Shutters DIY

Creatively repurposed old shutters

Blinds

It might happen during furnishing a room that there is no space for big, hanging curtains with rods. Frequently it is not practical to use a large amount of fabrics to cover the windows because of the type of the room (e.g. kitchen, bathroom). In this case, let’s choose some kind of blinds. These are easy to handle, need less space and can be made of any kind of curtain fabrics.
Roman blind: The fabric tenses at the front of the window when it is lowered. While pulling up, the fabric stratifies horizontally by layers. It requires special mechanism. The struts are sewn in the fabric. It can be fixed both on the window frame and the side wall.
Austrian blind: This type needs much more fabrics than the others. The ruffle at the bottom remains even when it is lowered. It can be pulled up by the sewn cords and the fabric gathers in waves at the holding rod.
London blind: It is similar to Austrian blind but in this case there are only two pull-up cords in the fabric. When pulled up, the fabric swells between the two cords and slightly swags at its ends. Its appearance is more playful and less formal.
Roll-up blind: It can be sprung, bead chain and electric as to its moving. The fabric laps to the holding device when it is rolled up. It can be made of any fabric from voile to black-out. The fabric is completely plain when lowered, so it gives clear-out contour to the window.
Zebra blind: Its gist is the alternation of voile and darkening parts which results a striped effect. The amount of the incoming light can be controlled by the setting of the covering. Although, it is a quite modern solution, this type can be utilized in a classic interior also.
Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the proper type of shading.

Colored frames

Apr4

Be daring: instead of common white and brown, paint window and door cases bold colors

My project 19.

Mar9

Any type of doors can be classic style (safe entrance, indoor open, in-wall sliding)

Real leather

Mar5

Real leather is present in homes since the prehistoric ages. First, it was used only as clothes and blankets, but later, when the quality of finish became finer, it was used for many other purposes. Nowadays leather is used as upholstery and carpet in interior design, although there are several other usages of it which make the interior more interesting. If the aim is creating a masculine home, this is more accentual.
Several factories sell handles made of or covered with leather. Seam made by contrasting stiches conjures the required piece to a decorating motif. It is a fine detail on a kitchen cabinet, for example.
Sound-proofing was resolved in libraries of old houses by thick leather-covered padding on the inner side of the door, because frequently it was the home office too. Leather covered doors were often decorated with quilting or buttoning. This elegant solution is applied in modern times also, for example in managers’ offices. Even if there is no need for sound-proofing, let’s evoke this tradition, because it gives unique mood for our home office too.
Anno top of the desks were covered by leather as well. Paper couldn’t slip while writing viz. high-gloss lacquer and varnish resulted a quite slippery surface and leather was more comfortable for the elbow also. These kinds of desks can be bought in firms producing classic furniture.
We can still find household and decoration objects in variations covered by leather. It is not only natural and elegant material but long-lasting too. Some examples without limitation: storage boxes, letter-opener knife, handle of magnifier, artisan pictures, coaster.
Nowadays faux-leather wall panels are more and more fashionable in homes, as an eye candy first of all. It is applicable behind TVs for hiding wires but holds on as hallway peg-wall and bedside wall covering because of its easy-clean feature. If somebody doesn’t like plastic at home, can order them made of real leather because these are always produced in unique sizes.
Ask for help of an interior designer for furnishing your home, even if you cling to a certain material.

Overdoor

Jan24

Overdoor: framed painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, that is set within the door’s ornamental mouldings and made originally for this purpose (latin = supraporta)

Curtaining of attic window

Jan22

Shading is a frequent problem in attic rooms. Of course, it can be easily solved with a roll-up blind, a window film or a venetian blind, but if a classic style curtain is desired in this room also, the case is not easy at all.
The solution in the case of windows on sloped roof is putting on two curtain rods. The upper one has the same function as on a normal window. The lower has the role of holding the fabric of the curtain. The lower has to be placed under the window. Both of them should overhang the two sides of the window, just like in other rooms. In the case of a floor length curtain, the fabric simply should be put behind the lower rod. When it is pushed, the rod will hold the fabric on the sloped roof anyhow. However, in the case of a short curtain, the lower rod has to be put in the fabric, just like the upper one. One or two sided curtains can be made in both cases. Of course, the curtain can be attached to the rod in any ordinary way (rings, fabric flaps, keeper etc.).
In the case of a full width window on a vertical wall, the problem might be the lack of space above the window for the curtain rod, because of the joint of the sloped roof. It is harder if the window itself is not rectangular but follows the line of the roof. It is worth to ask for help of a professional curtain company for a beautiful work. The length of the curtain has to follow the line of the window. Two rods will be needed in this case also, but the fixing is not a free choice because of the skew, since the rings would slip off by the gravitation, for example.
If the window on the vertical part is too small, or not symmetrical in its place, a more spectacular curtain solution can improve the sight. The feeling of a bigger window can be reached by a fabric complementing the furnishing of the room and covering the whole wall, this way the detrimental wall-part can be turned to a focal point. Curtain tassels and wall hooks will be useful.
Ask for help of an interior designer for solving the curtaining of attics.