HINTS AND TIPS

I would like to pass along some great hints and handy tips to enhance your design projects .

One of my favorites comes from my mentor, Kenneth Brown. He has preached for years the many uses of painter’s blue tape. Not for painting projects…..but for the placement of wall hangings and furniture arranging.

It is so simple…

You put the tape on the wall in the size, shape and number of wall hangings you are thinking of using. This saves unneeded holes in the wall and also allows you to visualize the proportions of the arrangements. You add, delete or move the tape as needed …..no extra HOLES in the wall!

The other and more cost saving use is putting the tape on the floor, the size of the furniture you are thinking of, and where you wish to place it. You can actually see how the pieces will “fit” in the room and how the proportions work. You can "see" and "walk around" the pieces ....allowing you to decide what your purchases should be. Think of the money you can save!

In the room pictures of our new home, you see MANY drapery panels!!! I discovered a fabulous find!

While looking for window treatments, I browsed through my Ballard Design Catalog. I wanted to have panels at each and every window throughout the house.... and I wanted them… all the same! My thinking …unify the space and have one room flow into the next. Our floor plan is open and chopping up window treatments would detract.

Ballard Design has a section called “The Ballard Essentials“. Under Ballard Essential “Panels” are Rod pocket panels, which I chose, and Grommeted panels. They come in three lengths--- 84” , 96” and 108” and are 54” wide. The choices of fabrics and colors are many including velvet, twill, linen and quilted cotton. AND ….THEY ARE LINED!!! BUT THE BEST FEATURE IS THE PRICE…….starting at $35 a panel. The quality and workmanship is tops and I have yet to see where you can find anything to compare. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the market for drapery panels.

www.ballarddesigns.com

Enjoy, and I hope these ideas will help in your next design project…..
Patty