Reupholstery - Is your Chair or Sofa Worth It?

To reupholster your favorite chair or sofa, or not, is a question faced by many of our clients when they are redecorating their rooms. There is a lot of confusion about this subject and many "wives tales" abound about this subject.

When you are making this decision you need to ask yourself several questions:

Do I like the chair/sofa?

Is it comfortable, does it fit in my room, is the style still good?

How old is the piece? How much did I pay for it when it was new, did it come from a quality store?

You get the picture. You must make an honest assessment before you start looking for an upholsterer's services. Frankly, if the sofa or chair originally came from a "discount type" store the frame is probably not worth saving. If it is an old well loved piece, and/or it came from a quality furniture manufacturer, it is worth recovering as it probably has a solid wood frame and good springs.

When a chair or sofa is recovered this is the time to have springs retied if needed and new cushions installed along with the outside covering replacement. A good upholsterer can make an old piece of furniture more comfortable and look better than it did when new, for about half the cost to replace it today with a same quality new piece.

There are many beautiful upholstery fabrics on the market. The cost of these fabrics vary widely. The rule of thumb is to buy the best quality fabric that you can when you recover an upholstered piece. The labor cost to reupholster the piece will be the same if you buy a cheap bargain basement fabric or quality yardage. Doesn't it make sense to use fabric that will last for a long time even though it may cost a little more?

We carry a large selection of upholstery fabrics and have a professional upholsterer who can rebuild your chair/sofa to be better than it was when new. Give us a call or come into our shop.

Also the photo shows a wonderful looking roman shade style window covering - the Vignette Shade which can match any style decor very well.

Alouette LightLouvers - Shutter, Shade & Blind Combined

Photo is NewStyle Shutter

Window Covering News:

Alouette LightLouvers, a fine window covering product from Hunter Douglas, is coming out with new colors and patterns. This shade offers the bold shape of shutters, the flexibility and easy function of shades and the privacy and light control of blinds - all in one product.

This month Hunter Douglas is introducing a new sampling package for Alouette. They are adding two new fabric prints: Chambray, a variation on fine linen, available in six colors, and Raw Silk, designed to accentuate the horizontal look of the louvers, also available in six colors. Coordinating Duette cellular shades will be shown in the sampler too so that it will be easier for customers to mix and match products on windows for their home. Visit our showroom and we will be happy to show you the new products (www.drapesandmore.com).

"Summer Sale Event" - Hunter Douglas' first ever summer sales event will be in effect June 1 through August 31, 2007 (www.hunterdouglas.com). They will offer consumers special rebates on many of their best-selling products, including their new Duette Architella Collection shades, Heritance & NewStyle shutters, Provenance woven wood shades and others of their products. Further information on the sale will be advertised in Better Homes & Gardens, Coastal Living, Home and many other top magazines starting in June. As soon as I know the details of the sale I will include them in a future blog.

Sheer Drapery - Softness At The Window That's New Again

Those of us who are "a little older" remember our Grandmother's homes with a great deal of pleasure. Warm bread, resulting in a warm kitchen, mixed with aromas of baking cookies & a loving person to share the experience with you - you remember this well. Overstuffed sofas, large dining room tables and draperies at the windows were her style. Grandma usually had sheer draperies too, either voile see-though sheers or lace curtains, hanging in the living room or bedrooms of their home.

Would you believe that sheer draperies have come back and are beginning to capture the drapery market once again? There are many wonderful sophisticated fabrics that can be used that offer this stylish sheer feeling at the window; loosely woven fabrics, sheers that gleam and shimmer, laser cut-out patterns, colored sheers, retro patterns that remind us of earlier times, deep colors that offer mystery, traditional materials that have been on the market for years and even sheers with Swarovski Crystals on them. (see photo and visit www.ado-usa.com to see some examples.) Mix one of these fabrics with a decorative drapery rod and you have a truly wonderful soft statement at the window that lets in a lot of light, yet offers daytime privacy and adds softness to your rooms. You can also add a shade under the sheer to add nighttime privacy or hang them under draperies for that custom look.

The secret to a beautiful sheer drapery is how they are made. Sheers are lightweight fabrics that should be made at least 3 to 1 fullness in order to not look skimpy. For an example, a 100" wide window should have at least a sheer drapery that is 300" wide at the bottom. Most sheer fabric is made 118" wide so this will allow them to be made seamless. To have the right look don't buy narrow strips of ready-made sheers that are not sewn together, it actually doesn't cost much more to have them made properly all in one piece. They can be gathered onto a rod if you do not plan to open them or they can be pleated and opened as any other drapery style would do.

Try an "old" style sheer that is suddenly "new" again and very sophisticated!

Roosters - A Popular Home Decor Motif

Roosters are a popular home decor motif. Look at any catalog or home furnishings store and you will find roosters on lamps, pillows, rugs and table top accessories according to a "Styles & Trends" report from a recent "Home Decor" magazine article. This trend has been going on for several years and is not showing any signs of letting up.

They are cheerful and add a nice touch of color to your kitchen giving it a French Country feeling. I would say that I talk to at least two clients per week that like them as part of their decor, especially in the kitchen and family room areas of their homes.

This ceramic rooster (already sold, of course) stands about 30" high and has a companion hen. It was made by Intrada (www.intradainc.com), a fine importer of Italian hand painted pottery. I have a large sized pair of black and white chickens in my own kitchen. Ceramic chickens remind me of my grandfather, who raised them on his ranch when I was a child, which brings back wonderful memories of visiting Grandpa and Grandma. I used to love going out to the chicken coop to feed the chickens and gather the eggs.

If you would like to purchase one of these special birds or any other of Intrada's beautiful products, please contact us and we can help you.