Gave up on Waiting for the Light

They say the sun shines three hundred days out of the year in Texas....I think we are getting sixty-five days in a row of no sunshine, so I am going to post the photos of the window treatments sans sunshine. I know everyone (not) is out there, holding their breath for these breathtaking photos.


I think I should not drink two cups of coffee before taking photographs. I loved my big, ol' Nikon 35mm, for it had "heft", and compensated for my shakes. My Canon digital camera is eight years old, and cost $800 when I bought it, and it only has 4.0 mega pixels, but it is still working well, and I cannot justify buying a new one...

We have lived with this empty corner in our living room long enough. I wanted to make window treatments long ago, but my husband was afraid it would make the already dark living room (we have a porch, then a grove of Live Oak trees out the backside of the house, for it is Texas, and three hundred days out of the year, the sun beats down without mercy. I tell my clients to live in a home for at least one entire season in order to see how the lighting changes. Well, two seasons have passed, and it is time.

It only took me four hours to put up the rod - I have abused my hands and have wrist injuries (don't wear stilletto heels in Ft. Worth - long story, took a fall, and injured both wrists). So, that is my excuse...power drill or no power drill, it still takes alot of force to drill the six holes, hammer in the plugs, and then, screw in the screws. My husband is not a handy man, and I've spent years installing window treatments, so I don't even bother to ask.

First glimpse, shot from the foyer (they are on the left)....tilted camera and blurry. Did I mention I was a professional photographer for many years? (Notice the centerstone of the fireplace is shaped like the great state of Texas. I personally wouldn't have chosen this, but here it is, and here it will stay. There's even a fossil, marking where Austin is. Gotta love Texans.) This pillow, which I purchased, along with several like it in different shapes (some rectangular, some square) from the Goodwill in Austin (I know where the rich people drop off), was still in its plastic wrapper, had a zipper, is silk, and cost $3.00..swear to God, was my inspiration for the window treatments. I stole three of them - there are two left, from my husband's office day bed. I don't think he's noticed yet.

I've gone on-and-on about piecing together window treatments, but I love the texture of this diamond patterned cream silk. Also, by "railroading" the fabric, which is traditionally 54" to 58" wide (that means running the fabric sideways, as opposed to up-and-down), I don't have to buy as much, and can have more fullness in the drape. I deliberately don't line these types of window treatments -besides, there is a porch overhang behind them.

The second tier is russet-colored silk, that was a bear to work with...it "crawls" when sewing, so there was alot of swearing going on. I use flat-felled seams - which means instead of right sides together when making a seam, you sew wrongsides together..the seam is in the front - I use one-inch seams, press them open, cut one side of the seam to a quarter of an inch, fold the other seam over that one, and press it down. Then, I top-stich it over. Think of a seam on a man's shirt sleeve...it looks like that. That way, both the front and the back have a finished look.

The third tier is black moire', and invisible in this photo, as is the gorgeous trim I hot-glue to the bottem, and the second tier, to give it more weight, and to hide the fact that I couldn't get the two, separate panels to line up properly when the curtains are closed (due to the "crawly fabric"). Necessity is the mother of invention...If it doesn't show it doesn't count...

Got the lamp at Hobby Lobby (40%) coupon, and I had the elephant finial...I love the shape of the shade, and when the light is off, it is less apricot, with a bit of taupe thrown in...

I got the mirror at Kirkland's - $30, beveled - okay, the frame is plastic, but you'd never know to look at it...by placing it next to the windows, it reflects light into the room, and by placing the lamp on a couple of books, it also reflects light. Also, during the day, I can stand all the way into the end of the house, and all the arched doorways are reflected...infinity-well, almost..

I had a couple of self-covered, three-inch buttons (in gold silk) as I never throw anything away. I wanted to finish the first tier, and to hide the fact that the braid trim doesn't quite line up, so I cut out the center medalions of two of the Goodwill pillows, and hot glued them to the buttons, and glued them on. (Glue is our friend).

So, it's dark, but the sun will come out again (tomorrow?), and I'll take one more shot, and then shut up about the window treatments, already! The room feels so much cozier, and as soon as I can macrame a television armoire, it will be finished...

Piece on Earth

Okay, stupid title, but it's early, and I've much to do today...friends are coming for dinner...Ribs, garlic smashed potatoes, almond and apricot salad, and Key Lime Pie!
I did finish my window treatments for the living room, but the light is terrible today, and I really don't have time to photograph them, but I will tomorrow... meantime, I realized that I like to "piece" window treatments...a trick I picked up while doing Parade Homes, where one had no budget, no time, and I found myself sewing them at three am. Thank God for painters, who could see well enough to thread my machine needle for me. (Now, I have a sewing machine that has a "self threader", or I'd be in real trouble). I have a giant box of bits and pieces of fabric...some larger than others, some quilted, some very expensive, some not so much, and by piecing them together, I could come up with unsual, but interesting window treatments.

I intentionally didn't line my dining room window treatments, as the western sun shines in in the afternoons, and creates a "stained glass" effect. I am aware that, in time, the sun destroys the fabric, but I didn't pay much for it (even though it is pieced together in silks), and being the Gemini that I am, I will probably be tired of them and make new ones by then. Mondrian was my inspiration.

This dining room was a Parade Home, and privacy wasn't an issue (I later did some for the people who bought the house, so they weren't feeling as if they were dining in a fish bowl). The "valances" are silk, which I trimmed in crystal beads, and just hung sheers. The sheers are now in my bedroom, hanging on my French doors, which open out onto our porch...we are on a few acres, and I have a large Ficus tree in front of them (in which our Cardinals nest), so I don't worry about privacy. The valances are in the guest room, where we have very tall windows...I hung them on tension rods, and then, hung aubergine, velvet curtains for privacy. The sun shines in in the morning, and the crystals create dancing light on the walls and ceiling...
I made these curtains for a client, who's sunroom not only needed protection from, well, the sun, and for privacy. Top-down, bottem-up blinds were the answer. I did alot of photostyling for Graber/Springs Window Fashions, and they loved "on location" shoots, so the client got the shades for free, I got paid for styling the shoot, and Graber got their shots...everyone was happy.

This is one of my Texas clients, who wanted to feel "swathed and pampered", so I did the window treatments and pillows...she did the valances...That's a Candice Olsen headboard...I love her show, "Devine Design"..

And so, as the sun sets in the West, I will leave you, and go make my "keylime pie". My mother-in-law gave me the receipe, and it's so easy that I'm almost ashamed to share it...but, if anyone wants it, I will....

EW!

No, not ew, the flower; this is a beautiful Datura, that I bought at Market Days on the Square last month. It is settling in nicely, thankyou, and the ugly pods it forms will drop their seeds and, hopefully, come back next year. The "EW" is what I said, when I looked around my house this morning. I have been very busy getting ready for the Nov. Market Days, and completely ignored my house. The cobwebs are winning, so I am making a stand today. Besides, I invited friends over for dinner this weekend, and I'm the type of person who will finally tackle projects (new mirror in the living room, new window treatments, and I found that if I actually clean the windows, there's so much more light coming in.)

My beautiful friend, Cam (who is also very smart) commented on my grammer when I write - it's bad, I know. I don't have a program to correct it, and I actually know what I should be doing (sort of), but I write the way I live my life - my head down, charging along, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead! I get in alot of trouble that way, and I will try to be better.

I will post photos of the new window treatments...I am clutching a 40% off coupon in my hot, big hand, and off to JoAnn Fabrics..