Your Home Your Design – Interior Decorating for Homes on the Beach

Living by the beach is calming, serene, breezy, sunny and peaceful.  Chances are if you own a beach home, you love the beach and the water.  Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to design a beach home without being “too literal”.  We are going to break it down simply to help you bring the beach into your home so that it is subtle and beautiful. 

·      Color:  Like we stated before the beach is calming, serene, peaceful and breezy.  Using creams, beiges, light greens and blues help to achieve a calm, cool feeling to your beach home.  Based on the psychology of color, blues and greens cause the body to produce chemicals that cause a calming sensation. Many of your windows may have incredible water views, so having the right colors and style of window treatments will preserve the view, while enhancing the warmth and feel of the space.

·      Texture:  The sand, the shells and the boardwalk all have a specific feeling and texture to them.  Touch is an important sense to focus on when decorating your home.  You want to engage your visitors with touchable fabrics and finishes, especially with your custom window treatments.  Textured furniture and accessories add visual interest to a space.  Adding wide planked wood floors bring the boardwalk into the home in a tasteful approach.

·      Light: Once again windows become the hero of the story, so taking in the beautiful view of the ocean and letting in light can be your motivation.  However, sometimes the afternoon sun can be a bit too much.  Adding the right custom window treatments will help to add some privacy and keep the sun at bay during the hottest time of the day, while allowing the light to brighten your space when you want.  Roll up shades of rattan or wicker adds texture to a room, but also provides a sufficient amount of shade to cool your home down at high noon.  Floor to ceiling grommet drapes on rods also provide shade, but can give a light airy feeling to a room when opened.  Custom cornices in a bold print will draw attention to your windows, while maintaining the open view.

·      Natural elements:  Soothing colors and wood-grain ceramic and porcelain tiles can make any bathroom feel warm and cozy.  Finishes in champagne bronze and oil-rubbed bronze bring richness to your bath.  Along with stone countertops and weathered wood vanities in grey tones like driftwood can make your home feel like a seashore getaway, no matter where it’s located.  Consider custom wood blinds to accent the textures of the counters or floors with motorized options to make opening and closing easy!

·      Don’t forget to finish it off:  All natural décor make the perfect finishing touches to your new oasis of relaxation.  Check out the readily available cotton linens for furniture and accent pillows and try some beeswax candles to set the mood.  Glass countertops and bamboo accessories are perfect for creating a luxurious atmosphere.

  

When decorating your home we find the most fun part for our clients are selecting the finishes for things like furniture, accent décor and custom window treatments.  There are many choices and materials that can make your home at the Jersey shore feel “beachy” on the inside in a subtle, suggestive way.  Interiors by John Henry has provided custom window treatment design, production and installation, as well as kitchen and bath remodeling services throughout New Jersey and New York. Please contact us today for more information on how we can help you design and decorate your home with the latest custom window treatment and décor trends.

50 Shades of…Windows? A Guide to Selecting Roman Shades

Roman Shades are one of our favorite types of window treatments because they can be customized to fit any window, room or décor.  With virtually unlimited fabric, pattern and texture choices, along with the ultimate in light control and filtering, Roman Shades provide a clean look that is versatile and elegant. With options for cords, cordless or even motorized, the styles and flexibility of Roman Shades can work throughout your home.  Here are some of our favorite types of Roman Shades:

Flat versus Hobbled/Folded

With clean, modern lines, Flat Roman Shades provide a more contemporary look.  They differ from the more traditional look and soft folds of a Hobbled, or Folded Roman style, which is classic and timeless.  Fabric choice is an important part of executing a Flat or Folded Roman Shade, as patterns and textures of fabric  can affect achieving the more modern and contemporary look, or traditional, classic look.

Relaxed

A modified version of the Flat Roman Shade, this style is designed with a gentle curve at the bottom and an “unconstructed” look.  Relaxed Roman Shades can accent the windows in a casual room in just the right way and, like all other Roman Shades, work on their own or with other side draperies.  Relaxed Roman Shades can be made out of a variety of fabrics depending on your taste.

Cuffed

Another version of a Flat Roman Shade is the Cuffed Roman Shade, which is distinguished by its soft, cuffed bottom hem.  With a multitude of options for colors, textures and patterns, Cuffed Roman Shades are another beautiful window treatment that can lend itself to a sleek, modern feel or traditional depending on the fabric selected.

Soft

Complementing any window size or shape, Soft Roman Shades provide light filtering privacy while offering the fashionable look of a soft, fabric shade.  As with all types of Roman Shades, these provide multiple options for cords, cordless or motorized, as well as a choice of custom fabric and textures.

Sussex

With lines that fall from the top into casual loose tucked pleats at the bottom, Sussex Roman Shades are beautiful and functional.  Also known as Tulip shades because of the way the side pleats create a “tulip” shape, these shades are very decorative and not meant to regularly raise and lower.

Roman Shades are one of the most popular style of shades that many homeowners choose because of their versatility and ability to customize for fabrics, patterns and styles.  Interiors by John Henry provides custom window treatment design, production and installation services for homeowners throughout the New York and New Jersey areas.  For more information or an in-home consultation, please contact us today.

How To Decorate Your Home with the Right Style of Furniture

Not sure what style of furniture is best for your home?  Visually, we all know what we like (and what we don’t like), but does coordinating furniture styles really make a difference in the overall design of your home’s interior?  If you are not sure where to start or what the best furniture styles would be for decorating your home, look no further!  We’ve put together a list of the top furniture styles so you can decide what you love the best for your home!

Let’s start at the beginning. 

Back in the 1600’s there were two main styles of furniture, Jacobean and Early American.  Jacobean is an English style that is medieval in appearance with straight lines, sturdy construction and ornate carvings.  Pieces are typically in a dark finish.  Early American furniture was very basic and made from materials found locally in the woods.  It was modeled after European furniture styles. 

Furniture styles from the late 1600’s through the 1700’s are still popular today.

This was a very busy period for furniture styles and some of which you will know when you see them are William and Mary, which is characterized by trumpet or turned legs and a ball or Spanish foot with padded or caned chair seats.  Queen Anne style, which is more refined than the William and Mary style is notable for it’s cabriole legs with a pad or drake foot.  Chair backs were typically bat-wing shaped or fiddle backed.

Colonial, Georgian and Pennsylvania Dutch are also of this period, as well as Chippendale, Robert Adam and Hepplewhite.  Colonial combined the styles of the above, but with a more conservative and less ornate style.  Georgian style furniture is the opposite:  a more ornate version of Queen Anne with ornate carvings, pierced back splats and gilding.  Pennsylvania Dutch is a simple, county style of furniture with influences of German design.  Many pieces are characterized by colorful folk painting. 

Chippendale, Robert Adam and Hepplewhite are all named for people.  Chippendale was a British designer and architect whose influences are French, Chinese and Gothic.  His style is more elaborate than Queen Anne featuring ball and claw foot and broken pediment scrolls on top of tall case pieces.  Robert Adam was an architect who studied in Italy and designed furniture with classical details that would fit the character of the homes he designed.  Hepplewhite was an English designer and cabinetmaker whose style was neoclassic with a delicate appearance, tapered legs and the use of contrasting veneers and inlay.

Rounding out the 1700’s and bringing us into the 1800’s are Federal, Sheraton, and Duncan Phyfe styles.  A combined neoclassic furniture style featuring the details of both Heppelwhite and Sheraton, Federal style furniture features graceful, straight lines, light construction and tapered legs.  The use of inlay and contrasting veneers is prevalent.

Sheraton is named for an English designer whose neoclassical style similar in character to the Federal style and was the most reproduced style in the United States during the Federal period.

American cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe is considered by some art historians is an adaptation of  Adam, Sheraton, Hepplewhite and Empire styles with carved or redded legs and neoclassic motifs.

The 1800’s Styles are More Recognizable and Still Popular Today

Included in the 1800’s styles are American Empire, Shaker, Victoria, Arts and Crafts, and Art Nouveau.  Influences for American Empire come from the French Empire with classical influences like coarse carving and dark finishes.  Shaker style is produced by the religious group, The United Society of Believers, and is characterized by straight tapered legs, woven chair seats and mushroom style wooden knobs.  Named for Queen Victoria of England, the Victorian style is heavy in gothic forms and proportions, dark finishes, elaborate carving and ornamentation.

Arts and Crafts is also referred to as Mission style and is a simple, utilitarian design and construction.  Art Nouveau is a naturalistic style with intricately detailed patterns and curving lines.

As you can see the amount of styles and design influences from early times has created cross-over and blending of styles to create new styles of furniture.  Architectural and utilitarian influences are prevalent throughout furniture design during the 1600’s through 1800’s.  if you are not sure what style is best for your home’s décor, please contact Interiors by JohnHenry for more information and ideas.

Four Simple Tips for Measuring Your Windows for Custom Blinds or Shades

If you are like most homeowners, measuring windows for custom blinds can be a daunting task.  It can be very easy to second-guess yourself when taking the measurements.  How will you know if you’ve got the right measurements?  What if the blinds don’t fit when they arrive?  Like anything, if you are patient and take your time, chances are the measurements you take will work just fine.  But, just in case you need some help, here are a few simple tips for measuring your windows for custom blinds.

Tip #1 – Determine what kind of mount works best with your windows.

Depending on your windows, blinds may work better as an outside mount or an inside mount.  An outside mount is used when the inside depth of your window cannot accommodate the depth of the blind, shade and hardware used to hang them.  The blinds or shades will be attached to the wall on the outside of any window trim you have around your windows.   Conversely, an inside mount can be used when there is enough depth inside the window to accommodate the window treatment and it’s hardware for hanging and it will be flush with the depth of the window or if the product is esthetically and mechanically sound protruding outside of the frame of the window without impeding with other treatments, etc.  This method of installation will keep the blind or shade on the inside of the trim surrounding the window.

Tip #2 – Draw, yourself a picture.

Visually, a picture can be very helpful when you are taking measurements.  It doesn’t have to be a Picasso, but getting the general shape of the window on paper and adding the measurements for length, width and depth onto the picture will go a long way in helping you to figure out what size blind or shade you will need.

Tip #3 – Use a sturdy tape measure.

Using an actual construction quality tape measure that is rigid will give you more control and an accurate measurement as opposed to a soft tape measure meant for sewing.  If you don’t have a good tape measure, it’s worth the investment, particularly if you have a lot of windows or are doing any other projects around your home.

Tip #4 – Bring in the professional!

Window treatments are an investment in your home, and can increase the value as well as help control the climate and change the overall look and feel of your décor.  If you are unsure of your accuracy when it comes to measurements don’t order something that will not fit and because they are custom window treatments, are probably not returnable.  If you are not 100% confident that you have accurate measurements, it’s worth the time and money to call in a custom window treatment professional.

We would like to share with you the great window treatment measuring guide that our friends at Levolor® have on their website.  You can access it at this link.  Interiors by John Henry can provide our customers with an in-home consultation for custom window treatments, interior decorating and kitchen or bath renovations.  As a licensed NJ Contractor, we can measure, order and install your window treatments for you, hassle free, to give you the peace of mind that your window treatments will be perfect for your home.  Please contact us today for more information about our professional decorating services, custom window treatments or kitchen and bath remodeling.