Nesting Place

It’s the last day!

When you walk through your home can you tell what season it is? I’m not saying that you should have pumpkins lining the halls or a Christmas tree in every room but sometimes the most subtle items can give a nod to the season.

I don’t know about you but I try to pull out a few of my Christmas decorations November 1st. The season is so short that for me, it’s not fun to wait until December. So so slowly add in more and more Christmas. Besides, my family LOVES Christmas decorations and I’ve got some great stuff to share this season and we are sure to be inspired with the Christmas tour of homes!

Enjoy the evening, no matter what you are doing~we had a fantastic sale that was very well worth the trouble and it was pure joy to meet some of you!

this is how my boys repurpose

I’m planning to have my yard sale tomorrow and I hate to admit it but I keep pulling things out to keep. Things like empty frames and pretend fruit that I can paint. And I have a feeling that you have things stored away in your garage, storage shed, attic, under the house–that you could use in your home if you forced yourself to consider how.

Walk through those areas with a different perspective and see if you already possess something that you can find a fresh purpose for. Whether it’s a door, chair, dresser, lamp, table, or whatever I bet you can find one thing that you can repurpose.

Some of the most fun and rewarding projects I’ve done in my home have involved using things that I already had that I thought were junk and then realizing how glad I was that I was able to use it.

One day left.

After yesterday’s post about drapery length you would think I’d be scared off from every talking about drapes again. Nope, we’ve got a few more points to hit when it comes to highlighting your windows.

In my opinion, window treatments/mistreatments are there to serve two purposes, the most important being to highlight the windows, and secondly, if needed to help with privacy. Ideally, in a perfect world you don’t want to have to use your window treatments or drapes for privacy, it’s so much easier if you have shades or blinds or if possible, naked windows enhanced with fabric. I know for some of us we need to be able to pull the drapes at night and you still can do that and follow these rules.

See that first photo up there? I’ll copy it here again.

What beautiful silk drapes! But why, WHY is the rod mounted so low and shortly and why does the rod end just outside the window casing? The problem with these drapes is they cover a good amount of light coming from the window. Usually, when we first look at a home to buy, most of us are attracted to the light and how big the windows are. Why would anyone want to cut the natural, free light in half when they put up their window treatments?

Is there a window back there or just a blank wall? We’ll never know.

I personally don’t mind a topper and drapes together but this one is breaking a rule or five–it’s covering up light! Someone needs to raise the rod up so the bottom of the topper just meets the top of the glass. And get a longer rod or extend this one out so that those drapes sit in front of the wall, not precious, priceless, free natural light! Oh, and the drapes are too short too.

“Somebody help me, I’m being smothered.”

I like cafe curtains too, but again, they should be light and airy. During the day, push them all the way to the edges to let light in.

This cafe curtain is great because lets in light but still provides a bit of privacy. Well done!
What is this? Some creepy form of punishment? I know for these advertisements, they want to show the fabric on the drapes, but I see this done in real homes all the time. Dark, dark, heavy curtains and a sliver of natural light? Maybe in a few years living in a dim cave will be all the rage but here in 2009, people want light. DON’T COVER UP THE WINDOWS!!!

If you insist on covering your glass in your windows, consider a light fabric. And remember to raise that rod up higher! If you like to hide some light sometimes, you can still pull your drapes together for privacy or light control but, you should have the option to open them and allow 95% of the window to show. This is especially true if your house is on the market.

A higher rod results in longer drapes that result in a more spacious feeling in your space. And making sure the fabric falls mostly in front of the wall just covering the edges of the glass on the windows gives the illusion of big huge windows and maximizes the light.

If you want dark, short rooms with the appearance of tiny windows, just ignore me. Don’t hate me because I’m bossy and opinionated. This trick will change your entire home!

pottery barn

This is one of those posts that I get nervous about writing. Drapery length~it’s such a touchy subject. Just like all home design, it’s a matter of opinion. But my big fat hairy opinion right now is that your drapes should just touch the floor. If they stop three inches from the ground all floating in the air, then it looks like your windows are wearing capris. And capris are out as far as drapes are concerned.

So go around and check your drapes. Are they high waters? If so, here’s one way to fix them. I’m off to read all the hate mail I’ll get about me thinking drapes that are too short.