The three color scheme...

There are many different decorating schemes out there, Rustic, Urban, French country, Transitional, the list goes on and on.  I'm going to tell you about one that I call the Three Color Scheme.  I tend to recommend this scheme when I have a client who is likely to make frequent changes to the aesthetic of the room.

The name is actually quite confusing as there are in reality four portions to consider and only two of them are meaningful colors.  First we discount any natural product.  If you had a room full of Mahogany and one Cherry piece the cherry piece would look out of place, but more than likely you have several different types of wood in many different shades.  Your mind will group these all together as "wood".  The same thing goes for brick and stone.  Second we use a hefty amount of neutral...and also ignore it.  Molding, ceilings, blinds, the vast majority of these are in some shade of off-white.  You see them and then forget about them, as you are intended to.  You want people to draw attention, do your window molding in Azure.  Now that we have a nice neutral and natural base we can begin with the colors.

The third step.  The largest segment of color that we are going to use in the room will be our base color.  It could be the walls, the curtains, the sofa, or the bedspread depending on the room.  If you have a favorite piece of artwork DO NOT make the base color match it.  Doing so will diminish it's ability to draw attention to itself.  The same goes for Oriental rugs, which are basically paintings on your floor.  

Lastly choose and accent color.  Pause here...

Decorator Secret:  There are no two colors that don't coordinate.  More so there are no two colors that you don't frequently see together.  things get tricky when you have three or more colors, and especially when you add multiple patterns, but for plain color you can pick any two.

Back to the fourth and final step.  Now that we know we can choose any color we like we have to decide which color, used in a limited amount (this is the key) will stand out (or "pop") against our base color.  Now don't worry too much, I said I like to use this for people who like to make frequent changes.  If we limit our accent color to throw pillows, candles, flowers, matting on paintings, etc we can always switch it out and give the whole room a new feel.  If you want to get a small box for storage you can change the room every few months (or days if it really suits you).

Example:  White walls with blue curtains and sofa can be accented with yellow/gold one day for a federal or French provincial look and then changed out for browns for a more contemporary aesthetic.

Homework try to think of a two color combination that isn't used, then give up and think about all the ways you could change one of your rooms seasonally.

New treatments tonight...

Do you need new window treatments quickly?  I mean so quickly that you are embarrassed to even call a decorator?  Do you need them inexpensively?  So inexpensively that you don't want to pay for lining let alone labor?  If so I would like to introduce you to the world of scarf swags.

Scarf swags are a little or no-sew project that is so simple that you can redo your whole house in an afternoon.

Step 1.  Measure.  The traditional method of measuring is to take the distance across the window and add twice the length of the part that will hang down (the cascade). Add 12" per swag (dip) and half a yard per puddle, rosette, bishop sleeve, or poof.  If you don't know what any of those things are I will explain at the end.

Step 2.  Select your fabric.  The ideal fabric is one that is light and airy, and rolls when it is ripped.  If you can find a nice iridescent sheer (organza) this will probably do the trick.  If it doesn't roll then you should seam or surge the end.

Step 3.  Fold.  Lay the fabric down fan fold it the long way.

Step 4.  Tie.  Back to your measurements.  The points where you will lay the treatments over your hardware should be loosely tied at this point.  This will make it easy to move as well as allow you to easily determine the proportions of your piece.

Step 5.  Finish.  Lay the piece on your hardware and gently remove the ties.  If you are going to do anything fancy (those rosettes for example) now is the time.

That's it.  New treatments, little or no sewing, minimal expense, and if a child pulls on it nothing other than light fabric will come crashing down.  Now for a few "advanced" concepts primarily used in pieces that are both traditional and formal.

Rosette - A fabric flower created by using a cord or cable tie behind a twisted handful or fabric.
Puddle - A portion of fabric that sits on the ground.
Poof - A tear-drop shaped ending resulting from pulling the fabric up and into itself also secured with a cord or tie).
Bishop Sleeve - A series of tear-drop shapes one issuing from the other reminiscent of a fancy ball gown's sleeve.

You know what would make this post even better?  Pictures.  Lots of pictures.  But I have 2 dozen clients to call today, so I will leave those for another time.  That is unless you feel like making some new treatments and sharing.

Where to start...

I got off the phone with a client about 2 hours ago and feel motivated to give the most needed of advice.  How do I start?!  Too many options can be just as bad as too few, so step one is to start by making things into a manageable size.

Let's talk about window treatments this time.

Step 1.  Are you looking for functional or decorative treatments?  What's the difference?  Functional treatments move, decorative ones do not.  This is not to say that a function treatment cannot be made pretty, no.  but if you are going to close your treatments, even just once time ever, they are going to have to be functional.

Step 2.  Are you looking for something Traditional or Contemporary?  Now a lot of people will say something in the middle.  For our purposes there is nothing in the middle.  Has the treatment or style you want been popular in the past?  If so it is traditional, if not it is contemporary.

Step 3.  Do you want something Formal or Informal?  Same issue?  There is no middle.  Things can be a little formal or slightly informal, but ultimately it needs to be one of the two. How about this...Would you prefer elegant or inviting?  Classy or comfortable?

Step 4.  Here is the biggie...What color(s) do you want?  Too much?  How about what colors don't you want?  Sometimes eliminating bad choices is just as helpful.

Step 5.  What kind of patterns do you like?  Just as above you can always choose which to eliminate.  Here's a list of the major categories:  Solid, Texture, Woven, Print.  Breaking them down a bit farther I would add: Stripe, Floral, Paisley, Geometric,  and Plaid.

Step 6.  Budget.  There are hundreds of thousands of options out there.  Even narrowing it down to only one selection from each of the above questions a good decorator should be able to show you a few dozen options.  That being said there are fabrics that cost $20/yd and there are fabrics that cost $2,000/yd (or meter).  Treatment styles can also range wildly in price.  Do yourself and your decorator a favor (especially if you are your decorator) set a budget.  It doesn't have to be a hard number, but looking at the best option in the range you want to be in is much better than falling in love with something unreasonable or always thinking..."Since price is no object, what else am I not seeing?"

Step 7.  Get some help.  Whether you are doing the work yourself or have a professional decorator/designer if you can tell someone you are looking for a "Functional Formal/Traditional Red and Gold Striped treatment in the ~$300/window range" you should be well on your way to a completed project within a short period of time.

If you have to rely on "I'll know it when I see it." I hope you aren't paying by the hour.

From the boss...

As many of you know there are a number of websites out there that sell Daily Deal Coupons or Vouchers.  Groupon and Living Social being two of the biggest names.

On Wed April 6th G Street Fabrics will be featured on Living Social.  This website will be selling $50 Vouchers to G Street Fabrics for $25.  That means you pay $25 to get a Voucher worth $50 to any G Street Fabrics location.  These $50 Vouchers can be used on any product, service or class sold at G Street Fabrics.

There's More!  Any customer can buy as many Vouchers as they want and you can even combine them on one big transaction in our stores.  For example, if you buy 4 Vouchers, you pay Living Social $100 but you get $200 worth of Vouchers to use at our store.  You can take all 4 Vouchers and use them on one transaction!  Let's think about that for a minute, you could buy enough Vouchers to get your sewing machine for half price!

Did I forget to mention, you can even use these Vouchers during the Sale!  And they do not expire until August 7, 2011!

Signing up on Living Social is very easy and it's Free.  Simply go to  www.livingsocial.com  and enter your City.  Then follow the quick instructions to setup your account.

One thing to note.  We are being featured in a Northern Virginia Living Social promotion so some people who sign up using Washington DC or Montgomery County as their City will not see our promotion on the top portion of the Living Social Website or Email on Wed April 6th.  These customers simply need to scroll down about 2 inches and look on the right side of the screen for our promotion in the Northern Virginia section or they could click on the More Deals link on the left side of the Living Social home page.  Remember, anyone can sign up on Living Social for Free then buy 1 or 100 G Street Vouchers.  Don't forget, you can combine vouchers into one large transaction and even use it during the Sale!

About me...

As of the date of publication I am the General Manger of G Street Fabrics Shop @ Home Services.  I have been a customer of G Street's for 17 years, and an employee for 8.  I can and do sew and strongly recommended that you consider carefully before contracting with anyone who can't.

In the last 8 years I have written well over a thousand contracts and currently meet with between 200 and 300 clients a year.  My average appointment take between 2-4 hours not including travel time and I drive an average of 110 miles a day.

I do not work on commission nor do I have any quotas.  Every day I get up, get ready, and do what I can to help people find what the best option is within their needs and budget range.  While my taste is both formal and traditional, I feel it is not my place to force my taste on the client; but instead to help them find things that they like.

First Post...

Hello, welcome to the inaugural post of my new blog Decorating Basics.  This blog is intended to advise individuals looking to decorate their homes or find an interior decorator/interior designer.