Wednesday, February 8, 2012

getting there…

Thought I'd share some of the progress on the living room project. (link has the before pictures at end of post) Well, actually.. it's the living room, breakfast nook, kitchen, and foyer project. Oh.. and Sunday night, while my husband was trying to watch his NY Giants play in the Super Bowl, I decided (rather spontaneously) that I needed to dismantle my office and re-arrange everything. This started 25 minutes before kick off. But.. I'll save that project for another post.

The curtain panels went up yesterday. Still need to get the box pleat valances up this weekend. Red ottoman under side table will be replaced by a dark blue ottoman, still at the upholstery shop.

Still more painting... the little, yellow hall will be the same as the rest of the walls. Not sure, but I may switch out those white shades by the painted mirror to a new shape and warmer fabric.

Ok.. and the cowhide.. I love it so! My trip to Greenfront in Farmville, Va was worth the hour and a half drive. (My sister who lives in Seattle pointed out to me.."you got a cowhide from a place called "Farmville"?? - didn't even realize.. but yes.. I suppose I did!) I must have spread out 20 hides with all my fabric and upholstery samples to find The One. Had to be the right size, right coat length, right colors, right brindle. One shopper asked me if they were horsehides. Huh? His wife grabbed his arm and educated him that they were cowhides. It's a learning process.

I had to have a bird somewhere. Thought the lumbar pillow made a good perch. Oh, and the bird book too.

Objects on the mantel are vintage finds. I'll probably hang the starburst mirror but waiting on the box pleat valances to go up first. The frames will lean.

Foyer.

Just picked up the foyer table on Sunday. I wanted something narrow with lots of length and open below. I was looking for an old or antique foyer table that would act as scaffolding so that I could build above and below it as well as scape the surface. All, so that I could switch out / change out objects over time and not the furniture. Couldn't find an antique with the dimensions I needed, so I went with this one. Still waiting on the cornice boards for the breakfast nook in the distance. New ticking on the bench seat and blue fern fabric on the pillows. Framed something will go on the wall above the bench end.

More to come. Another weekend of painting. Not just wall painting, I mean detailed painting. Even the quarter round molding between the baseboards and the floor. Usually, the quarter round is wood - like the floor. I'm of the belief quarter round should be white and connected to the baseboard, not the floor. So, I've been (not) enjoying that little project too!

Burlap Curtain Panels - finished!

It's been on the to-do list... taking pictures of the finished curtains! We started this project back in February, when I was looking for inspirations. These lovely, full curtains have been up since spring.

(photo credit: Muraca Design, Inc.)

So many of the items in this room have come from my client's grandparents' home. The two of us drove to Ohio last fall to bring home family treasures. These velvet and burlap panels help with the scale of the room. It's actually a small room with very large windows and ceiling. By "skirting" the panels, the eye comes down from the height of the room and helps to keep things cozy with the smaller scaled furniture.

(photo credit: Muraca Design, Inc.)

We've been breathing new life into old pieces, like the small scaled, wood frame arm chairs above, now reupholstered and painted.

"Before" chair pictured below.

(photo credit: Muraca Design, Inc.)

"After" chairs sitting with her Grandparents' drop leaf table.

(Muraca Design, Inc.)

The top of the curtain panels are in a light weight champagne color velvet (lined) with pinch pleats. The lower panel is an unlined burlap attached in box pleats to help them lay flat against the wall.

(photo credit: Muraca Design, Inc.)

While we're not feeling finished with the space (hunting lighting and other upholstery pieces), we're very happy with these fabulous window treatments.

burlap curtain panels

(credit: Cote de Texas blog)

I've been working on a not-your-typical-window treatment project for a client. She has been intrigued with unusual, textural combinations, such as burlap and velvet. These window treatments will be going up on a 2 story family room, very large 3 section set of windows with amazing views. (pictures to come once done!)

(8/3/11 update: finished curtains!)

I thought I'd use this post to gather ideas and look at just how burlap behaves when used as curtain panels. It was amazing to search the web and find so many uses; wallpaper, fabric, upholstery, table linens, room dividers.

I like the way the panels are hanging in the dining room pictured above. They look to be fan pleats with rings attached. If burlap was on a rod pocket, it would want to move out and expand. We're avoiding the use of tie backs due to the design of the panels. My goal is to keep the burlap hanging straight and not billow so that my client's view is unobstructed.

Burlap has such great texture. Usually, when used as curtain panels, burlap is not lined so that light is able to filter through, giving a warm glow to the room.

(credit: Calfinder .com)

Our design will involve just about 3/4 length non lined, burlap with the remaining 1/4 of the panel in a warm, camel color velvet. We're working out the banding design that will go across the seamline where the burlap and velvet will meet.