The Design Diva Dishes! August 2009 Design Trends and Lifestyle Tips Dear , I am pleased to report that I have been invited to be a presenter on the Main Stage at the Southern Ideal Home Show. The show will be held at The Park (formerly the Merchandise Mart) on Independence Blvd in Charlotte August 28 - 30. Friday night is "Date Night" and my program will be "Compromise Design: Home Interiors You'll Both Love." Saturday's topic is "Outdoor Living: Indoor Comforts for Outdoor Fun," and Sunday's session is "Great Design: Where to Splurge and Where to Save." I have also been asked by Lite 102.9 (the competitor to my radio station K104.7) to do a room makeover for a contest they are running called "Lite's Chic Retreat Makeover." Listeners are submitting photos of rooms emptied by children who have gone off to college and I will be reinventing the room as a "Chic Retreat" for the empty nesters. The winner will be announced at the Southern Ideal Home Show on Sunday. If you or your neighbors would like to attend the show on any of the days, please let me know, I have free tickets that I would love to share. For more information about the show go to: SouthernShow s.com This month I thought I would give everyone a primer on window treatments. The better educated you are, the better choices you will make when you are ready to decorate your windows. Fall is a popular time to decorate, as homeowners are gearing up for holiday entertaining. You will learn what questions to ask to get the best results. The Trend Report will share the hottest trends in window treatments. The Color of the Month is Teal. Our Green Report will share eco-friendly options for windows, and our Recipe of the Month is Summery Tomato and Cucumber Salad. Please enjoy the rest of your summer, and feel free to contact me at sensiblychic4u@aol.com with any questions or comments. Barbara Green Window Treatments This may sound crazy, but window treatments hold a special place in my heart. Those who have been to my website, sensiblychic.biz, already know that window treatments were my specialty when I started my business 17 years ago. While my list of products and services has grown substantially over the years, window treatments still form a cornerstone of my current design business. It is my belief that the right choice in treatment can totally transform a room. There are several questions you need to ask yourself when considering new window treatments: Do I need Privacy, Light Control or Decoration? You might have a different answer for each room in your home. For the most part I find people want privacy in their bedrooms, light control in their media rooms, and design elements in their living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. However, if you are in an urban area, privacy is probably desired in every room. The draperies in the master bedroom below offer total darkness when closed, perfect for sleeping late. Conversely, the silk draperies in the living room below are not functional for light control or privacy, but simply add color, elegance and warmth to the room. What is the look I am trying to achieve? Would you like your room to have a formal look, or do you have a more casual lifestyle? Do you like traditional design, or do you prefer the clean lines of contemporary styling? If you are not sure, look to your wardrobe for inspiration. Your room style should suit you as well as your favorite outfit does. I also recommend looking through design magazines to get an idea of likes and dislikes.Traditional interiors will have have more elaborate drapes, perhaps even several layers. One window might incorporate panels with swags and jabots, or valances. Contemporary rooms with clean lines and sleek surfaces are best adorned with simple styles such as the sheers in the dining room below. Blinds, shades, and grommet topped draperies also translate well into modern styles. What kind of fabric should I choose? If your style is traditional and you want a truly opulent look, try the richness of velvet, damask, silk, or leather. Lavish fabrics are now available with sequins, crystals, beading, and embroidery. If your style is contemporary and you want an understated look choose fabrics that get their beauty from lush textures and colors. Not only do you have to think about the pattern, color, and style of the fabric, you also need to consider the weight. Heavier, stiff fabrics are great for roman shades, cornices, or valances. Lighter weight fabrics offer the needed drapabilty for gathered, pleated, or swagged styles. The wrong fabric choice can make the best design a disaster. What is my budget and how long will I live here? Quality window treatments will last 10 to 20 years, so they are definitely an investment. If you plan on moving in 2 years, consider styles that will adopt easily to different sized windows. If you do plan on staying for a while but your budget is tight, invest in the best quality you can afford for the main rooms that guests will see, and use less expensive options for the more private rooms. Trend Report I had to laugh when I was researching information for my trend report. I know a lot of my faithful readers are also devoted fans of HGTV. They did a show featuring the Top 10 WIndow Treatment Trends, but they featured so many divergent ideas, the trend they illustrated best was that anything goes! I, however, am taking a stand and giving you three indisputable trends in window treatments: 1. Jewelry for Windows - There is an endless supply of trims available for adorning custom window treatments. They range from fringes, tassels, cording, beading, and ribbons. Dressmaker details such as pleating, ruching, applique, and ribbons allow for truly distinctive and unique designs. I always tell clients to imagine your window treatment as a little black dress, it doesn't really "come alive" until the accessories are added, much the same as trim is to a valance, shade, or drapery. Decorative hardware also adds incredible style to otherwise simple panels. 2. Motorized Window Treatments - Motorized window treatments allow you to open and close blinds, shades, and draperies with the touch of a button. These motors can be pre-wired into a home during construction, or can be battery operated for easy installation post-construction. Imagine the convenience and ease of closing the blinds or shades on two-story windows, without those long, unsightly cords. The french doors below are covered with a motorized product called "Panel Track Shades." They are a sleeker, more attractive alternative to vertical blinds. 3. Outdoor draperies - I went over this topic in last month's issue, but it is still a major trend. Window treatments are adorning outdoor areas such as verandas, patios, and poolside cabanas. They add style and softness to otherwise hard surfaces. Color of the Month The Color of the Month is Teal. If you have been in any stores recently, you will have noticed that this color is EVERYWHERE! You see it in fashion, home furnishings, and even housewares. Teal is a great color to work with because it goes with almost anything. The fact that it is neither blue nor green, yet an amalgamation of both adds to the color's versatility. It works beautifully as an accent color, as shown in the brown room below: It looks equally terrific enveloping a room in color. The photo below not only illustrates the richness of a teal room, it also includes another hot design trend, bold graphics, as displayed on the tree and bird mural above the bed. Color expert Dewey Sadka teaches that teal inspires you to believe in your wishes. He encourages you to wish over and over again until you believe in your capacity to accomplish your dreams. Dewey says "If you believe in your wish you will gain the power to believe in yourself." Green Design There are a couple of aspects to examine when applying green design to window treatments. First of all, window treatments have the ability to insulate a home from heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Did you know that properly lined and interlined draperies have better efficiency than even the best energy efficient windows? Since there are multiple layers of fabrics, the outdoor elements get trapped before they get the chance to adversely affect the temperatures in your rooms. Cellular shades also provide great insulation from the outdoor tempuratures. Skylights and window walls no longer have to drain your energy budget if you cover them with the motorized cellular shades shown below. Another way to incorporate green design into your window treatment is to use organic fabrics. One of my favorite lines of is Oeco Textiles. They offer luxurious, sensuous fabrics that are made from high quality, natural fibers that have been grown without pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. Why is this important? Because fabrics grown and processed with chemicals are know to cause allergies, cancer, birth defects, and genetic mutations. Luckily, you don't have to sacrifice style, since they have gorgeous colors and textures of organic silk, linen, hemp, and bamboo. The pillow below is constructed from organic fabrics and filled with organic plant fibers made from corn. Quote of the Month Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. ~ Henry Ford Recipe of the Month My dad was an amazing man. From meager beginnings, he was able to study and work hard and create a wonderful life for his wife and five children. During the summer months he would relax after work by tending his vegetable garden. He was so proud of the tomatoes, peppers, green beans, and cucumbers he grew. His attempts at growing corn were always thwarted by the critters who knew the exact time to harvest it, which was concidentally the day before Dad planned to. This August is the 25th anniversary of him succumbing after a valient battle with cancer. In honor of this special man, I share a recipe for Tomato and Cucumber Salad. He used to love to make this salad with his perfect beefsteak tomatoes and cucumbers fresh off the vine. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I have enjoyed sharing his memory with you. Bon Apetit! Summery Tomato and Cucmber Salad 4 large beefsteak tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges 2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut in 1/4-inch thick slices 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 3 tablespoons Italian red wine vinegar 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Directions 1. In a large salad bowl place the tomatoes, cucumber slices, olives, red onion, basil, and oregano. 2. In a small bowl whisk together the red wine vinegar, salt, sugar, and pepper until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add the oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated. Pour dressing over salad and toss to thoroughly combine. Let salad sit for 5 to 10 minutes for flavors to mingle, then serve. Community Outreach Most people say there are only two things guaranteed in life: death and taxes. Well I would like to submit to you a third guarantee: No matter how bad your life is, there is always someone worse off than you. I believe that it is more important to give than to receive. Additionally, it has been my personal experience that when I give generously, whether it be of time or money, the rewards I get are exponentially greater than anything I might have given. In this spirit, I am going to share with you each month opportunities available for us all to give back, for we are all greatly blessed, even in these times of struggle. Stuff the Bus Everyone knows how budget cuts and reduced donations have negatively impacted local charities' day to day operations. The United Way is sponsoring a "Stuff the Bus" drive for office supplies for our area Health and Human Services Agencies. They are accepting donations of copy paper, notepads & post-its, staplers & staples, flash drives >1GB, paper clips, pens, & pencils, hilighters, and dry erase markers. To drop off donations in your area, the United Way bus will be parked at the Mooresville Lowes on Monday, August 3, Sabi Restaurant in Davidson on August 4, Our Towns Habitat for Humanity in Cornelius on August 5, Presbyterian Hospital in Huntersville on August 6, and Citizens South in Mooresville on August 7. For more information you can email Shelly Wright at swright@uwcentralcarolinas.org. Lake Norman YMCA Triathlon The Lake Norman Triathlon is the largest community outreach of the year for the YMCA.This year it is a two day event, on August 21 and 22.Volunteers are key to making this event a success and are needed in the following areas: packet pickup, timing, refeshments, and body marking. Also needed are volunteers to man the bike course, the run course, the water stations, and give out ice towels. If you are interested, please contact Amber Baker at (704) 716-4068 or email her at amber.baker@ymcacharlotte.org.