My home studio has been elevated to a beautiful space beyond my expectations thanks to The Shade Store. I had a vision for a super wide drapery panel that would span the entire room and turn the corner. I knew it was a tough ask, so I approached The Shade Store who I also knew could most certainly meet my specific requirements. I use them for all of my client work and I was both familiar with the process and confident in the quality of the products. Let me walk you through the initial concept to the final install.
The first thing I did when we started remodel work on our house was to take down all the window treatments. The previous owner had layers upon layers of dusty window coverings and I thought she was a fool. The views and floor to ceiling windows were being covered. Flash forward to a year and half of living in the house and now I don't think she was crazy after all. Our west facing den gets blasted with sun and heat in the afternoon making it unbearable. Once I moved my home studio to an unused corner of the den, I wasn't able to work past 4:00 PM because the sun was directly in my eyes.
Alec was reluctant to obstruct the view. I convinced him that sheers were the way to go and the entire drapery panel could be pushed to one side behind the desk to see the backyard. Now I needed help figuring out the exact hardware and measurements.
The first step was to get the windows measured before visiting the showroom so they would know exactly what was being fitted. The measurement appointment is free of charge and took about 20 minutes. Easy.
Once the measurements were in their system, I visited the West Hollywood showroom for some handholding. Kenneth was there to steer me away from natural linen (my go-to fabric) sheers to a polyester fabric called Sheer Elegance. He explained that the linen was heavier and would start sagging as one larger panel. He also explained that the Sheer Elegance came in wider runs and wouldn't require seams. Smart! I defer to an experienced tradesperson.
We looked at many sheers and found one that was the exact translucency to see through, but would still block the harsher sunlight. The next tricky bit was the hardware - it needed to be on a track that turned the corner. I picked the Madison track in bronze with ripple folds for a minimal look that matched the original midcentury finishes of the house. Even though I was in the showroom for my specific install, it was hard not to get distracted by the amazing options they have in the display drawers - roller shades, wovens, embroidered, and patterns. Too fun.
Once I made my material choices, a quote for my exact windows sizes, specific treatment, and materials was emailed to me. The order was placed online through a link once I reviewed and verified the details. I waited about 2 weeks before the custom drapery was fabricated and shipped along with the hardware via Fedex to my door. I concurrently made the install appointment for 3 weeks out to be safe.
The big day arrived. Two installers came to the house to start the work. They were very respectful of my space, wearing booties and vacuuming the windows before getting started. They measured and remeasured before drilling into the walls for hardware. They very carefully and methodically hung the hardware across the room over the course of 2 or so hours and then gingerly clipped the single drapery panel in the track.
The finished result is breathtaking. The sunlight is now beautifully diffused and balanced. The light has softened to create the feeling of working inside a cloud. It's inspiring and I'm able to be creative many more hours of the day. Its made such a huge difference in how I use the space, I only wish I would have done this months ago.
If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I know for a lot of my clients, taking on window coverings feels overwhelming with so many options. It is also a big expense no matter how you slice it that you don't want to make a mistake in what you order. I will say I have tried other window covering vendors and it seemed like the pricing was comparable, but the quality was not there. I also found that mistakes do happen and products fail on some installs. When that does happen, The Shade Store always steps up to replace the faulty product immediately without hesitation. For those reasons, I keep using them again and again.
I'm in love with my install. Now I want to do every single window in the house with a different treatment type. It seems like the previous owner had the right idea all along.