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

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

The benefits of custom bookshelves

I enjoy designing custom bookshelves.  They can be built to suit a client's wants and needs, fit into just about any space and give a plain room some nice character.  Even if the built-ins are going to span the entire wall, I don't want them to overwhelm the space. The way I do that is to really watch the depth. The above cabinet shows a completed project that the homeowner loves.  The entire piece is only 12 inches deep, which is lovely for books, but kind of narrow for other uses.  BUT I just had doors put on the lower half, installed shelving inside and laid down that non-stick shelf liner (in black) on those shelves.

Two of these cabinets give the client a ton of storage space for china and glassware in the room, while leaving plenty of space on the rest of the wall for books and collections.  You can see that the homeowner could easily add another shelf inside, but it's important not to pack things too tightly--makes it a little dicey when pulling out those antique goblets and cake servers.  We put baby locks on the doors since the room is also used by children.  They don't even know all that breakable stuff is nearby (hope they don't read this blog)!  It works really well.

Ciao,

Anne