"Less is More" Brought to Life

Living room in a Mies van der Rohe Building

Chicago is very rich in architecture! We have representation of the leading architects of the past and present and continue to grow with the future!                                                                                                               

One of the leading architects of the 20th Century was Mies van der Rohe and he is certainly well represented with several buildings in Chicago.

I have designed window treatments for units in just about all of the buildings and they are varied!

Some people have chosen roller shades with various levels of opaqueness to catch the city views.  Other have chosen different styles of draperies.

The above living room is in a Mies van der Rohe building in the Lincoln Park area.  The quiet palette of off white and beige, along with classic contemporary furniture (notice the classic Mies van der Rohe cocktail table), and contemporary artwork called for a simple treatment.

We decided to go with ripplefold draperies - no top pleating , just the gently undulating of the fabric, attached to a simple steel rod with no glides visible.

The look is a perfect foil not only for the interior furnishings, but the architecture of the man who gave us the decree that "Less is more"!

I am currently working on another unit in one of his buildings at 900 North Lake Shore Drive.

 The owners have remodeled in a style that Mies van der Rohe would certainly approve and I am adding a classic drapery background there as well!

The Most Fun Room in the House 

An Old Time Theater Media Room

In designing window treatments, I am often asked for help in deciding how to treat the windows in a media room, or more commonly, the TV room.

The biggest challenge is usually how to cut down or eliminate light for television and video viewing.  This is especially needed in order to watch daytime sports events.

With a distinct style, the media room above is a master of deception!

The owners wanted to create an old time theater look for entertaining friends with movies in their newly built home.  The room has a pitched ceiling, but otherwise was very plain.  You would never know it once inside, but the wall with the screen has a widow to the left and the adjoining wall has sliding glass doors that open to a patio!

I resolved the light issue and created the ambiance by having wine color velvet draperies made with a gold tassel border, lining them in sun block lining. This shuts all light out of the room, even at midday. The drapery treatment was topped with a matching cornice that runs the perimeter of the room.  What little wall was left is painted in the same wine color. 

It really is like watching movies in a dark vintage theater!

There are many other ways and styles to accomplish the same thing! I have used contemporary draperies, roller shades, Roman shades, and combinations of treatments!

Finishing the media room with the right window treatments is well worth it for years of viewing pleasure!

When you Want to Dress Formal!

Today's living spaces are not entirely about casual or contemporary window treatments!

I do have clients of all ages in and around Chicago who dream of having a formal window treatment of luxurious draperies topped with valances and cornices!

The above widow treatment is a fine example from the dining room of a younger couple in Chicago.

They wanted draperies for the living and dining areas of their home in a very traditional style made of silk and trimmed with rich borders.

In this room and the adjoining living room I used a rich red silk for the custom draperies.  The fabric is lined with cotton and interlined with flannel to give it a very plush look and feel.  The custom valance consists of three swags and two flags in the same fabric.  The above treatment uses a combination of three different trims in red and gold - the draperies match with a double tape border on the inside edges.

Two unseen single windows in the living room use the same fabric and trims scaled down with a top treatment of one single swag and two flags each.

As opulent as the drapery treatment is, the space can take it without looking overdone because of the size and details in the architecture, not to mention the rich furnishings as well!

Just as in a wardrobe, the right formal look never really goes out of style!

Beautiful Windows in Lincoln Park!

Roman Shades Feature the Woodwork!

Our beautiful section of Chicago, known as Lincoln Park, has so much variety in living spaces!

Many of these are gorgeous vintage apartment buildings that have been converted to condos. Some have been left intact, others modernized, and still others completely gutted and reconstructed. There are also many new constructions of condominium buildings, single family homes, and townhouses as well.

My work over the years has taken me to many of these living spaces and each is very unique!

The homeowners have much varied needs based on the architecture and their individual tastes! 

Take for example the picture above. This was from vintage condo in a beautiful old building. Here we had a narrow room with one wall of windows on a long wall.  Full draperies would have made the space even more confined and were just too heavy. The solution was to use Roman shades set inside the windows (they had deep enough windows to house them). 

The shades added elegance to the traditional furnishings and allow the beautiful vintage woodwork to be shown to it's best advantage!

I have used just about every type of window treatment in the Lincoln Park area from stark modern to richly layered traditional! And I still need to keep my mind open and searching for new possibilities!

The jobs are always a welcome challenge to enhance the architecture of the living spaces and make the homeowners' visions a reality!

Simple Sheers In Andersonville Do So Much!

Sometimes the answer is really simple!

With so many of my jobs in the city of Chicago, I have had a lot clients over the years who just need a window treatment to shield the sunlight in the morning (or evening)!  They do not want to sacrifice any of the spectacular views.

Opaque roller shades can sometimes work, but there are many times when they don't. This can be due to architectural limitations, massive windows, and sometimes just the client's needs on decor.

Many times I recommend sheer drapery panels. They are nothing new, but have withstood time for a good reason!

They offer protection for furniture and floors by filtering the sunlight.  They can provide privacy without shutting a person inside the home.  Clients are able to enter the rooms without being assaulted with harsh sunlight. 

Most versatile about this window treatment is that it can be done to compliment any decor! Fabrics come in all different price ranges, but are usually very inexpensive in comparison to others.  The treatment can be designed very traditional with pinch pleats, modern with a ripplefold top, transitional with Euro pleats, and many other options in fabric and hardware!

A simple solution that is cost effective!

Roman Shades: A Soft Alternative to Roller Shades!

Sometimes my clients want or need a different type of window treatment other than draperies. They may want a more tailored and simple look, or perhaps the room is a size that would be overpowered by draperies. 

Roller shades can work in some cases, but in others, a softer look is needed.

Roman shades provide the perfect solution!

They can be made is just about any fabric and the style of the shade can vary from a very simple tailored look to very fancy with trim and gathering! It also takes far less fabric for a Roman shade than a drapery treatment!

The shades in the picture above were made of a linen fabric.  The owner of the home wanted a simple and earthy window treatment to provide a background for his tailored furniture and collection of pottery.  This particular linen is a looser weave that allows sunlight to come through.

I have also layered Roman shades over roller shades to give the clients options. See through roller shades are down during the day to shield sunlight and maintain the view, the roman shades are drawn at night time for privacy.

Roman shades can work in every interior style from traditional to contemporary!

Two Layers of Draperies Offer So Much More!

A recent client of mine moved into a space near Michigan Avenue that had breathtaking views!

The one problem was in the master bedroom which faced east and had floor to ceiling windows that made up two walls of the room.

They wanted to be able to see the views during the day without feeling like they were in a fishbowl and also wanted to be able to shut the room down to complete darkness for sleeping late in the morning.

We resolved this by installing sheer ripplefold drapery panels from floor to ceiling. This softens the look of the concrete ceiling and enables my client to enjoy the spectacular views.

 To block the sunlight and city nights for a good night's sleep, we added separately controlled panels of blackout draperies behind the sheers.

My client is able to  have the sheer panels open or closed and can close the black out panels to darken the room.

As extra bonuses, the blackout fabric helps greatly with temperature control and filters out much of the city traffic noise!

Beauty and function come together!