Stroheim trim

Custom Drapery Designs delights in the importance and prominence of texture in design. This lovely detail transforms a flat design to a multi-dimensional experience; and, many times, accessories offer the best examples of texture.

During Brenda Baxter’s trip to Paris in September, she collected new and exciting products with which to add extra dimensions to future designs. (See last month’s blog sharing some of the inspiration she brought back across the ocean.) Her hotel even got her creative juices flowing and inspired her to snap this photo while resting from her walking tours of the city. Hotel d’Aubusson may very well inspire some upcoming designs! The lobby boasts magnificent elegant draperies which perfectly complement the rustic beams. And, ideally placed accessories bring it all together to make a perfectly-designed package.

Art provides a great starting point for adding depth to a design. Like we saw last time, many fabrics are art pieces in themselves and create an extra dimension or make a fantastic statement to set a room apart. This lovely example of Graffiti Art fabric from Jean Paul Gaultier adds a pop of modern flair to an older furniture style. This chair coupled with a solid drapery background brings both elegance and fashion to any room.

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Brenda browsed several showrooms in Paris, including Èlitis. She was particularly drawn to their Artémis and Algaé collections with larger-than-life prints on cotton-linen mix sheers. These flowy fabrics provide the perfect canvas for
watercolor-inspired designs. Artémis brings a pop of color through its detailed flowers. Algaé mimics the colors and shapes of elements in nature from lily pads on a pond to moss encircling a great tree to the variations in color shades in the waters in a lake. These collections bring the outdoors in and add the illusion of stepping into a magical spot somewhere in the great expanse of nature. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the mystical notes of fairies and dryads.

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Pillows, throws and rugs join art as great starting points for a design. Custom pillows can mimic the colors and textures of a room’s draperies and add depth and warmth to any space. These lovely pillows on display in the Lelievre Paris showroom show the range of possible options with this accessory—dark colors, light colors, patterned, simple, decorated with tassels and trims…the possibilities are as varied as people and their styles! Lelievre embraces the history of fabrics and carries those ideals into modern times with rich, luxurious fabrics and sensuous silks paired brilliantly with timeless solids.

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Pairing more busy patterns with solids offers great design potential. And, don’t shy away from lighter colors…even white or off-white—be prepared to hear much more on that in 2016! Also, check out these simply elegant stonewashed linen pillows from the Èlitis Veda collection. We love the contrast of the deep violet with the white and the detailed decorative stitching along the seams—simply making a statement! A careful mixture of textiles adds dimension to a room as well. A great design can mix and match silks, linens and velvets through the use of properly-placed accessories. The depth and added dimension multiple fabric types bring to design opens the door to a new horizon for interior styles. Pairing rugs and throws that play off one another in texture and style pumps up a design.

Stroheim trim

During a recent installation, Custom Drapery Designs chose some new trimmings from Stroheim to add some custom pizzazz to a room. Brenda chose this Nuage in Moss trimming by Charles Faudree. An interior designer and philanthropist, Faudree passed away in 2013; but not before making a great impact on the design community. Within his collection on Stroheim’s website he is quoted as saying, “You can have a lot invested in throw pillows with trims and fringes. But, it’s the frosting on the cake; the detail that really makes a room…it’s important.”

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While touring the Èlitis showroom in Paris, Brenda swooned over their decorative pillows. She looks forward to using a number of them in upcoming designs. These “art pieces,” as she refers to them,  come in a variety of sizes, highlighting the company’s signature large patterns and solids with tiny lip cord accents that add a signature finishing touch. It’s these exquisite couture details that Custom Drapery Designs seeks out for our clients and their designs. It’s in life’s little details that the greatest beauty often lies.

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One final way to achieve great depth in design is through textured walls. That’s right—texture comes across in way more than fabrics! Stamped wallcoverings, like this one from Èlitis, simply tie a room all together and add depth in a surprisingly refreshing way. These wallcoverings feature “natural plant materials in wood, bamboo and paper mâché” and create “a world of walls made up of simplicity and sophistication.”

While modern technologies allow many new textiles and colors and patterns, handmade items retain their unique values. Clients do not mind waiting for fabrics that are hand-painted or hand-sewn. Handmade rugs, like we saw in a previous post, are in high demand. The stories behind these pieces and the obvious attention to detail in the work make for timeless additions to any room’s design. Join us next time for a closer look at the beauty of handmade textiles and get ready to chat with some industry leaders whose commitment to handmade captured CDD’s attention.

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Design makes the most of motion

Interior design and technology often go hand in hand to produce spectacular fluid results. Hunter Douglas’ Alustra® Vignette® Modern Roman Shades present a perfect example of this compatibility. As one of our favorite products, these timeless window coverings offer not only protection and privacy, but also fashion and the ability to simplify life. You have the power to control these beautifully textured shades with the touch of a screen thanks to Hunter Douglas’ PowerRise® with Platinum™ Technology and their Platinum App.

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Custom Drapery Designs loves installing Hunter Douglas products because we know they deliver high quality every time, which is why we are a Hunter Douglas Showcase Dealer. We are proud to work with Hunter Douglas certified installers for our clients’ projects. We wire the motorized shades in order to eliminate the hassle of changing batteries on a regular basis and do so in a hidden way that will not detract from the finished design. Combine this convenience with the Platinum App and our award-winning drapery designs and our clients will be completely satisfied with their new looks! Contact us today and visit our new Hunter Douglas website to take advantage of the Season of Style Event with its big rebates, which runs now through December 16.

Our goal is to offer our clients the highest quality products available for interior design. This is why we partner with companies such as Hunter Douglas for shadings and Stroheim and Fabricut for fabrics. Stroheim’s Color Gallery expands this season with the Malachite palette. Born from the earth and inspired by nature and the runway, the Malachite gallery showcases the variety found in the blue-cast green shades of the mineral by the same name. These fabrics aren’t just solid, stagnant colors; like malachite, they present a moving, breathing backdrop that ebbs and flows and breathes life into the rooms they touch.

The vibrant greens of malachite have cast their glow upon royal halls and humble dwellings for thousands of years in the form of objects such as vases. The colors are striking enough to have been utilized in paint as well. Now, you can bring these hues into your own home in the form of upholstery, drapery, pillows and other accents. We look forward to using the malachite inspiration in upcoming designs. Malachite and bronze are a match made in nature, and we anticipate topping off this fabric with some exquisite couture details. When we pair striking fabrics, such as those in the Malachite palette, with warm finishes, such as bronze upholstery nail heads, we produce a design masterpiece our clients will continue to enjoy for years to come.

Animal print is all grown up and catches our design eye for sure! Light-colored animal print also introduces brilliant movement into design. Texture and soft hues in this chenille brocade animal print fabric from Clarke & Clarke add another dimension to a room.

Another collection we like for animal print comes from Candice Olson, interior designer and HGTV host of “Divine Design” and “Candice Tells All.” She partnered with Surya to produce her stunning rugs with contemporary timelessness. Her zebra print rugs forget the harsh contrasts of black and white and set style in motion.

Custom Drapery Designs, LLC

Custom Drapery Designs, LLC, serves Dallas and the surrounding metroplex with all aspects of a custom design project. From in-home consultation to project management to exquisite couture details to a perfect installation, we do it all. 

Hours of Operation:

Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

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