Keeping it Simple for Spring

February is never hard for me to say goodbye to.  I can't wait for Spring by March 1st.  So I was inspired to make this simple, spring-like, relaxed shade for a kids bathroom last week.

Of course, 3 days later we were reminded, rather harshly, that Winter really is still here (demonstrated by my husband in the above photo lol).  But the beauty of the snow here in New England is truly undeniable. 

The citrus colors in this linen-like (cotton) fabric were so similar to the new selection of Levi's jeans I saw while shopping at Macy's last week.  I am clearly not the only one drawn to spring colors this time of year.

I love that the colors are not too saturated.  Faded colors can sometimes take on a 'chalky' hue and I love that for the spring and summer months, don't you?

Until next time... keep warm...

   

Michelle

Written by Michelle Jamieson of  Michelle Jamieson Interiors 

www.NewEngland-Style.com 

A Modern Take on Traditional Panels

This new sunroom is fabulous.  My client contacted me to add the finishing touches to it (ie, custom window treatments, valances, cushions & pillows)... the last thing I wanted to do was to make it feel heavy or stuffy.

Did I mention yet what a FABULOUS room this is?  So I began with the French door wall.  I suggested panels to just frame the glass doors and give it a finished look.  Initially I suggested swing arm rods, but my client selected this rod from Pottery Barn instead.

The rod has a nice, modern feel and blends perfectly with any traditional or transitional room.
The fabric picks up on the bronze tones in the nearby lampshade and the stone on the fireplace.

...Here they are almost ready to be hung...

...as soon as the pins are in place...

I chose to leave the pleats "unpinched" this time for an updated and clean look.  These panels are lined, interlined and have padded hems (a high end detail that is a favorite of mine) and the hems are also hand stitched.

Follow me and watch this already fabulous room become even more fab!

Michelle
Michelle Jamieson Interiors / www.newengland-style.com

Visit some of my all-time favorite blogs:
Mod Vintage Life
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Fridays
Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday

I'm Honored to Have Won a Best of 2012 Houzz Design Award!

 Well I really can't believe it to be honest with you all.  Though I realize I'm not the only recipient, I consider this to be an honor.  I know how big Houzz is in the design community and among my clients and future clients.  Houzz is a great design and inspiration resource.  I have to thank my long time customer and friend Kristen for recommending that I sign up for Houzz in the first place last year!  Thank you Kristen!  And then I also want to thank my long time customer and friend Colleen for letting me do so many jobs in her home, which end up being photographed and shown not only here on my blog, but in other places like Houzz (where her rooms ended up being a favorite amongst readers)!!!  So without further adieu... I will first post the press release below - feel free to share it, though I guess I don't know why you would :-P... then after that, I will post some photos of all of the work that I have done in Colleen's home. You may have seen some of these in prior posts, but maybe you didn't know that a lot of these were from the same client's home ;-)

Michelle Jamieson of Boxford, Massachusetts Receives

Houzz’s 2012 ‘Best Of Remodeling’ Award

First-Ever Survey & Analysis of More than 1.2 Million Members Reveals Top-Rated Professionals and Current Design Trends from Across the Country

Boxford, MA  --  March 19, 2012 – Michelle Jamieson Interiors of Boxford, MA has been awarded  “Best Of Remodeling” 2012 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design.  The 14 year old Custom Furnishings & Design Firm (specializing in window treatments, cushions, slipcovers, pillows & computer designs) was chosen by the more than 1.2 million registered members of the Houzz community.

The Houzz “Best Of Remodeling” award for 2012 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals.  Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the 1.2 million members, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 16.5 million professional images to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site and iPad/iPhone app.

"I am extremely honored that Houzz readers loved my work enough to have earned me this award" says Michelle.

“With 3.5 million monthly unique users and 80 million monthly page views, Houzz has rapidly become the largest community of active remodelers, providing homeowners and design enthusiasts with first-hand advice from Houzzers who have been through the renovating and decorating process,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of marketing for Houzz. “This is a real stamp of approval for Michelle Jamieson Interiors from the Houzz community and we’re thrilled to welcome them to this elite group of ‘Best Of’ winners.”

With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Michelle Jamieson, but also those whose work visually aligns with their own design goals. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.

Michelle Jamieson has owned and operated Michelle Jamieson Interiors, an interior design studio / custom workroom out of her home in Boxford, MA since 1998.  She began by making custom pillows and draperies but soon found herself making custom cushions and slipcovers which now make up about 50% of her business.  In 2006 she began using design software (she designs on a photo of a room or a window).  This was an instant 'hit' and she now does design renderings for nearly every client.  She sells 6 lines of fabrics & trims but also shops at a fairly local, large fabric & furniture store located in her husband's home town of Lynn, MA.  "I love to promote and buy from small, local family businesses whenever I can".  She also sells custom hardware.  All of her custom iron hardware also comes from a small, local business in her husband's home town of Lynn, MA.  Natural Woven Roller Shades (as well as other shades) have also become a prominent item that Michelle specializes in.  Michelle does just about everything in her business herself from the marketing (her blog) to the in home consultation, design, fabrication (sewing),  installation to the photo shoot in the end... but she has seasoned experts and a new trainee that she won't hesitate to hire for help if she gets overloaded or if a client is in a rush.

About Houzz

Houzz (www.houzz.com) is the leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.2 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc.  To see Michelle's profile on Houzz click here: Michelle Jamieson Interiors on Houzz
_____________________________________________________________________________
 Now let me show you more of Colleen's beautiful house!

 The front door says 'welcome'...

The dining room says "let's have Thanksgiving Dinner here"

 The longest window-seat cushion I ever made... but I'm still crazy about it today!

Cozy kitchen nook complete with bench, cushions, valances...

 Warm and inviting living room with splashes of color and subtle linen draperies...

And the 'most popular' room by Houzz readers... the family room!  The funny thing is that in the photo I posted, I don't even think it was accessorized or filled with furniture yet.  I had just finished the custom cushions.  Here it is, lived in, complete with the dog :-)

I did also do the main bathroom window treatment but those photos are missing in action at the time that I'm about to publish this so... I'll post it later if I find it!

Thanks so much for reading this long post!  I suppose it was a bit like a house tour, which is a favorite thing of mine to do.  Do you have a favorite room in her house?  Please leave a comment - I love the feedback!  I think my vote would be the living room, I didn't show you the photo where one whole wall is built in book cases complete with window seats, the other adjacent wall is all wainscoting and a cozy fireplace... just beautiful.


Have a great week and I hope to see you back here soon :-)


~ Michelle ~


Linking up to these great sites:
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Faded Charm for White Wednesdays 
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 

Renderings for Living Room Windows in Red & Gold

Well, I arrived on a sunny Saturday in January to this client's home and was immediately struck by how sunny, clean and tidy her home was.  The home is an older one, but was completely renovated before they moved in 2 years ago.  They have added their own touches with paint, furniture and window treatments so far.  They already installed shades that look like shutters in the living room, painted the walls a golden color, and added a new couch with a lovely paisley fabric on the pillows, a contemporary rug and a bright red ottoman.  These are the elements and colors I was to work with in my design renderings.  Below is the before room, as I saw it that day.

I started out with something a bit more conservative, I always try to make every design reflect my client's taste and style, but most of the time I need to help them figure out what that style is.  It's not always quick and easy.  Sometimes we figure it out right off the bat, sometimes it takes quite a few renderings and email conversations.  Notice I added a lamp and topiary as well as some accessories to the table on the right, I felt that some accessorizing could really help this room too.  Below is the first design I presented:

She wanted to keep as much of the molding showing as possible, therefore, I decided that panels that just framed the window were the best choice, rather than to cover the wood and block any of the window at all with a valance.  She liked this but wanted to see more.  So I added another layer to the draperies, sort of a removable scarf (first photo at the top).

Next she wanted to see something on the other side of the room, two windows that I photographed separately.  It's not usually necessary to do a rendering on another view, but this side of the room has a very different feel, the room does feel chopped up and I believe that the window treatments will tie the room together.  She also had concerns that the favorite design so far was a bit formal or over dressed for her room.  So I wanted to show her something that might be a bit more casual and that I knew was in a linen fabric.  Linen tends to lay more relaxed, it weighs more and the drapability of it cannot be replicated in my opinion.  So I designed a flipover panel with a fringe on the valance portion.

Well this one immediately felt lighter, brighter and a bit more casual to me, so I immediately liked it.  I also felt that it could still work with her paisley pillows since the white background would contrast her pillows with a  saturated background.  At this point it became a little bit apparent to me that the cabinet should not be where it is.  It definitely splits the room in two, and I felt the room should be more unified and possibly have another seat in that spot to be more conducive to conversation on the sofa side of the room... so I made that suggestion. 

She liked the flipover panel so I showed her a flipover panel on a standard wood rod on the larger window, but in a red dot fabric.  She wanted to use the red from the ottoman, so as you can see by the rendering below, I used a photo as a reference to the red ottoman on my design page.  I also had to keep the very contemporary rug photo on top of the page as well to make sure I was matching those things that were staying in the room.

Well can you choose a favorite?  I like two of them, it's hard to choose.  But I'd love to know which one you think would go best in this room based on the elements that have to stay.  

Thanks so much for stopping by New England-Style to see what else is new.  On the workroom table this week should be some embroidered linen polka dot panels for another client.  I honestly can't even remember if I told you all about that incident.  The linings are all cut out and ready to go, I cut out three of the panels before I realized the polka dots were so crooked and faulty that I couldn't even use those pieces at all.  The fabric company would only reimburse me for the fabric left on the roll (ouch).  I was not happy since I've never returned a fabric to any company before, this company was my very first though, so I've been selling their fabrics for 13 years now.  Now my client was expecting these draperies before her dinner party on March 10th and now I'm hoping that I can install them for her before Easter Sunday!  I still do not have the replacement fabric here yet since the company insisted on ordering a brand new roll from the manufacturer and they both want to inspect this roll carefully (which is good but not for my schedule).  So it may be a challenge but I will do everything in my power to get these done and installed by Easter. 

I hope you are having a great week!  Please leave a comment, follow me if you haven't already and visit often!  

Until next time, I'm enjoying an early Spring here in New England!  Hope you are enjoying your spring too.

Michelle

Linking up with:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Antique Bedroom in Ipswich Massachusetts Gets Coastal yet Cozy

This antique home in the heart of downtown Ipswich Massachusetts, has been a long time charmer and favorite of mine!  How lucky was I to be the one to design and fabricate the window treatments for the master bedroom! 

Here is the other side of the room just to share some of the fabulous details with you of this old timer.

And the above photo shows the colors I was to work with.  The wall color being a soft ivory leaning towards a pale yellow, white woodwork, and a classic blue and white toile. (Below front windows 'before')

I recently found that a quote I've been using by Frank Lloyd Wright was incorrect.  He actually said:  "Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union" (not just form form follows function, as I previously thought he said).  I liked what I thought he said first, but I think I even like the correct one better!
 
These windows face the street, so privacy needed to be considered.  A layered design was agreed upon after a few of the following computer designs were submitted for her approval!

The last one was selected as the winning design!  Which one was your favorite?  Please let me know in a comment - I would LOVE to know!

 Isn't it beautiful?  Okay, now for the honesty factor... I am a window treatment designer, but I'm also human and sometimes I make mistakes.  I can't believe I did this but let me explain my design flaw... ie my dirty laundry :-/.   When the iron holdbacks are in place, here, where I designed them to be... might look good BUT... (drum-roll, it seems so obvious to me now, how did I ever miss this), the shades can't come down past the holdbacks.  Ugggh!  So the holdbacks are now removed.

The hardware is custom iron made here locally.  I recommended this because of the historic nature of the home, I wanted it to be historically accurate.  I haven't suggested iron hardware in years and I'm so pleased with the result. 

The side window we decided to do differently.  This is a faux roman valance with buttons & ties. 

So at the time of this post, my client and I have decided that I'm going to make tie-backs out of some of the leftover material so that she can pull the draperies back like the original design.  In the meantime, I kind of like the draperies just like they are now...

In a comment - can you share with me which look you like best?  Tied back or straight down?

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please follow & share, I'd love to see you back :-)

Until next time,

Michelle

Linking to these great sites:
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Southern Savvy Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Faded Charm for White Wednesdays
My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday 

Dining Room Gets New Drapes & Shades Before the Holidays!

What a classic yet rustic dining room.  The first floor of this renovated antique home in Lynnfield, Massachusetts had no window treatments at all until 2 days before Christmas.  That's the day that I came and installed these custom drapes and roller shades!  (Okay I have to level with you... I'm on my final revision & just decided I need an English lesson - after the first 3 paragraphs, I had to delete 3 "lovely's"!  I mean, this place is "lovely", but... I may need to get more creative with my language if I'm going to keep my readers interested)

My client has a knack for decorating.  She did such a fabulous job on the exterior of their family home, didn't she?

Even the renovated barn got a set of decorated planters and pretty natural garland.

I thought this planter above was worthy of a close-up shot with the creative grouped branches and the stone-wall behind it.

Let's rewind a couple of months to when my client first called me.  She wanted a bit more privacy on the front windows of their home, since the house is on a main street in town.  I just NOW noticed that these shrubs have red berries on them - how fantastic to have NATURAL red berries for Christmas!  I will post a picture below of the before room, from last fall.

I love the bright sunny room so we wanted to make sure that we didn't lose the ability to keep that warm sun from shining in by covering the windows with too much fabric.  So below is a rendering I did for her with my vision.

She and her husband were on board.  So the design and fabrics were approved - next step, placed fabric orders, then... fabrication!

As I'm working on these drapes, I'm drawn to the texture of this fabric.  They will be timeless and beautiful! The color resembles burlap, but this is SO much nicer.

After....

This is the hardware line I sell the most of but this finial has never been selected by a client of mine before.  I have a new favorite!  She has such good taste... don't you agree?  We both decided these windows now have a "Beacon Hill" sort of look to them - very classy! You might notice, I always recommend metal rings with fixed eyes.  I'm not a fan of clip rings or of wooden rings.

Above is another closeup that allows you to see the roller shades as well.  So handsome!
Okay below I will show another view of the before - from the living room, followed by more after shots.

After...

The room is finally ready for the holiday!  The tree was so endearing, so I will share that with you as well as a piece of the red ottoman slipcover & matching pillows I made for her living room below.

One last glimpse of the dining room from the kitchen on my way out the door that day...

I hope you had a fabulous holiday ~ I am SO happy about the new year!  Looking forward to sharing lots of stories and decor with you in the year to come!  My next project will be the living room window treatments in this same house - see you then!

Yours Truly :-J
Michelle

Linking up with these great sites:
My Romantic Home
Book Giveaway:
French Country Cottage