Sycamore Creek Interiors

Happy 2012!

2012-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Just finished up my first job of 2012.....beautiful flat roman shades in a plaid silk. These went in a dining room that had existing panels in the same silk. Just the finishing touch for this homeowner's windows.

2011-09-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

     As a business owner in the window treatment and design industry, I think it's important to belong to associations the specialize in the education and promotion of professional window treatment designers.  This allows me to network with my peers, stay current on color and design trends, and make sure the products I sell are up to code when it comes to safety. Because of this, I am a member of two groups - KWA which stands for the Kentucky Workroom Association, and WCAA which stands for Window Coverings Association of America.
     This week, I've been attending the WCAA 2011 Inspire conference. The conference, located at the Galt House in downtown Louisville, brings together business owners and window treatment vendors from all over the United States and Canada. It's a place to learn what's new in the industry, meet other designers and workroom professionals, and check out the best that our vendors have to offer. I've met one designer, Lee, who is attending from Oakland, California with her husband. Another designer that I sat with at lunch today is from Delaware. She's here by herself, so we were able to get to know each other a bit. Since we each attended different seminars in the morning sessions, we compared notes on what we had learned. She spent the morning in drapery fabrication classes - I spent my time in marketing classes. My most interesting contact came from my new friend from Bowling Green. Her business is a little farther along than mine, and we made plans for me to stop by her business next time I'm in town. We have daughter's that attend the same college, so we had something in common instantly other than draperies.
     I'm sure the highlight for all of us in attendance today was the keynote speaker for our lunch, Sarah Richardson from HGTV's "Sarah's House". Sarah spoke about her design philosophy, and shared several funny stories about challenging rooms and clients. She was very down-to-earth, and even let all of us take pictures with her after her presentation.
    Tomorrow, I'm taking a class on challenging windows, then spending the afternoon on the vendor floor checking out what's new. And I'm most excited about getting my scissors sharpened for free! (I know, this makes no sense to most of you, but if you spent as much time with a pair of scissors in your hand as I do, you'd understand how important it is to have them well-sharpened)

A Cornice Window Treatment

2011-04-06T14:07:00.001-07:00

My customer knew she wanted a cornice for her newly painted dining room. The only other decisions to make were the style of the bottom cutout and the fabric to use. The style we chose has a center point which I think works well on a double window. The customer suggested we change the style a bit by making the side pieces longer than the pattern specified. In picking out the fabric for the cornice, we took into account the fact that the room is painted a beautiful shade of red (my favorite color!), and she has a navy leather sofa in the adjacent great room, and touches of red, blue, and gold in her kitchen. We picked this large-scale print from Carole fabrics because of the colors that were incorporated into it, and the scale of the print. This particular print is called Laurie and the color is Sapphire.

What will this really look like?

2011-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

So often, clients will say to me "I just can't quite imagine what this is going to look like". They worry that the fabric we've chosen won't work in the room, or that the design won't compliment the rest of the house the way they had hoped. But now, with the help of Dream Draper, a software program developed by Evan Marsh Design, I can take a picture of their blank window, upload it to my computer, and choose from hundreds of design and fabric options to show the client a pretty close rendering of what the finished product will be. Each design can be sized to fit the client's window, and colored in with the fabric of their choice. We can make changes to a design - raise or lower long and short points, change fabrics or detailing, or tweak in any number of other ways. We can also help with the layout of your room with a feature called "Space Planning". We can even paint your room "virtually", so you can see how your room could change with a different color on the walls.

Roman Shades with new ladder-tape technology

2011-03-30T14:15:00.001-07:00

Amy has a beautiful living room/office painted a deep cranberry. She has recently purchased several new pieces for the room including a leather chair, computer desk, and comfy chenille sofa. The only thing missing was the finishing touch - great window treatments! Bright sunlight coming through the windows was an issue for the room - especially in late afternoon. Privacy was also a concern since these windows face the front of the house.

The solution Amy and I came up with was an operable Roman Shades with a decorative valance. My favorite way to fabricate Roman Shades is to make them reverse-mount, meaning the lifting mechanism is in the front of the shade. The advantage of making your shades this way is that the shades fit tightly to the casing of the windows, meaning the R-value is better, and there is no light peeking through the sides.

We chose a faux-silk brown plaid with a tiny cranberry dot that matches the cranberry color of the walls. The fabric was dressy enough to work well in a living room, but not so dressy that it competes with the decor of the rest of the house.

The last detail to mention about these shades is that they are made with ladder-tape - an acceptable option for compliance with the new ANSII standards for Roman Shades. The tape was fairly east to work with, and ensures that a small child cannot get caught in the lift cord mechanism.

A new look for a well-loved side chair

2011-03-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

When my friends, Drew and Sarah, recently did some updating to their living room, they decided to give an old side chair that Sarah had from college days a new look. The original plan was to create a slipcover out of a khaki denim fabric, but as I got into the project I realized that because of the curve of the chair and the way they back was tufted, a slipcover just wasn't going to work. So instead, I reupholstered the chair, and I think it came out well! My favorite part is the cream cording around the back edge of the chair, and the cushion. A small detail like this can really make a piece pop.

2011-02-23T05:04:00.000-08:00

Just got my new "Southern Living" magazine for March, and am starting to like it again! After several years of searching for a new layout, they have gone back to the way things used to be and it's so much better. Travel section first, then gardening, home decor, and great recipes in the back. And I know it's a small complaint, but the feel of the magazine as well as the font is better. As an added bonus, I just checked out their website, and they've got several great videos that show ideas on how to choose the best fabric for your decorating project. Check out www.SouthernLiving.com/home-garden/decorating.

Love love LOVE their recipes. Makes me want to nest just thinking about them :)

New Fabrics in for Spring!

2011-02-17T09:43:00.001-08:00

I've just received several new fabrics from Greenhouse Fabrics. There are several beautiful faux-linens and faux-silks as well as some upholstry-weight fabrics. Spring is just around the corner - could your home use a little spruce-up?

Call today to receive 20% off your next order with Sycamore Creek Interiors!

A New Way to Purchase Window Treatments

2010-12-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Sycamore Creek Interiors has just added another great fabric dealer to its lineup - Carole Fabrics. With Carole Fabrics website, CaroleNet, we can sit down together, and in a few easy clicks of the mouse, have your new window treatments designed and ready to purchase. Carole has hundreds of fabric styles and colors and many different design styles that will work in any type of decor. We can even pick out your drapery hardware. Once the order is placed, your new custom window treatments can be ready in two - three weeks.

Check out their website www.CaroleFabrics.com for more information.

Accessories to make a room really stand out!

2010-05-09T14:45:00.001-07:00

I have recently started carrying a line of accessories from a company called Uttermost. They are a family-owned business that has been around since the mid-70s. They are located in Virginia, and offer many unusual items for home or office including wall art, occasional tables, floral arangements, mirrors, lamps, and clocks. Some of my favorites are shown above. To view their complete line, visit http://www.uttermost.com/. If you see anything you like, let me know, and I can get prices for you.

Some finishing touches

2010-05-09T13:53:00.001-07:00

My new friends :) Jennie and Keith just made some big changes to their home with new paint throughout and new window treatments on several of their windows. In their master bedroom, they have a beautiful arched window with a cathedral ceiling. The arch was letting a little too much morning sun in, and didn't allow for late morning sleep. My solution was to create an arched panel treatment that is Italian strung to allow for easy opening and closing. I added a button detail at the pleats to bring your eye upward so that visitors will see the beautiful vaulted ceiling. We were able to find a yellow and blue striped fabric that perfectly matched some bedding they already had.

In their Great Room, they had a window and operable French Doors leading out to their deck. The door made it tricky to hang window treatments that would be symmetric in the room and still make the door usable. The solution was to use hardware for the door valance that allows the valance to open with the door. The design we came up with is an inverted-pleat valance in gold and red to match the decor in the room. Again, I added a button detail in red to pull your eye upward. Problem solved!

Finally, their guest bedroom is painted a new shade of lime green with a beach umbrella fabric for the shower curtain. We added a cornice in the same fabric with a banding in blue and matching lime green fabric. How fun!

The best way to describe their home is - happy. As soon as you walk in, you feel welcomed and ready to share a cup of coffee and a story or two. Thank you Jennie and Keith for the opportunity to help you complete your home!

2010-05-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from a job that was installed last week. Jane and Carl live in a log cabin that they built themselves. It has a beautiful view of their backyard with a creek in the distance. Jane was ready for a change for her window treatments, so we replaced some red and white checked curtains with these new ones in yellows and blues. The topper is a cornice, with half width panels to frame the window.

I came away from this job with a respect for this couple who've had 71 years of marriage together, and I'm sure, have had many ups and downs. And yet, as we were installing their new window treatments, she gave him a hug and smiled at me as if to say "Isn't he the best?" I wish I could've stayed with them all afternoon and heard some more of their story. I think they would have much to teach me.

2010-04-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

I've had a unique opportunity to do some commercial work this spring at Baptist Hopsital Northeast in LaGrange, KY. The first two pictures are cornices I did in their administrative offices.The second is a picture of their new Sleep Study Center where I fabricated the bedding and window treatments (not shown). Thanks so much to Lynn Rigon, my new friend, and Dennis Johnson, a friend from way back!

For more on the new Sleep Study Center at Baptist Hospital Northeast, check out

www.baptistnortheast.com then search on sleep disorders center

2009-03-09T05:21:00.001-07:00

To see pictures of my work, visit http://www.picturetrail.com/sycamorecreekinteriors

To contact me,
sycamorecreek@insightbb.com
(502) 553-9706

Sycamore Creek Interiors is a new business that has been around since 1990. If that sounds a little strange, it's because SC has had several lives and multiple forms. My early years in the design industry were in the form of a Decorating Den franchise. My years with Decorating Den were invaluable because I learned how to set up accounts with suppliers, how to measure for many types of products, and most importantly, the basics of design.
As my life moved along, and my husband, Len, and I started our family, Decorating Den was laid to rest, and Seams Like Home was born. SLH became my way of being at home with my children, but still allowing my creative and business juices to flow. Seams Like Home was strictly a retail workroom, and again, I was able to further refine my design skills and learned more in-depth window treatment construction as well as techniques for making pillows, bedding, slipcovers, and upholstery. The business was fulfilling, but my family was growing and so the call to be a full-time mother became stronger than the call to be an entrepreneur. Seams Like Home was put on hold for a few years, but in early 2007, SLH was reborn, and eventually renamed Sycamore Creek Interiors.
My design philosophy is simple: make your environment suit your lifestyle with classic elements that will look as good in ten years as they do today. Good design is beautiful but also functional.
I specialize in the fabrication of almost any home decor item: any type of window treatment, bedding, pillows, slipcovers, and upholstry.