Winterizing your home to save on energy bills does not always have to be a seasonal hassle, or one that is repeated year after year. An important way to start preparing for winter weather is to properly insulate your windows, a common escape route for warm air inside your house.

In the past, homeowners have relied on inconvenient and temporary winterizing methods such as unsightly weather stripping, bulky extra insulation, and other less attractive techniques to keep the winter cold outside and the wanted warmth inside. These are quick fixes that need to be updated again and again.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, windows are one of the largest sources of heat loss in the winter due to their low insulating ability and high air leakage rates. As a result, windows are typically net energy losers, and can be responsible for losing 25 to 50 percent of the energy used to heat and cool homes.

All structural building materials, with millions of tiny air cells trapped within its cellular structure provide a barrier against heat and cold. An inch of wood is 15 times as efficient an insulator as concrete, 400 times as efficient as steel and 1,770 times as efficient as aluminum. So homes built with wood require far less energy to heat and cool, thus conserving fuel.

One of our customers in Brampton had this to say about their large master bedroom windows,
“Our bedroom faces the street, so we have two problems, street lights and noise. Since our shutters have been installed, when we have the louvers closed, we have noticed a significant reduction to the sounds of traffic outside and total darkness.”

Wood shutters bring value and energy savings to your home all year-round. At the same time they offer UV protection during the summer months helping to keep your home cool from the sun’s rays. By making the initial investment for interior wood shutters you will reduce your heating bill this winter and help keep the cost of cooling your home down during the summer month s. You’ll enjoy their energy efficiency as well as the beauty they add to your windows.

Many people are inspired by color but are afraid to use it in their own homes. As a design consultant having worked with many clients to choose appropriate window treatments and décor, I find clients fearful of committing to the use of strong colors. There are endless possibilities when choosing color combinations for a room with no furnishings or decor. However, most people have some established colors in a room as a starting point.

If you are starting with a few neutral colors (i.e. sofas or wall color) and want to explore the use of color, try adding color to a room with colorful pillows or decorative drapery panels. If the drapery panels are decorative, they will not be fully operative drapes and will act as columns of color in the room setting. If the drapes are to be fully operative, you will be introducing a “wall” of color when the drapes are in the closed position. Patterned-fabric in multiple colors is one way to add color rather than working with a strong, solid color. Also you may want to consider adding some color-banding, colorful trim, or an added top-treatment piece to neutral drapes if you are unwilling to commit to a wall of colored drapes. In these examples, there are splashes of color added without overwhelming the room. Colorful vases or pillows can be coordinated with the drapery-colors to finish off the room.

If you are looking for some high-contrast color combinations, you will need to start with one extreme or the other: light-colored walls or dark-colored walls/flooring. One example would be to integrate chic, black-white window treatments with black-white bedding against white walls and flooring. This combination produces a high-contrast effect.

Many people express an interest in using the color red: a rug, draperies, or window treatments. If you are not looking for a high-contrast effect, you will need to make sure the red-colors are balanced. Red-colored drapery panels look best against dark wood floors and/or medium-tone walls, i.e. tan walls. Red draperies against white walls and white floors produce a high-contrast effect which may be a little unsettling for most people. The color red should be used sparingly; it is best used as an accent color for most people’s tastes.

Another way to introduce color is to work with softer hues of color to create a tone-on-tone room. The combination of softer hues that coordinate well together will create a “soothing effect” in the room. Using a silk fabric with a sheen or an unusual texture is a way to add more interest to a softer-hue room.

Even though the use of color in a room can be a little challenging and overwhelming, it can create a mood or provide some excitement in a dead space. Working with a design-professional who has vast experience with different color-combinations can offer wise guidance and help custom-create an exciting room that comes alive.

Hunter Douglas has now added new options to its Heritance hardwood shutters line. Heritance shutters now offer 100 standard colors—67 artisan-grade paint colors and 33 rich stains—and custom-color matching as well. All colors are created with the multi-coat Integra finish for lustrous and long-lasting appeal.

Heritance shutters has also expanded its specialty shape options to cover all types of openings. Other enhancements include new frame options, a new 4½-inch louver size and taller panels before requiring a divider rail (up to 72” before first divider rail is required).

Made of 100 percent genuine wood, Heritance shutters are available with a traditional front tilt bar or award-winning TruView rear tilt system. All Heritance shutters are Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified, as well as certified for Children and Schools, and offer significant energy savings by lowering heating and cooling costs. A new Heritance Hardwood Shutters Sampling Kit is also available. Visit www.dealers.hunterdouglas.com.

Hunter Douglas’ Heritance hardwood shutters in Espresso with 2½-inch louver size and framed arched panels.

With so many styles available, its difficulty to choose what’s popular today. The following styles are today’s most inspiring and tempting styles:

Modern Style. It is clean and characterized by polished surfaces. Colors are neutral and finishes – smooth and polished. Modern interior decorating is exciting and fresh.

Tuscan style: This is inspired by elements of nature. Some of these wonderful elements include: crumbling stone walls, sun washed hill sides, marble flooring, simple and study furnishings with elegance iron accents. The appeal lies in its simplicity.

Traditional style. It remains at the top of popularity charts in many homes today; Furniture is often arranged on a straight axis and centered within the room. It’s somewhat calm, orderly and predictable. Elegance and history personify this style.

Contemporary style. Commonly characterized by clean lines and smooth surfaces without intricate details. Today’s contemporary interiors are welcoming and comfortable and not clustered and dark.

Cottage style. It’s basically characterized by painted and/or decorated furniture with graceful lines/textured elements. The color is purely botanical. Furnishings are comfortably made of iron. Cottage is meant to be lived and enjoyed.

Romantic style: This style exudes comfort that appeals to the sense through soft fabrics with floral pattern, filtered light through sheer fabrics and a romantic floral arrangement. Furnishings should be feminine. Fabric should be soft and luxurious.

Casual style. The focus is on comfort, casual rooms have simple details and items are arranged in a manner that avoids a perfect symmetry. Furniture is soft and comfortable with upholstered furniture covered in neutral colors.

English style. They are formal and traditional. It’s characterized by large pieces of artwork, combinations of dark wood antiques, small bathroom and minimum color.

More With Less

			To quickly refresh the look of a room, consider oversized, self-adhesive wall stickers. Easy to apply and remove, these popular decorative elements come in countless styles and designs.

Inspired Interiors by Elle Auvil

originally published May 2006

Greetings! I have missed writing this, and am thrilled to again have enough space to write something of substance. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and are looking forward to a beautiful Virginia springtime!

I’m going to talk about something that I have addressed with several new clients: trim and embellishment. I’m not talking about drippy fringing and over the top details, but about the little extras that make custom window treatments and furnishings look just that: custom made. I have added trim to existing window treatments for several people lately, because even though their treatments were well made, they just lacked that certain “wow” factor. Trim is a wonderful way to tie all the colors of a room together. A lovely set of silk panels is set off beautifully by fringe that pulls in the color of the walls, furnishings and panels. The lovely curve of a pretty valance is only enhanced by tassels following those curves. Think of trim as the jewelry for a pretty dress- would you go out for the evening with no jewelry on? It completes the outfit, doesn’t it? I also love to use contrast fabrics on treatments- it delights the eye when two fabrics complement each other beautifully. That said, there is a time and place for simplicity too, when restrained elegance is called for. It simply depends on the room and the mood we are trying to set.

Take a look at your window treatments- are they missing that finished look? We can easily add trim to them. Or, if you’re ready for newly dressed windows, don’t forget the finishing touch that ties everything together- trim!

HOLIDAY DECORATING TRENDS

By Deb Barrett

The days are shorter, the nights longer — it’s time to stop looking through that bare, black hole of a window and get it ready for the upcoming winter and holiday season!

Raise Your Room Temperature!
As the temperature drops outside, adding color, texture and window treatments will dramatically change a room from cool to warm and cozy. Adding panels and a top treatment can be just the thing to warm up a room (lined treatments act as an insulator). It’s a perfect time to change out your existing window treatments with wood blinds or cellular shades — their insulating properties will keep rooms warmer all winter long (and cooler next summer!)

Soft Treatment Trends for the Winter Season

• French flip panels
• Unusual pleated headings on panels — inverted, goblets, cartridges, ruching
• Color-blocked columns of fabric
• Classic swags and cascades with dressmaker details

Holiday Decorating “Buzzwords”
You’ll be hearing a lot about these holiday decorating trends as the season approaches!

• Warmth
  You’ll be seeing a lot of the warm side of the color spectrum — sumptuous reds, oranges, pinks, honeys and yellows. Create distinctive color schemes for the holidays with one or more of these colors. Pinks and reds are perfect for a nostalgic or Rococo-themed holiday.
• Retro/Pop
  Op-art patterns, strong contrasts, graphic looks — the attitude that “The Future is Now!” Don’t discount the classic looks as produced by the great couture houses — Chanel (tweeds and boucles), Pucci, Courréges, Mary Quant. Think back to the 50’s and the flocked tree with pops of brilliant color for your inspiration. Retro/Pop looks work in traditional settings as a wonderful contrast that creates variety, making a room or window come to life.
• Shock
  The colors aren’t new — clear, bright hues — but the interest is in the combination and schemes. Can’t find the right fabric for your holiday window decorating scheme? Create your own! Alternate panels in “shocking” combinations like fuchsia and berry, or coffee bean and citrine, on multiple windows.
• Applied
  Layer design techniques and methods in the room and on the window. Layered, feminine, girly looks are window treatments hottest new trends!

It All Adds Up to Pretty Decorating!
Take a lesson from the fashion runway and consider tweeds, plaids and stripes mixed and matched in panels and top treatments.

Buy some of the fabulous new brooches and pin them on tab top panels or use as holdbacks — buy several and attach them all the way down the edge of stationary panels for a sparkling effect.

Add some of the wonderful, wired ribbons (found in the holiday decorating aisle) down the leading edge of your drape. Soften the edge with a ruffle in a fabulous silk or velvet. Just gather and finish the edge, then attach with double stick Velcro (so you can change it out at the end of the season).

Accessorize! Accessorize! Accessorize!
As you’d accessorize your outfit with shoes, bags and scarves, don’t forget to add accessories to your room — they’re a key ingredient to its design success.

• Complement your window treatments with pillows, runners, ottomans. Velvet throws with corded edges and tasseled corners in rich, dramatic colors are the perfect accessory for holiday. Think purple, berry, merlot, red.
• Dress up your existing draperies with swagged cording in an accent color or in one of the new metallics — silver, gold and copper — for holiday pizzazz. Change out your drapery rods in the same metals to reflect the romantic glow of candlelight at your dining table. A new pair of finials can change your room’s whole perspective — simply and easily.
• When you’re in the trim department, purchase an extra tassel or two for door knobs, to tie on a chair back, or wrap around a vase or candelabra. Remember to repeat an accent color or pattern at least three times for impact, and vary scale and size.
• Entertaining during the holidays? Buy some extra yardage when doing your windows and make 20″ napkins for those special occasions.

A Simple Idea
Still have a bare window — and no time to treat it? Shop for some wonderful handcrafted Christmas ornaments and sumptuous drapery rods and brackets. Hang the ornaments from the rod with fish line in front of the glass. Choose ornaments that sparkle and reflect light both day and night!

My motto is “The More The Better” during the holiday season — using any or all of these ideas will make your home .. and windows — a holiday to remember.

Until next time! Deb

Deb Barrett, owner of Window Dressings, Kaneville, IL, is an award-winning window fashions designer, professional speaker and author. She has built a reputation for cutting edge couture treatments, winning the Window Fashions National Design Competition five times, including its Award of Excellence. With more than 30 years experience in the window treatment field, Deb shares her talents through speaking, media tours and writing. Her work frequently appears in popular decorating magazines including Windows and Walls and Decorating Ideas, and she is the author of Tools of the Trade and Soft Furnishings Sketchbook.