Window Bonnets

Cornices All Around the Room

2010-09-25T14:04:00.005-07:00

This "around the room" cornice has a number of firsts about it.

It is a 3 bend bay.
It is a slider window on the right side.
It is our first tri-color decorated cornice.

Francis and Marsha's kitchen/dining area is definitely a different design. It is the combination of a traditional two bend bay window that starts from the left of the room, but at the end it extends with an additional bend and then goes across a standard slider window. They decided upon a 12" high cornice and used fabric they had and some new they purchased.

The room has a theme of plants and a general "growing area." So the flower pattern fabric seems appropriate with different solid colors on the top and bottom. The different colors bring out different tones from the flower center. Francis did a great job on covering this long length. I was not there when they actually put it on the brackets but I am sure it prompted a neighborhood get together. This size cornice is definitely not heavy, but the three bends pretty much demands at least three sets of hands if not four.

This window combination could have been two separate window cornices but it was a relatively small distance from the end of the bay window to the slider so I recommended they go with one. The result was right for the space but it did making taking one picture of the whole thing just about impossible!

To see more bay windows:
http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/bays-window_treatment_ideas.html

To see more sliding windows:
http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/sliding_door-window_treatment_.html

Cheers,
Jan
Window Bonnets

Calculating Your Fabric Yardage

2010-06-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

This is probably the most often asked question and one that has a very simple answer and a not so simple answer. So I will take it in stages. When you read the one that covers your situation, and then don’t read any farther. No need to complicate things if you can make it simple.

For our purposes lets say you are making a cornice for your slider window that has verticals on it. The rod the verticals are on is 109” long. So at the very least your cornice needs to be 110” providing a half inch space on either side.

Here is the simplest answer: Add 25” to the 110” = 135” divide that by 36 = 3.75. You will need to purchase 3.75 yards of the fabric for the center and the top/bottom contours if you want to just cut one long strip that will cover from end to end.

You might be asking yourself, why add 25”. The straight part of the cornice is 110” but when you attach the end cap the length of the front of your cornice will expand by 2.5” on each side, the thickness of the end cap in that center contour. Then to cover down the length of the end cap is another 7.5” if using the standard 5” bracket, only 5.5” if using the 3” brackets, so a maximum 7.5 + 2.5 + 7.5 + 2.5 = 20” and 5” for insurance. You will use about an inch on each side to turn under at the end of the end cap.

If your fabric is a solid color, or the pattern is random or a pattern that runs down the length of the bolt, this is generally referred to as a railroad direction.

Now let’s say your fabric has a gorgeous pattern that you want to feature in the center contour but it runs across the width of the bolt. This requires a bit more math. Let’s say the width of the fabric is 54”. For your cornice you need a total of 135”, 135 divided by 54 = 2.5. So for the center section you need to cut 3 strips of that pattern. But that has not quite got us the yardage.

You also need to get the repeat distance for the pattern. Does the pattern repeat every 10”, every 17” every 23”, what is it? If it is not written on the fabric label, then lay it out on the cutting table and measure it. In our example we need 3 repeats, but since you cannot guarantee that your starting yardage is at the very beginning of the pattern, get one more repeat for insurance, get 4. For our example, I am going to say the pattern repeats every 21”—so 4 times 21 = 84” and that divided by 36 = 2.33 or 2.5 yards. Most fabric stores will cut in ¼ yard increments, some in as small as 1/8th.

Various methods of joining the fabric strips are covered in the next blog post.

Cheers,
Jan

Joining Your Fabric Strips

2010-06-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

When that “to die for” fabric requires you to join multiple pieces together there are a number of methods you can use. Which method is usually determined by the type of fabric, the thickness of the fabric, the pattern on the fabric or any combination of the three! As I describe each method, I will give examples that I have used.

Method 1: Joining the strips for a gathered look is definitely the easiest. As you complete the first gathered strip, leave ½” from the end and tuck it flat on the cornice form. On the next strip fold under the raw edge and tuck it up tight next to the last gathered area. It will overlap that flat piece and no one will ever know.

Method 2: The iron-on fusing tape is your friend when joining. This is great for vertical or horizontal strips or even a pattern that has a spot where you can cut down the side of an object or design. The key here is to make a nice clean cut, and handle the fabric as little as possible so the edge does not fray. On the ironing board lay one side down that has the “extra” bit of fabric from the area the next strip is to match to, lay the fusing tape on the edge. Now take the piece with the clean cut edge and lay it in place over the fusing tape matching up at your marked spot for the join. Iron well and it will become “invisible” once up on the cornice.

This method works well on cottons thru medium weight fabrics. Thicker fabrics are better using the next method.

Method 3: If your fabric is very thick, or even an upholstery fabric, or maybe one of those really knobby fabrics, this method might be better. Select the “joining” area of the pattern if applicable, then on an ironing board, place a 2” wide strip of a really thin, lining type of fabric on the board, and lay the fusing tape down on top of the lining material. Next lay each of the two strips together on top of the fusing tape. I recommend using some pins to hold it down, but the key here is to create a tight fit between the two edges. Press and steam to melt the fusing tape.

One note here, some fabrics especially upholstery fabrics will melt under such hot and steaming conditions, so test your fabric before doing this.

Method 4: If your fabric will melt under the heat and steam of the above method, then likely as not it will be just fine if you tuck the one piece down on the cornice and then tuck the joining piece pushing it very tightly next to the edge of the other one but without making it pucker. Again once it is up you will find it hard to see the join.

Method 5: Another perfectly acceptable method is just to fold over the end of the fabric and lay it down over the spot you have marked in the pattern that matches and looks good. In this method, I would strongly suggest that you make this type of join in a symmetrical fashion. Let’s say it is going to take two strips to cover your cornice. Center the first strip on the cornice and tuck it down. Then cut the second strip and do the fold over at the ends of the centered strip. I would not recommend putting the join in the center of the cornice. The other hint I would give is make sure the join happens either just before the corner, no closer than 1” before the edge or at least 3.5 inches after the edge going down the end cap. Any closer to the edge of the end cap makes it a bit trickier to tuck down nicely.

Method 6: This is my last method. If the other methods are not really acceptable to you or your fabric is such that no matter what you do it is going to show and you do not want it to, then simply create a “design feature” that covers it up. Here are a few examples, including some pins from Wal-Mart and the kokopellis from a mobile that had broken on my back patio. Think creatively for this one—any goes.

Cheers,
Jan
http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/design_gallery.html

Sheers & Your Cornice

2010-05-26T14:23:00.010-07:00

Sheers can often be a great touch to your room. Using the 5” brackets you can easily mount a rod or perhaps even use a tension rod in the window frame to hang them on. Using the rod you will have the ability to move the sheers open and closed.

However, in many cases I come across the sheers will simply be stationary behind the cornice board. Save yourself the cost of the rod and tuck the sheers into the back tuck groove of your cornice! It really works well. The pictures of Sharon’s home are a great example.

Sharon’s living room as you can see has a lot of dark heavy furniture, the tables have a rotiron frame and the walls are all a light color. Even the shades on the windows are light. What the room needs is some dark on the walls and even in the cornice to balance her décor.

She also wanted the room to have a bit more of a formal look. It took several weeks to come to all the right decisions but I have to say it all turned out spectacular.

The top/bottom of the cornice is in a chocolate brown, crinkle fabric with just a bit of shine. The center fabric is a raised traditional design but also has just a bit of the same crinkled chocolate fabric throughout. Then we come to the sheers. The two cornices in the living room span 3 windows each. Between each window is just 6” of wall space.

Penney’s had some chocolate strip sheer panels on sale and good thing—we used a total of 8 on the two living room and two more on the dining room. All of the sheers are actually tucked into the back tuck of the cornice boards. The panels were each 54” wide so rather than “manually” gather them. I had a friend sew a basting stitch across about 1” down from where I needed to cut them off. Then for the side ones I gathered each down to 13” wide and the ones in the center over the 6” wall were gathered down to 9”. The result in the room was perfect!

I cannot say enough about being creative. Let your mind go and set no limits on what you think you can do. The results will compliment your room and WOW your friends. Se more homes in our Gallery of Homes.

Cheers,

Jan

http://www.windowbonnets.com/

13 Yr Search for the Perfect Window Treatment

2010-05-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kingman Arizona home of the famous Route 66 and also Dan & Anne. They decided to visit the Kingman Home and Garden Show this last April. We were only 1 of several copies offering window treatment ideas, but they took a look at my samples and it was love at first site. This Arizona design was their inspiration. Several days after the show, I was out at their home to measure for cornices.

They had a slider in the transition area between the living room and the kitchen/dining area. Then also have two windows in the living room upstairs. This upstairs area turned out to be the challenge. A long slider gave entrance to a patio deck and then a large picture window over a couch, both providing a beautiful view to the golf course they live on. After measuring and much discussion it was decided to do a single cornice spanning the two windows. That made the cornice only an inch shy of 20 feet! They decided on the 12” high cornice for both areas.

Now they had to choose fabric. It was a bit of an ordeal as they picked out one that would have made a very bold statement in the room but we later found out that the pattern did not flow down the bolt as we had thought.

Anne wanted all three contours done in the same fabric with no breaks—so back to the fabric store again. They were only looking for Southwest designs and we had pretty much looked at all of them. But Connie at Alice’s Fabrics in Kingman managed to find 5 more that we had missed.

In the 5 was the one that seemed to outshine all the rest and match with their rooms perfectly. I was happy and relieved, I could get to work now. Generally speaking unless you have a semi, there is no way to transport a 20 ft cornice fully constructed, so I assembled it into the longest piece we could carry safely in our pickup truck and then two more long pieces that I would have to glue together and finish tucking in their actual room.

Dave & I arrived with the cornices at about 1:45 pm. The downstairs slider went up immediately and I set out my supports all across the living room. I even had to use their pool table at one end. It took another 2 hours to finish the 20’ cornice, but we did a lot of talking. My husband, Dave, had the brackets up so all four of us held it up while Dave moved across and pushed the cornice on to the brackets.

As I walked away into the room and turned around to look, it literally took my breath away. The colorations in the design were perfect and the room really came to life. I have not been so impressed and Dan and Alice were speechless. I got hugs from both of them.

The pictures do not do it justice but I tried to get the full effect of the room. They told me they had been searching 13 years to find the right window treatment! I love this job!

Cheers,

Jan

See me building the cornice in their living room in the Living Room Gallery:

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/living_rooms.html

Why We Are Better

2010-05-12T09:00:00.001-07:00

Superior Customer Service

A Training DVD to Answer All Your Questions

Total Accessibility to Us for Expert Advice & Assistance

BBB Accredited Business

Window Bonnets is a family owned business since 2006 by Dave & Jan Klatt. Your satisfaction is our number one concern. As a BBB Accredited Business we take very seriously our obligation to provide superior customer service. We conduct our business in an ethical manner and maintain a high rating with BBB.

We started with our own home and have made many for our customers, we not only sell the kits, but we make them for our local area customers as well. You can be confident that we really know how to use and create with our product.

Since we have this experience we also know all the tricks and can advise you in any area concerning the assembly, decoration and hanging of your cornices.

We provide a quality do-it-yourself Window Cornice Kit to create your dream windows or we can make them for you. (Providing you are local to either the Lake Havasu City, AZ / Mohave Valley / Anaheim, CA / Orange County areas.)

Just give us your ideas and we can work through the project together for perfect results. Satisfaction guaranteed

For the ultimate in technical help, each order comes with our unique FREE instructional video (25 min. DVD for PC/TV). This DVD is a great “security blanket”. Watch and stop the action during each phase of your assembly, decoration and hanging. Review the corner technique as your are doing your own corners.

But just so you know, emails and even phone calls are gladly accepted. To exemplify how easy it is, we have had no returns or reported complaints to date. Order today and start to transform your dream windows into reality.

To see the possibilities look in our Gallery of Homes.

Now imagine your pictures here! Share your decorating talents with your friends and relatives!
Living Rooms

Home Office or whatever on the web!

Cheers,
Jan

Attaching the Cornice Creatively

2010-05-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

The standard Window Bonnets cornice kit comes with 5” brackets. Well over 75% use this bracket and all is well. Another 20% or so use the 3” brackets. This number seems to be growing.

If your window has verticals mounted on the outside, or a drapery rod with sheers or drapes, then the 5” bracket is a must to clear the verticals and drapes so they are not crushed behind the cornice. If there is nothing over your window or the mount of blinds or verticals is inside the window well, then you might want to consider the 3” bracket for your cornice.

But for some a more creative mount is required. Several times I have been asked about mounting at 7” and even here recently at 4”. For both my best suggestion is to mount a piece of wood to the wall that is the thickness you need then mount the bracket to the piece of wood. Just remember to cut the end cap or add to it an appropriate amount so the end cap hits the wall once the cornice is pushed on the bracket.

And then there is Anne. She lives in a nice park model on the outer edge of a golf course. She was adamant about have them mounted directly to the wall. The only thing is that just around the window was trim piece that stuck out ¼”. Just laying the cornice form on the wall would have it sitting at an angle. That’s when I took a stroll through Lowes and found a quarter inch thick by 2” wide wall board strip and some industrial strength Velcro. Yes, I said Velcro.

We came back and mounted the board above the window about 1” down from where the top of the cornice was to hit. Then we mounted one side of the Velcro to the board. The other side we used our low temp glue gun to mount it to the back of the cornice. The typical sticky back of the Velcro does not hold well to Styrofoam but using just a bit of the low temp glue and it was on to stay. Once the cornice was decorated, it was pressed to the Velcro strip and Wal…la the cornice was on the wall and level from top to down over the window edge.

Cheers,

Jan

Finding Your Fabrics

2010-04-28T09:00:00.001-07:00

Where to go to find fabrics? The obvious are places like Hancocks, JoAnne’s, Home Fabrics, and other discount fabric stores. All the major cities have a wealth of places not only for fabrics but also trims.

However, not all my customers live in large cities. Some, like me, are in small towns with few resources to fabrics. Recently our only fabric store that carried fabrics other than quilting ones closed so what to do now. Like I say keep saying “get creative.” Here are a few suggestions:

Wal-Mart, some have a fabrics section with a surprising variety including trims.

Look for drapery panels, J.C.Penneys, Big Lots, Wal-Mart, K-mart. You might be surprised what you find in the various nooks and cranny’s of these stores.

It may sound silly, but decorative bed sheets may be perfect for guest rooms, kitchens, and dens.

Then, of course, you have the internet. This opens up the world but my problem is that I need to see and feel the fabric. Most places offer to send you samples either for free or just $1.00 per sample. The high end fabric houses may charge from $4-$7 even 10 for sample, but generally speaking it is for a large 8 x 8, or 10 x 10 inch sample and the price on those fabrics can run up to $60 or more dollars per yard.
For some of the more economical home décor fabrics take a look at these sites:

In the meantime, open your mind, look about your town, you just never know when the perfect fabric will find you in an unexpected place.

Cheers,
Jan

Decorating with Wall Shelves--Part 2

2010-04-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Six more wall shelving ideas.

Personalize a child's space. Hang a long display ledge with a plate groove above a crib or child's bed, but out of reach of the child. Place over-sized alphabet cards in the plate groove; spell out your child's name or a clever saying.

Show off your prized possessions in a unique way. Install several corner ledges in the corner of your dining room or living room to display small, special items.

Make reading more accessible to your children. Place display ledges that have a lip low to the ground in a child's room. Stack books on the shelf, so that the front covers face outward.

Frame your entire room with shelves. Hang wall shelves near the ceiling around the entire perimeter of a game room or child's room. Place toy trains, doll collection, baseball collection or other memorabilia on the shelves for an instant "theme" room.

Add a little sparkle to your decor. Place a deep wall shelf above your bar or high up in your kitchen to display your beautiful wine glasses or rarely used glassware. Reinforce your wall shelves into wall studs for extra sturdiness.

Decorate in unexpected places. Hang a wall shelf above your doors or windows to display holiday decor, such as your collection of snowmen, ceramic jack o' lanterns or Americana.

Decorating with Wall Shelves--Part 1

2010-04-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

In all we have 12 tips for decorating with wall shelves: Part 1 is 1-6, Part 2 is 7-12.

Use wall shelving to create a unique, custom wall sculpture. Centersmall wall ledges above and below a larger shelf to create a circular "sculpture." Or hang four ledges of the same or various sizes in a column aligned on the left or right side, spaced approximately three to five inches apart.
Use wall-mounted shelves as contemporary wall bookshelves. Hang five or six deep ledges of the same length on the wall approximately 10 to 12 inches apart. Or choose multi-tiered decorative wall shelves as another creative display option. Arrange a few books, vases and picture frames on the shelves for a very modern, clean look. Cover your books with simple, monotone paper for a uniform look.
Create a low-cost blackboard in your home office, child's room or kitchen. Paint a wall or section of a wall with black chalkboard paint. Hang a wall ledge near the bottom of the chalkboard to hold colored chalk and an eraser. A great decorating idea for a child's bedroom!
Hang a wall ledge above an unused fireplace as a makeshift mantle. Decorate your new mantle with coordinating candle holders or picture frames. Note: wall shelves are not recommended for working fireplaces.
No fireplace? Hang a long, deep wall shelf above your sofa. This makes a great place to display picture frames and other table accents in your living room. For the holidays, decorate it with holiday stockings, evergreen garland, battery-operated lights and glass ball ornaments.
Put a new twist on framed wall art. Rather than hanging your wall art, lean your framed art atop a wall shelf that has a lip. Arrange shelves at varying levels or hang a multi-level decorative wall shelf unit. For more visual interest, stagger your artwork so that one or two smaller prints sit in front of a larger piece. Be sure to install the shelf in wall studs, and reinforce large or heavy artwork by attaching it to the wall.

Cheers,
Jan

Decorating Without any Creative Skills

2010-04-07T17:37:00.002-07:00

Last week I talked about my creative works with my buttons and showed you how I created our HavaCentury Sneakers mascot. Now let’s translate that to your doing some real creative works in your home. All you need is some paint, a projector and an image.

The mural shown above was accomplished without any true artistic skills. Here is what you do. Print off a copy of the image you want on your mural. In this case a tree. Determine where in your home and how big you want the mural. Use painters tape to mask off the wall area and paint on your background color. Let it dry.

Next get the projector, it can be rented if necessary, and project your picture onto the wall. Move it closer or farther away to get the image at the desired size. Now pencil around the edges of the tree branches and using a fine tipped brush, fill in the color for the tree branches.

Our example is very simple, but we have one Window Bonnets customer who actually did a picture of an old California monastery building!

There you go the magic of creation without a single artistic bone in your body! Amazing what a little imagination can produce. My customers are always amazing me!

Cheers,
Jan
www.windowbonnets.com

Become an Artist the Easy Way

2010-03-24T09:00:00.003-07:00

Besides the Window Bonnets, I also design and make 3" buttons for all sorts of occasions. My most recent was for an event called the Relay of Celebration--a walking relay of 30 miles by 4 person teams. Our team called the HavaCentury Sneakers was definitely fun. We combined the Lake Havasu of our home town with the "Over 50" age group we competed in and arrived at HavaCentury. Naturally I volunteered to make buttons for our team. But here is the catch. I am not an artist on paper or the computer, but I am a master at listening to my customers (in this case my other teammates), using the internets vast resources and electronic manipulation.

My fellow "Sneakers" are all women of varied and interesting characters from the IRS tax advisor to the ex-military woman, to customer service rep, to the career professional. Naturally we had to have a great lady represent our team. So I found "the Girl." She appeared while passing through one of the many free clip art sites on the web.

She eptimized our fun nature, celebratory attitudes and kicky style. But she just needed more. As I listened to Jackie, Debbie & Mary talking about what they wanted, I though for sure I was in trouble on this one.

As a walker symbol she had to have sneakers, Jackie wanted a tiara, Debbie wanted lots more "bling", and Mary didn't like the dark legs, and I certainly wanted some big bold eyes with lots of lashes (like mine).

I had my work cut out for me. I had no idea how to do this. I have Illustrator but can only do the basics as I said I am not an artist with pencil or computer. But.... I do have photoshop so off I went to find the tiara, the bling, the sneakers and the eyes.

Several days later and many searchs on the internet, I found all the required items and started transforming "the Girl." As I completed various parts, I showed them to the team. Wow, what a transformation. I present the final "HavaCentury Sneaker Girl!"

We used her on our buttons, our shirts and our chase vehicle. In fact we had the award-winning chase vehicle decoration. Each of us did a part in the final creation. Jackie did the red sequined covers for the top lights and our eyelashes, Debbie did the tiara, Mary did the lips, and I did the eyes, side sneakers, and back sign, and my husband, Dave, did the "sneaker hubcabs". See it below.

OK, so you are probably asking now what this all has to do with home decor, cornices, and all the Window Bonnets stuff. It just points up that you do not have to be an interior designer to do some really cool home decor. With just a minimum of tools, you can create great home decor, one of a kind artwork that makes your home the talk of the neighborhood.

Tune in to next weeks blog for the whole scoop!
Cheers,

Jan

http://www.windowbonnets.com/

Easy Bay Window Treatment Solution

2010-03-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

When you have reviewed all of your window treatment ideas and have determined that you want to decorate with cornice boards to solve that difficult bay window situation …try the magic bending piece available through http://www.windowbonnets.com/.

I feel this is the easiest bay window solution on the market. Just follow these steps to see how easy it is:

Measure from the bend in the wall to the edge of the window on both outside windows ( 1 to 2 & 3 to 4). Measure the center section from bend to bend (2 to 3). Add these measurements together to determine the length of the cornice you will need.

Subtract 32 inches from the total (the length of the two bender pieces you will need). The difference is the length of the kit you will need to order.

Once you have received your materials, take the bending pieces and insert a bracket in each piece about one inch in from both edges. Place the piece up to the wall in the desired location and bend the piece until the brackets are flat against the wall, mark the position for the screws. Mount both brackets for each bender piece. Now measure from the outer edge of each bender piece to where it will end on the other side of the window (basically 2 to 1 and 3 to 4). Then measure the distance between the two benders for the center section. Those are the lengths to build so your cornice will fit perfectly on its bender pieces and end where you design to.

Now pull the bend pieces off the brackets and assemble your cornice treating the bend pieces as straight pieces.

Decorate.

Mount the remaining brackets and hang your cornice starting with the bend pieces in the exact location you had them mounted in before. The fit and angles will be perfect.

Stand back and admire your creative and easy bay window solution.

Cheers,
Jan
Window Bonnets

What the Heck is "Tucknology"!

2010-03-10T09:15:00.002-07:00

Tucknology is the modern no-effort magic way to make cornice boards with no sewing, gluing or stapling your fabrics to the boards to complete the unique window treatment ideas you have in mind.

If you elect to use the Window Bonnets cornice kit, it’s so simple. The only talent you need is to be able to cut a strip of fabric lay it out on your cornice board base and use the magic tuck tool to complete the project.

The cornice board form has precut grooves for the three pieces of fabric needed. Just use the tool to tuck the material into the groove and you are done. This works the same whether you want a smooth look, gathered look, pleated look or any combination.

You can enhance the look of your cornice by adding cords, beads, tassels, etc. that have the small bit of fabric attached to them (available at any fabric store). Just use your tuck tool and the precut grooves along with your tucknology skills to tuck the fabric part of the cord to the board. You can even use the back tuck groove for sheer curtains etc… its magic no rods or sewing!

That is Tucknology, no sewing, no special skills yet professional results.

Try Tucknology you will like it and it is a lot of fun!

Cheers

Dave & Jan Klatt

Window Bonnets

http://www.windowbonnets.com/

Southwest Decorating: A Little or A Lot

2010-03-03T13:38:00.011-07:00

Southwest decorating is very simple and can be in-depth or as little as simple accents. It is especially popular in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and parts of California.

Southwest decorating is in general characterized by the use of earth tone colors, rough textures, hand crafted and rustic objects, objects that reflect the sometimes rugged life style and sometimes brightly colored fabrics or leather.

Many people use Native American themes, desert themes or the traditional cowboy theme.

A LOT

An example of a complete household decorated in the Southwest décor is Dave’s cowboy house. The picture above is his family/dining/kitchen area. Dave started by painting the interior walls with an adobe finish and accents. He utilized his passion for the cowboy theme through the entire house. He started by using the Window Bonnets http://www.windowbonnets.com/, do-it-yourself cornice kits throughout. Dave selected a horse pattern for the office, desert cactus and leather accents for the bedrooms and southwest patterns for the living room/den. See the pictures below to see his handy work). Dave did all of the tucking and aligning of the fabrics himself!.... fantastic job! The rest of the house is decorated with Native American pots and blankets, rustic saddles, cowboy hats and branding irons, etc.

A Little

An example of A Little is pictured below. This lady simply added a natural leather piece drapped over the top of her cornice using the back tuck groove. This small accent completely changed the flavor of the room and gives you a true southwest feel.

A lot completely changes a home while a little can change the feeling and give you just accent.

Southwest décor items and fabrics can be found in many different places but the easiest is the internet. Just type in what you are looking for and you will find it.

Happy decorating. Go Southwest

Dave & Jan Klatt

Window Bonnets

http://www.windowbonnets.com/

Creating the Truly Unique Cornice

2010-02-24T09:00:00.001-07:00

Our cornice kits are pre-formed with three contours, the top and bottom are approximately 1/4 the total height of the cornice board with the center being about half. Although the contours or rolls are not super pronounced, I have been asked more than once if we make a "single" contour cornice board. We did try it, but the corners were problematic enough that we felt the success rate for the general public would be relatively low. Our goals in general with the cornice kit was to create an easy to assembly, fun to decorate, quick to hang, professional results cornice. The single contour seems to create more frustration than fun.

However like all things what is one persons frustration is another's fun challenge. So I introduce you to Rose. A woman who wanted that "single" contour look using a big bold red and multicolored circle pattern! And so take a look at her success. A beautiful kitchen and family room area.

I asked Rose about how she came to this fabric and look, "We wanted a fun room and I always wanted a red and white kitchen so this is a fabric we both could agree on. We both just love the results and have had many compliments already. I’m lucky to be able to enjoy them every day.

She was certainly successful in creating that "single" contour look so I thought it best to let her tell you how she accomplished this... "I used a Barrow Home Decorating Fabric which I purchased on 50% off at JoAnn Fabrics. It was a heavy fabric (reversible) so tucking became a challenge in corners. I tried to clip away as much bulk as possible in those locations to make tucking easier."

"As far as smoothing the fabric, it is best to press your fabric prior to use. Then I laid it flat on a hard surface, put the cornice on top, started tucking in the center (top and bottom both) making sure to pull taunt when tucking and pulling taunt toward each end to smooth. On the circles, you needed to be aware of how the pattern was centered on the cornice and keep it straight. I accomplished this by watching the placement of the circles on the back as I was tucking. Keeping them tucked at the same point on the back kept them straight on the front."

"And most important of all, have some patience, walk away if you get too frustrated, and return to it when you are fresh."

Rose did wonderfully well on her cornices and took our multi-contour cornice form and created her own unique single contour look. She used our 12" high cornice kit throughout her home and you can see the rest of her cornices in our Gallery of Homes-kitchen, dining and family rooms.

In fact, in the kitchen / dining room section is another design that creates that single contour look. Look for the chicken pattern fabric!.

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/kitchen___dining.html

Cheers,

Jan

Decorating Tip #10 - Color Choices, Test Before You Buy

2010-02-17T14:44:00.004-07:00

When deciding on colors, first decide what you want to change, paint, fabrics, wood finishes, rugs etc. and shop around, you will be surprised at the selection, variety and abundant availability to find what suits your desires. Local stores and the internet are good starting places. Many will supply free samples so you can see how they actually compliment your room or not.

Before buying try the samples in your room and let them stay in place for a few days to see if they reflect what you are looking for. Check out how they look in the different light situations the room will go through during the day. What direction does the room face?

This can have dramatic effect on what the color will really look like in the room. If the light comes from the north, darker colors will often appear darker while a southern exposure will provide a lighter color appearance. You may need to adjust the shade of the color to adjust for the lighting situation.

Best piece of advice: Try Before You Buy

Decorating Tip #9 - Seasonal Color Variations

2010-02-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of ways to go here. You can use historical, area or seasonal color themes that have been proven. Remember your room is a reflection of you and who you are.

Southwest or New England themes, it doesn’t matter if you like it.

As the seasons change so do our moods. Design your basic room but do it in a way that will make it easy to create change to meet the changing conditions. Decorating and color themes are fun and change is sometimes very welcome. One of the easiest ways to make simple changes is with simple window décor ideas that are easy to incorporate. New curtains or blinds are somewhat easy but can be expensive. An even easier solution would be a flexible window cornice (or some call a valance). Our solution is a Window Bonnet; check them out for some very interesting, inexpensive and creative solutions supplied by actual users not staged advertisements. This is a cornice kit with no sewing and can be changed easily for every season or holiday with very little effort, just cut a piece of fabric and tuck.

Fall and winter colors should be used to promote a calm, warm and restful feel (mustard, russet, browns and yellows) while spring colors will create a vibrant uplifting and fresh feeling (pinks, pastels lilac, etc) and set the mood for the season.

Jan Klatt
Window Bonnets
www.windowbonnets.com

Decorating Tip #8 - Emotional Impacting with Color

2010-02-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

What is the feeling of the room? You should utilize colors that fit your emotional desires for the room. If you are looking for a restful room, such as a bed room or family room use colors with a darker color which relates to the restfulness mood (brown, greens, blues). If the room has an active mood utilize colors such as reds and yellows to create the perfect atmosphere and feeling you get when the room is in use.

It’s your room and the colors you select should reflect your emotions and the feeling you want to display. Emotion decorating is an important part of who you are and what you want your rooms to represent. Remember you live in the rooms and they should be you and who you are. There is no right or wrong.

Cheers,

Jan

Window Bonnets

Decorating Tip #7 - Contrast - Room Definition

2010-01-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Set the mood for your room by utilizing contrasting colors. Set a high contrast room by the use of light and dark color contrasts (example: burgundy and gold). This will definitely define the formality of the room.

The use of contrasting softer colors (pastels, yellows and light colors) or low contrast will define the soothing qualities or mood of the room.

The use of contrasting colors such as black and white (which are defined not as color but the addition or subtraction of color) will set the very formal feeling while the use of, say, white and beige, will enhance the calmness of the room. If you use black and white but want a room with a restful atmosphere try adding a grey tone to create a low key, calm feeling.

With the use of contrasting colors you design and create the mood.

Find more examples in our Living Room Gallery:

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/living_rooms.html

Cheers,

Jan

www.windowbonnets.com

Decorating Tip #6 - Color Streaming

2010-01-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

To create a color stream (theme) throughout you home, select a color you are using in one room and restate it differently in adjoining rooms (an example would be to use the sofa color in your den and use the same color for the dining room seat fabric). Many of our customers have used their dining room or living couch fabric in their cornice. Great coordination. There are many examples in the Gallery of Homes.

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/gallery_of_homes.html

Utilizing the same color through out the rest of your home in large or small degrees such as decorator items, placemats, lamp shades, rugs, etc. will complete the perfect color stream for your home.

Cheers,
Jan
http://www.windowbonnets.com/

Decorating Tip #5 - Check the Pattern In Your Room

2010-01-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

Can’t decide about the color scheme? Let the room decide. What is your dominate pattern? Is it in the drapes, the upholstery, a Southwest rug? This is ever so much easier and less expensive than painting the walls some really super color and finding that nothing in the room really goes with it.

Let’s say your southwest rug has reds, greens, earth tones. For example take the 60% red, 30% greens and 10% earth tones, or maybe 60% green, 30% earth & 10% red, just make the 60 that color that best says “you.”

Sounds simple, so what’s the catch? Colors are driven by the market… remember the olive green and harvest gold of the 60’s, the 80’s seemed to have a blue undertone to everything. The reds had a cool “blueness” to them, and the greens could be best be called sea foam (green with blue undertone). Thankfully today we enjoy a trendy undertone of yellow, thus producing “sage” greens, “hot” reds and “lilac” blues. Keep this in mind as you select your color scheme.

The Window Bonnet cornice pictured at the top takes a part of the pattern in the fabric from the sofa to cover the center. It is a great match for the color scheme and "feel" of the room, see more pictures at this link:

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/family_rooms.html

Cheers,

Jan

www.windowbonnets.com

Decorating Tip #4 - Let Nature Be Your Guide

2010-01-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Look outside at the view around you. Kind of dark to light, dark colors on the ground: brown, black, some deep red, dark green, then medium colors: trees, mountains, buildings, then light colors: blue sky, white/grey clouds, and yellows at sunset. Nature is showing the way. What she is saying is balance the weight. Dark colors give a room weight, light colors seem to it float away. Balance from top to bottom and side to side. Try this: weighty or dark colors to ground the room, medium colors in some of the furniture, lamps, accent pieces, and lighter colors to finish to the ceiling.

Our kitchens and dining rooms section has some pretty good examples of this. Check out Ana’s “chicken” fabric for her kitchen/dining area. Here is a sample:

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/kitchen___dining.html

Check them all out.

Cheers,
Jan
Window Bonnets
www.windowbonnets.com

Decorating Tip #3 - Accent Black, It Really Works

2009-12-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

It is short and sweet for this one. It may be just a wives tale, but add a bit of black to your room. It does not have to be large; try a lampshade, a candy box on an end table, even a picture frame on the wall. You will be ever so surprised that is just makes everything else pop that little bit more. Try it, yes…. you will like it!

Take a look at the living rooms section, go right to the end and then work up, Mary used this tip in her living room with the cornice décor. Great job.

http://www.windowbonnets.com/html/living_rooms.html

Cheers,
Jan
Window Bonnets
http://www.windowbonnets.com/

Decorating Tip #2 - Color Schemes

2009-12-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Decorating is all about color and that topic can take volumes to cover, but what I want to get across today is Color Schemes. This is the color palette used in a home. These colors help define your personal style. They can be contrasting (pink and red), complementary (red and green), analogous (yellow & green) or monochromatic (various shades of one color, such as light and dark green).

Trying to decide on the right color scheme can be daunting so take a look at your color wheel and just seek out your favorite colors. Complementary and analogous schemes are described below. There are more, of course, but these are the most effective and provide a great place to start. Read on...

Complementary Colors
These color schemes such as red and green, blue and yellow, or purple and orange are colors that appear opposite to each other on the color wheel. Most often they are used in a living or dining room. These color schemes lend themselves to more formal settings and are more visually challenging. A cool color is paired with a warm color, a clear separation but a great effect.

Analogous Colors
Analogous colors appear next to each other on the color wheel, such as yellow and green, blue and
violet, or red and orange. Both colors are either warm or cool. Typically they are soothing colors and evoke a more casual feel. Use them in rooms for rest and relaxation, such as the bedroom, family room, den, home office, spa, or sunporch.

And here's an added tip, once you have a room set, try adding a bit of the ultimate enhancer--Black. Set a black box in the room, picture frame, lampshade or anything else you can think of. It will please and amaze you.

Your cornices can reflect these selections, complementary or analogous, just relax, think about the room as formal or casual, which favorite color "feels" right for the setting and go for it. The best part is with a Window Bonnets cornice you can always take it down and redecorate in literally minutes for just pennies compared to a wood cornice.

Cheers,
Jan
Window Bonnets
http://www.windowbonnets.com/