroom quality AND the fact  that you are going to LOVE the choices we're offering for drapes on your windows! 

We also know how confusing it can be to order drapes and so have worked all these many months (9) to come up with a very special website with a very easy ordering process.  It was really hard to do, but a goal that we refused to lose sight of.  Frustration is not something we want for you!  Oh, those exclamation points keep sneaking back in (but we are excited!).   Beautiful windows in a home that makes you smile--that's what we want for you.

You won't find window treatments like these anywhere else.  We've looked, and that's why we started this company; to provide a great option between ready-made drapes of lower quality from big box retailers and fully custom products that require a lot of time, money and energy spent with an interior designer and custom workroom.  DeCocco Design Drapes provides a happy medium.  We ARE the interior designers and our custom workroom makes these drapes for us to send to your door.  The quality is superb, the linings are premium, the headers are updated and the prices are fantastic.  Compare us with anyone of similar quality. 

We're very proud of our product.  Gail and I wanted to offer something different, something better.  Our fabrics come from some of the top fabric houses in the U. S..  The patterns are stylish with a timeless appeal and of a lovely weight--no flimsy stuff for us--or for you.  These drapes will hang from their rods proudly, substantially, richly.  The colors are glorious.  Some are fun, some are elegant; they're all exquisite.

We're going to use this blog to talk about how easy it can be to  put drapes in your home with spectacular effect.  We'll also talk about the differences in our drapes when compared with anything else in the marketplace, and occasionally show some sneak peaks of upcoming additions to our line of gorgeous drapery panels.  It won't be all drapes all the time, of course.  I can't help but throw in personal stuff and I want you to get to know Gail better.  She's a wonderful business partner and a great friend.  Together, we eat a lot of popcorn and a little good chocolate during our workdays. We work very hard, but we also laugh A LOT in the office and on buying trips (and  during meetings and on the phone and...).

So watch for posts about linings, hems, trims, swatches, lengths, headers, widths, rods, etc.  So much goes into window treatments.  But we've got it all covered for you at DeCocco Design Drapes.  We've even put our email address right on the ordering pages of the website in case you need some professional advice before you order.  Gail and I will personally help you make the right choice.  And really, I can't say it enough that we've made ordering online EASY.  And shipping is free!  Wait till you see.

DeCocco Design Drapes.  Ta da!

Ciao,

Anne

Finally starting to roll out the fabrics for our new drapery line at DeCocco Design!

We've been working on photos of our fabrics to put on the website--days of taking photos in every light, from every angle. You know how hard it is to tell the true color of an item on your computer screen?  We won't be able to solve that issue for the world, but we're doing our best to get color and clarity on our end.  Today I thought I'd share some of the pictures to start wetting your whistle for the fabulous drapes that have been in development all these long months.

We're going to have beautiful blues.

We're going to have gorgeous greens.

And ravishing reds!

Poppin' graphics...

Elegant dots...

Handsome textures...

Fabulous stripes...

Updated coordinates...

For every room.

That's just a sampling--I'll try to post more soon, but I'm on the run every minute to get this new venture up on the website in just a matter of weeks from now.  Can't wait to show you the trims that we've found.  Nothing makes a drape look custom like a fantastic trim.  Our fabric/trim combinations are not found anywhere--I know because I've been looking for them for years!

Back to work.  Thanks for checking in.  

Ciao,

Anne

Bay windows are a designer favorite

The Raleigh News & Observer was so nice to ask me to write an article for their "Ask A Designer" series.  It appeared in today's Home section--here's the link: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/31/1964910/ask-a-designer-what-will-make.html.

The whole section was packed with lots of designer tips as well as gardening info, which I love to read while eating my Saturday morning blackberry pancakes.

However, the layout of my article was unfortunate, as they did not include a picture that I repeatedly referred to!  Readers must have been a bit puzzled.  So, taking matters into my own hands, I'm showing the correct picture in this post.  How handy to have a blog!

Here's the "before" picture that the reader provided, showing her design dilemma:

It's a bay window area in her master bedroom and she doesn't know how to finish it.  Nice problem to have, right?  It's a lovely space, looking out at a wooded area. The reader and her hub want a spot to sit with their coffee and newspaper.

This is the "after" picture that I created:

I used a neat design softeware to build the room right on top of her picture.  Clients love to have as much help as possible to visualize what their space could look like.  The drapes in this picture are based on one of the fabrics that DeCocco Design is using in our new line of semi-custom window treatments.  The chaise is from West Elm, but folks in the Raleigh area can get the same look and shop local at Dexter Furniture on Glenwood Ave.  They've got a great selection of fabrics, so customizing the chaise to the space would be easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Hub is painting a new wall color in the Library, in preparation for installation of lovely drapes (again, using one of our fabulous fabrics--I cannot wait to show them all to you!).   Stay tuned for how that turns out!

Ciao,

Anne

Flipping through this month's Traditional Home magazine

I've been reading Traditional Home for centuries and just about always find a room that I love within it's pages.  The April issue is no exception.  Here's the room:

Oops!  This is the "Before" shot.

Here's the "After."

And this.

The color on the walls is brave and perfect.  I looked for the name of that orange in the Resource pages, but it was a custom color.  However, Sherwin Williams' Robust Orange/6628, is a similar rich hue.  Benjamin Moore's Corlsbud Canyon/076 is another delicious, saturated orange.  Blue is the complementary color to orange, so the huge vase of delphiniums on the table was a brilliant stroke.  The chandelier, the window treatments, the clean lines on the upholstered pieces--so well done.  This room is filled with many details that add up to great design and a space that I'd feel very comfortable and downright happy in.  While this is a very traditional room, the use of color and fabric give it a gorgeous update.  Gerald Pomeroy of Boston did the interior design and the photographer is Francesco Lagnese.  

There was another good "before" and "after" in the magazine.

The bathroom before

Lots of good ideas in this photo, don't you think?  Also by Gerald Pomeroy Design Group.  

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Ciao,

Anne

DeCocco Design Drapes are special--want to know why?

Do you want to know what makes our drapery panels different from any others that you see online or in the big retailers/catalogs?  Let me count the ways;

      The fabrics and trims - ours are beautiful, versatile and of high quality. We've got textures, patterns and
                                   colors that you will not find with ordinary, off-the-shelf products.
                                                 
     The workmanship - custom-made upon order in a professional workroom that has been chosen because
                                   of the spectacular quality of their work, right here in the U.S.

     Quality Control - everything is chosen and supervised by Gail and I.  We are experienced, knowledgeable
                                   and extremely picky.

More another day. In the meantime, enjoy the day.  The trees here in NC are blooming and green leaves are appearing.  The season is changing and springtime in NC is so pretty it can bring tears to my eyes.

Below are more lovely photos from my friends at Houzz.com  that show how window treatments bring beauty and balance into the space.  Picture any of these rooms without the drapes and you'll see that the result will be a little colder, a little less inviting and not quite so interesting.

Ciao,
Anne

Semi-custom window treatments BY DeCocco Design!

Small blast of the trumpet please.  Finally ready to make this exciting announcement about a new venture for DeCocco Design.  We're getting ready to launch our very own line of semi-custom window treatments, sold right on the website! And they're going to look amazing in your home!

I've long wished for a choice between the blah, low quality, ready-made options offered by the big catalog/stores and the high price point of truly custom products.  That choice has never appeared to my satisfaction, so I'm going to do what any pioneer woman would--do it myself.  Of course, that's with the help of Gail, my hard working partner in this project, and a cast of amazing suppliers, all found right here in the U.S.A.

Our launch date is sometime this Spring, so I'll tell you more as the days go by. There's SO much to do, including a full reswizzle of the website.   In the meantime, look at these photos from Houzz.com.  They all show how beautiful draperies can polish, warm and finish a space.

Ciao,
Anne

DeCocco Design is growing!

Things are really hopping in the office and I've got a couple of announcements to make.  The most important one is that Gail Healy has joined DeCocco Design as a Design Associate.  Sound the trumpets please. I am so glad she's here!

Gail has run my workroom for many years--that means she makes the beautiful custom window treatments that I design for my clients.  She's super talented and a lot of fun to be around.   Her company, "It's Curtains" is well known in our area (and beyond) for creating the best of the best. Gail trained as an  interior designer, specializing in kitchen design, but just liked sewing better. I've convinced her to come on board to help me launch a related product (next announcement, coming very soon). 

I know she would want me to post a very professional photo.  But this one shows you the true Gail:

Her passion is water skiing.  Doesn't that look like fun?

Welcome Gail!

Ciao,

Anne