Window Treatment Talk

This is the newest article from Sally Morse, Director of Creative Services for Hunter Douglas. Promises, promises: Every year as the days get shorter and the temperatures start to drop, we vow to make our homes warmer and cozier. Increasingly, we're also looking for ways to do that while lowering our heating needs, as rising energy costs are affecting everyone's pocketbook! To me, a cozy room is synonymous with a stylish room, an inviting place where I want to relax and entertain family and friends. And few things instantly transform a room with style like the just-right window fashion. You'll not only find that perfect window fashion at Hunter Douglas, you'll find highly energy-efficient products. In fact, Hunter Douglas window fashions are an extremely effective way to conserve energy at the window. Not only do their insulating qualities help to keep rooms warmer in the winter, their ability to diffuse and disperse light deeper into a room means less need for elec...

Another great article from Sally Morse Re-Thinking Style At the recent design shows in Frankfurt and Paris, I witnessed a trend and want to share it with all of you. It consists of three Rs: Rediscover, recycle, and reuse. Let's start with rediscover. Have you heard of the saying, "Everything old is new again"? Your old stuff might look new, so go for a treasure hunt in your house or maybe a relatives. Check your basement, closets, attic, and garage. Recently, my mother moved from Atlanta back to the Chicago area by me and needed some help getting settled. While I was unpacking boxes, I found some treasures that my mother had found from years ago. The pieces looked great in her new house. Also, I rediscovered new looks for some of the existing window coverings. The previous owners had installed Country Woods® Genuine Woods blinds in the bedroom. With the cottage style of the home, we decided to soften the interior by hanging embroidered sheers over the blinds. I dis...

Finishing up our Design Trends from Sally Morse . Automated Systems for your home Gadgets that we previously saw only in a James Bond movie are now a part of our daily lives. Lighting, heating and cooling, security systems, even kitchen appliances — and, yes, window fashions — can be automated and controlled remotely. With Hunter Douglas Platinum Technology, you can raise or lower window fashions like honeycomb shades using a wireless remote control. Eco Designs Making the green grade means different things to different people. At Hunter Douglas, one of our green standards is energy conservation. In 1985, we invented the highly energy-efficient Duette honeycomb shades in response to the energy crisis of the late 1970s. More recently, we've introduced the Duette Architella Collection, which offer superior energy efficiency thanks to their patented honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb construction. Upload Your Own Photo Not long ago, visualizing how a new style might look on you—or i...

Continuing on with our feature on Design Trends, here are the next few from Sally Morse .  Open Bed/Bath Suites Intimate and enchanting: Open bed/bath suites appeal to our private selves. With fewer walls inside your house, now more than ever you'll want window fashions that provide optimal privacy and lighting control. Sizing Up Area Rugs With the popularity of hardwood floors, area rugs have become the solution for warming up rooms. But buying the right size can be a challenge. A few suggestions: In the foyer, choose a rug big enough for a guest to step on. In the living room, anchor the rug with furniture. In the dining room, measure the distance from the chairs on all four sides. Add 56 inches to these figures, ample space for pulling chairs onto the rug. Mix and match your shades! For example, Pirouette ® window shadings work well with an antique area rug. Just match a color in the rug to your shades. Cornices Looking for the perfect crowning touch to your window tre...

If you haven't had the pleasure to read an article by Sally Morse, or better yet listen to her give a seminar or speech, you are trully missing out. As Director of Creative Services for Hunter Douglas, Sally Morse is internationally recognized for her work in the interior design field. Most recently, she was honored with the 2008 International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE) 'Window Fashions Industry Icon' award. Frequently a featured guest on TV and radio programs, she also contributes articles on interior design to magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens, Windows and Walls and Real Simple . As well as attending the leading industry trade shows in Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Canada, the Middle East, Russia and the Pacific Rim, Sally also travels extensively as a consultant and lecturer. I have had the pleasure to listen to Sally on a few occasions while attending some training courses for Hunter Douglas. She is very entertaining, and I could listen to her talk for hou...