It's a Nice Day for a White Window.....

These Pleated Roman Shades were made for a client's summer home on the Cape. The shades are made with a textured white fabric and the intent was to blend..not to stand out.


The walls are a subtle sand color . The room is soothing and relaxing. Though I am a big fan of color, this look is one I love. Simple .


This shows my method of making Pleated Roman Shades. I don't like having dowels at each of the pleats so I came up with a way to avoid that. This method allows for just a shade slat in the bottom hem to keep the fabric straight. It requires more rows of rings on twill tape , but is very easy to operate. It can be set at any height during the day using a cord lock or cord cleat.


In this fabric the shades look great either raised or lowered.



I have always loved the way Roman Shades allow for absolute privacy.


These two pictures show another room where the same effect was desired. Again the shades were made to almost disappear while allowing for total privacy when let down. These are Flat Roman Shades , made to hang flat when lowered , instead of in pleats as the previous pictures.


The lack of color in this room is relaxing....as is the lovely view.

Good Bye Ted Kennedy

REST IN PEACE Thanks for all your years of service.

Bathroom Project

Summer, as always , has flown by way too fast. Some projects have been finished and others delayed or forgotten.
Last year our neighbor came by with these great wooden crates.
"Sure, we'll take them", both Notanseladams and I said.
And they sat on the back deck for a year.
I knew I would eventually come up with a great idea for them...eventually...eventually.
We finally did a few 'pick-me-ups' in the bathroom( that's right..THE bathroom, as in the ONLY bathroom in our house.) New visitors are always a little surprised to see that the Powder Room is also the BATH ROOM...literally. Yes , we have raised four children to well-adjusted young-adulthood on ONE bathroom.
Would it shock you to hear that I was raised with SEVEN brothers and sisters in house with...steady now...ONE bathroom!
Anyway....I finally saw that with a little tweaking , the crates would make great storage in the bathroom.


They were so dry they sucked up several coats of primer.


I used Muralo Ultra , the paint we used for the wainscoting , as the finish. It has a hard ,semi-gloss finish and has stood up well for the last few years. I touch up the paint on the wainscoting every now and then..and it always looks like new.


Because they will be in the bathroom, I did a couple coats of the finish , too.


I found casters at Lowes......


And attached them to the four corners.


I drilled thick holes in the front...sprayed brass grommets with a silver finish...


I bought a yard or so of rope at Home Depot. Pushed grommet fronts into the holes I drilled , and inserted the rope. A knot in the back secures the rope as handles.


And.... Voila....I have two wonderful storage bins that fit perfectly under the old piano bench (with sawed off legs) in the bathroom.

The rest of the story.....I have six more of theses crates.
Any ideas?!?!?!?!?!?!?