let's chat:

man, i love that sheer roman shade...so simple yet it looks amazing and how pretty is it w/ the light shining through....making a mental note in my head of this: great custom window treatment/ doesn't break the bank.

*time out* taylor just woke up crying/ coughing (she needed water, went back to sleep)

i think that hand that palm readers use is awesome. corky yet cool...every house needs a sense of humor.

hello jewelry box: please enter my house while i am sleeping....i promise i won't be mad. i can even tell you where our spare key is.

mary, mary, mary- that wallpaper, those lacquer lamp shades.....how i love the (and leontine linens, that's a given).

thanks for the chat...off to eat a halloween cookie....want one?

*images courtesy of decorno, house beautiful, unknown, the wife styles/sarah green, mary mcdonald

my evolving taste....

it's so funny how your taste evolves over the years being in the interior design business. i started working in interior design back in college. i worked at a well-known design firm downtown for 7 years before taking the plunge (well maybe cannonball) into starting my own design company. now, it's safe to say that Charleston can be very traditional. it's a town surrounded by its love for historic preservation and we take pride our historic homes. so there was a lot of swag and jabots going on in window treatments...something that made me want to throw up (and still does make me a little queasy). i remember my boss laughing at me b/c i hated them so much! and balloon shades- oh my, those were just terrible....maybe it was the application of them in a lovely chintz or some stuffy floral. i use to think that osborne and little would always be my favorite fabric company and i would never grow tired of my Manchu wallpaper. granite was the best thing since sliced bread and that distressed wood was really a "hot" look...flame stitch use to make my skin crawl and contemporary was not even in my realm of thinking for design....

it's just funny how things change...i laughed at myself last night when i was laying in bed looking at House Beautiful. i fell in love with a house done by betsy burnham (love her) and i actually liked the window treatments that at one time would have made me cringe. i think they are so classic and peaceful....i would never have suggested something like this for a window treatment two years ago; maybe not even two weeks ago. but staring at this picture made me realize how my taste has evolved and how everyday, i learn something new about my style and love for design....i can't wait to see where i am in twenty years...probably loving the swag and jabot look b/c you know, that's the thing w/ design everything old comes back in style (ummm hello, 80's fashion..did you ever think it that could make a comeback??)

#6. Roman Shades or just custom window treatments in general

so itunes is not just a place for music, its a place for addicts...its a total addition and the cause of my delay in writing. monday, i started my morning with the usual bowl of cereal and put the baby on her playmat and had every good intention of writing a blog...and i started searching itunes and the next thing i knew it was lunch time.....so here i am today with a totally new outlook...only 30 minutes of searching itunes. i must focus and listen to ray lamontage.

roman shades are so fun much and can be modern, traditional, cool, classic...they can be anything you want them to be with the help of great fabric and a seamstress. there is something about custom window treatments that add class to your home. maybe its because they are totally created by you or your savvy interior designer....not the mail order catalog that just arrived in the mail. it displays your taste and can be totally original.

places you might want to do fabulous window treatments are: kitchen/ powder room/ nursery- great places for roman shades; dining room/ living room- long panels that just break the floor look fantastic here. i heart custom window treatments with bold fabric...your husband won't heart custom window treatments if he sees the bill so do yourself a favor and hide the receipt....