my new living room chairs + silk curtains

finally!
introducing....my new silk drapes and chairs!


i have slowly been working on refreshing this room...you can see previous posts about this room here and here. (and see how i transformed my planter here and how i hung my gallery wall here)



first up, my chairs...
i spend a lot of time sourcing items for clients, and, like most of my clients, i am on a budget. i decided that when i was ready to replace the annoying 10 year old leather club chairs, i was going to splurge a little, if necessary. i had been saving for a while, and i wanted to get EXACTLY what i wanted, because i knew it might be another 10 years before i got new ones!

quite honestly, my very favorite chairs were from oly studio, but i don't have 6K to spend on 2 chairs, so it came down to these two chairs from sam moore:
a: the holden wing chair
b: the azriel chair (this chair has several lookalikes, including the larkin chair from bollard designs)

sam moore offers some REALLY nice chair styles, and hundreds of fabric offerings, and, (if you find the right source), really great prices!

i decided to go with the azriel chair...i liked the slender arms and the slightly smaller scale. plus, i plan to eventually have some slipcovers made for the chair, which i will use in the spring and summer. i really like the way these chairs will look with slipcovers:

i decided to go for a simple, nubby fabric, and had narrowed down the options to either "charcoal" or  "mushroom":

i ultimately decided on the mushroom, and for the legs, i took a chance and opted for a finish called "truffle".

i am really happy with the selections i made! i love how the chairs are so monochromatic...the grayish/taupe finish on the legs really makes the chairs feel unique.

the fabric is perfect for disguising dirt and adding additional texture to the room!


and now, onto my drapes!
here is a preliminary sketch that i sent to the village workroom, where the drapes were fabricated:

the banding on the edge is dupioni silk in "celeste", and the body of the drapes is in cream matka silk (a rough or raw silk that looks similar to linen). 

the drapes arrived within 2 weeks of ordering them, but it took us a LONG time to get them hung!

i decided to go for something a little different and opted for a goblet pleat at the top---

i really love how the edge banding is a soft, shimmery, SUBTLE detail.

the room now:

i still have to strip and re-stain the side table in between the chairs and the sofa, install blinds, and get a new sofa, but besides that, this room is almost complete, until we add the coffered ceiling, fireplace, bookcases, and paint everything! 

custom silk curtains: village workroom

one thing that i really love to use 
in the design of a room is silk curtains. 

*http://www.montgomery.co.uk/*

i absolutely love the sheen and

sophistication that they bring to a space.... 

and i love them 

even more when the design volume is turned up a notch

with the addition or trim and banding.

when i was planning out the study in house #5, i knew

that i wanted to have silk curtains, but i also wanted to

use stripes somewhere in the room...i eventually decided to

have some custom silk curtains made. 
in my search, i stumbled upon

the village workroom.

village workroom made the striped silk panels
 for the study in house #5,

("light gold" and "ivory" stripes,

1 width each, lined and interlined, flat tops)

as well as the silk panels in the library:

("antique", 1 width, lined, modified flair pleat tops)

i was blown away by not only the 

selection of silks,(they have dupioni, taffeta and 
matka silks, as well as some linens)
 but the header styles,

and all of the custom options. PLUS, they

have an amazing estimate page on their site

that allows you to select and price

out exactly what you want.

(above are the colors of their dupioni silks)

you get to choose:

the color

number of panels

the width of each panel

the finished length...down to the 1/4 inch!

if you want lining, and what color

if you want to add interling

black out, or other specialty lining?

the header type--flat? rod pocket? inverted pleat? pinch pleat?

modified pinch pleat? they have 11 options for headers!

after you select exactly what you want,

you will get an INSTANT QUOTE, including shipping. 

it's incredibly easy, and is

literally one stop shopping for 

custom silk and linen panels.

not only was ordering a breeze, but 
i received my panels within 2 weeks,
and i was thrilled with the workmanship!
i was able to take the striped curtains with
me when we moved, and they are currently hanging
in the living room of my rental house:

i was really excited when joe, the owner of
village workroom agreed to team up with me
and be a sponsor on my blog.
i knew that my lovely readers would be 
as excited as i was to have village workroom
as a trusted and reliable source for quality, 
custom silk and linen panels.
for more information on their 
custom silk panels, click here.

silk window treatments

sometimes, a room really takes my breath away because of the

beautiful/unique/fabulous/ amazing 

window treatments.

i'll be sharing some faves from 

my stash this week.

***

i am a big fan of silk.

i love the subtle sheen of silk window treatments

and have put them in many of my projects.

i think they add a texture and sophistication that

is hard to duplicate with any other fabric.

 usually, i have my drapes made

from dupioni silk, a silk that has slight nubs 

in it due to the use of rougher silk fibers.

it also resists wrinkling, and is totally reversible.

these are the drapes that inspired the window treatments in my black study,

i have had this picture in my files for years!

i love this entire bedroom, but what really caught my

eye was the drapes. the simple taupe banding on the top

and bottom of the soft green drapes really makes these

window treatments special.

at first glance, this room is 

very traditional, but take a closer look

at the accessories and 

notice a few of the twists:

the a---mazing headboard

the pops of blue, fuschia, and yellow

the patterns on the pillow and throw

evoke a very "traveled" look.

simple, pinch pleat panels 

done right.

i normally am not the hugest fan of puddling, 

but i like the softness it adds here.

these creamy panels 

contrast nicely with the crisp white walls 

to keep this soft color scheme interesting.

i'll be *dumping some more pretty window treatments tomorrow.

see ya then.