Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Leather

Make a decorating statement with leather furnishings.

This bold design move shows you have skin in the game.

Consider a touch of leather in your next decorating project. It will be a moo-ving experience that’s sure to enhance your home environment! And most leather design elements are practical too!

Leather adds great texture, softness and color; however, beware that it can be a heavy look, especially in its most typical design colors – dark brown and black. That’s why it’s best to soften a big leather piece of furniture with other elements such as creamy paint colors, cushy throws and pillows, silky rugs and soft fabric furniture and window fashions.

Another way to lessen the heaviness of leather design elements is to select a lighter color of leather, such as beige, white, gray or sage green. Or you can add a tidbit of brightness with green, red or yellow leather!

Complementary materials and textures can also lighten up a heavy leather look. Think:

• Glass or Lucite tables

• Metal chairs and lamps

• Light filtering, soft-looking window fashions

• Bamboo flooring

• Natural grass wallcoverings

Leather is a versatile choice that adds beauty to most any decorating style from a traditional dining room to a classic living room to an ultra-contemporary great room. Think about leather for these design elements:

• Leather sofas and easy chairs, and even recliners!

• Leather dining chairs

• Leather headboard

• Leather-fronted sideboard in the dining room or dresser in the bedroom

• Leather-covered walls in a powder room or home office

Add leather to your next design project and you'll be ahead of the herd!

Why Hunter Douglas

BETTER WINDOW TREATMENTS, BY DESIGN

We believe that the perfect window treatment should do more than just cover a window.

For almost 100 years we have dedicated ourselves to studying the properties of light at the window, discovering new ways to manage the daily illumination, privacy and energy management needs of a home, and pioneering innovative window treatment designs that add value and style to any room.

We invented many of the window treatment designs that lead the industry today, including the iconic Duette® Honeycomb Shade, whose shape and revolutionary energy-efficiency benefits have become a design standard. Our most recent products have even gotten their own intelligence, with smart-home operating systems that move the shades automatically to their perfect positions throughout the day.

By constantly innovating and pairing our designs with the most elegant performance fabrics, we create long-lasting window treatments whose beauty, functionality and durability are simply like no other.

Imagine what our window treatments can do in your home:

LIGHT CONTROL & PRIVACY

Harsh light at the window? Our products feature innovative fabric designs that transform sunlight into a wonderful soft glow and help protect your furnishings from damaging UV rays. Want more light? Our products can help channel light deeper into your room, filling dark corners and reducing your need for electrical lighting. Want daytime or nighttime privacy? Our products and operating systems provide clever ways for giving you the privacy you want while maintaining your view-through to the outside.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Keep your rooms warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer thanks to our energy-efficient products—specially engineered with cellular air pockets that can block up to 50% of the heat transfer at the window. At Hunter Douglas, we're an industry leader in making a big energy savings difference at the window. In 1985, we invented the highly energy-efficient Duette® honeycomb shades in response to the energy crisis of the late 1970s. Our latest innovation is the Duette Architella® honeycomb fabric featuring a honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb design for even greater energy efficiency. Today, we continue to think about the impact all of our window fashions can make. Without energy-efficient window treatments, as much as 50% of a home's heating and cooling energy can be lost through its windows.

SMART-HOME SHADE AUTOMATION

Imagine your shades moving automatically to the exact position you prefer—to achieve the specific lighting effect you love or adjusting themselves for the optimal energy efficiency throughout the day. Our revolutionary PowerView® Motorization system automatically moves your shades according to schedules you set. Your shades will always be in their perfect positions 24/7—no hands required​. The PowerView App unlocks the full potential of PowerView Motorization. Using the App, you can control your shades with a swipe of a finger. Or, create customized Scenes that move the shades to positions you set, and automate those Scenes to operate on their own throughout the day.

BEAUTIFUL, UNIQUE DESIGNS

Whatever your aesthetic style or home lighting need, Hunter Douglas has a visually stunning and functionally amazing window treatment solution designed to wow you. We offer the broadest selection of innovative product types, elegant performance fabrics and intelligent shade operating systems​. Everything we do at Hunter Douglas is inspired by a passion for beautiful, highly functional design. And nothing illustrates this enthusiasm quite like our extraordinary collection of over 2,400 unique fabrics, thoughtfully and practically designed to help you express the spirit of your home.

SAFETY

Create a safer home environment for children and pets with advanced, cordless operating systems from Hunter Douglas. ​From cordless and motorized operating systems, retractable lift cords, cord tensioners and wand controls, we offer a wide array of operating system options for enhanced child and pet safety. The window coverings industry uses warning tags, labels, and other methods to communicate the potential hazards of corded window coverings. The warning shown here, for example, communicates the important message about cords being a potential strangulation hazard and suggests choosing cordless or inaccessible-cord alternatives.

LIFETIME LIMITED WARRANTY

Your stylish additions to your room also become sound long-term investments for your home. Our long heritage and passion for craftsmanship helps deliver window treatments with the highest quality and construction, and the lifetime limited warranty helps ensure beauty that endures.

Give us a call or visit our showroom for an in-depth consultation about all of our products. Our experienced designers can tell you the features and benefits of each product, while narrowing it down for the perfect window treatment for your unique style. We appreciate that every consumer has their own special needs and work hard to create a look that is both functional and beautiful. 

We serve all of Dallas Forth Worth from Celina to Dallas, Wylie to Grapevine, Denton to Benbrook and everywhere in between.  

RD Home

We have exciting news at Read Design, the expansion of Read Design Home (RD Home Collection). New Products are coming in everyday and we are busy in our remodeling mode. Our shop is taking on a new and fun look. Stop in and see us soon!

At Read Design Plano, we are a full service Interior Design studio. It all starts with your window coverings. We have a Hunter Douglas Gallery and can show you Blinds and Shades - including Silhouettes, Pirouettes, and many other styles of Shades. And do not forget Plantation Shutters. An attractive window and the right light can change everything - from your room to your mood. Hunter Douglas has mastered the art of window dressing by engineering innovative functions into stylish, versatile looks for every window in your home. Hunter Douglas is the leader in light control, energy efficiency, operation systems and motorization, which makes your home smarter, your days easier, and every room more beautiful. When you stop in make sure you ask for a free copy of our Art of Window Dressing book.

Now that the windows are taken care you can move on to softening your windows with drapery panels, cornice or valances. With so many fabrics to choose from we are sure that we can find the perfect solution for your home.

​We recently helped a customer in Dallas who needed window treatments and more. First we started with Roller shades from Hunter Douglas. The shades are there for sun control and privacy and when they are up, they completely disappear into the headrail. We also added the PowerView motorization options which give give our customer ease of operation. Next we added drapery panels in a navy pattern that coordinates with the new color scheme of her home. They soften the windows and draw out the view to the back yard.

For the master bedroom our customer wanted to keep her king size bed. It works nicely in this large room with tall ceilings. First from RD Home Collection we used a 9’ x 13’ Rug in a contemporary design that brings together the soft grey, silver, and blue colors. We added a blue velvet throw at the end of the bed, blue linen euro shams and 3 custom pillows. All of the fabrics are from Kravet. To finish the look we hung 2 large art pieces behind the nightstands. What you don’t see are the 4 1/2” louver Shutters from Hunter Douglas and 4 drapery panels. The room looks very inviting and comfortable. 

In her sitting room we selected another piece from RD Home. This is a versatile piece that can be used in a Living Room, Dining Room, or just about anywhere. We also used a large rug to set the tone for the color pattern. We will soon be continuing furnishing this room with chairs and a cocktail table.

Below are some of the new pieces you will find at Read Design Plano and RD Home. We will continue get new pieces weekly. Or if you would like to have one of our Interior Designers help you with floor planning and design, just let us know. We can put together a Interior Design Plan just for you. Because we have a ton of furniture in our showroom, we are able to get you a new piece for your upcoming holiday party! We deliver! Give us a call at your earliest convenience to set up your consultation today!

Design Studio Roman Shades.... you have got to see the new fabrics!!!

Get creative with new custom soft Roman shades from The Hunter Douglas Design Studio Collecion. Choose from four distinctive styles, each designed and crafted with Hunter Douglas quality and innovation. Explore the New and Exclusive collection of artfully curated fabrics - sophisticated textures, patterns, stripes, rich solids and sheers. We have added many fabrics with updated colors and designs. Reflect your personal style by adding coordinating valances, tapes and trims, making your windows truly unique. Hunter Douglas Design Studio Roman Shades Redefined.

At Hunter Douglas, the difference is in the details. Design Studio fabrics are woven in widths that allow shades to be made up to 96" wide without being interrupted by seams. Every shade offers high quality construction. Our innovative cording system reduces access to the rear cords for enhanced child safety. Clear rings coordinate with all lining and sheers, stiff battens provide structure, bartender tunnels are sewn to keep battens from slipping out and all hems are double-turned for a custom finished look with bottom hems weighted for a smooth appearance.

 The Roman Shade Styles

Batten Front Roman Shades are characterized by battens or tunnels sewn at regular intervals on the front facing side of the shade. The clean, dimensional lines of this style work well in all environments. When a stripe or pattern fabric is selected, batten front is a great choice because the battens on the front won't interfere with the pattern.

Batten Back Roman Shades have inverted tunnels that create a soft, tailored look when lowered and defined folds when raised. This simple style requires the least amount of dressing when raising or lowering the shade... looking great in any position.

Flat Roman Shades have no horizontal seams or stitching across the face of the shade making them the best choice for showing off large-scaled patterns and striped fabrics. 

Hobbled is a classic style defined by soft fabric folds which cascade from top to bottom. Design Studio Hobbled Shades have a unique, triple-layered fabric construction with a double lining, providing unsurpassed energy efficiency.

Refine Your Style

Do you require privacy? Room darkening? Or would you like the light to gently filter into your room?The uniquely edited collection of Design Studio fabrics work for all your windows, whatever the need. You have a choice of lift system-Cord-lock, continuous Cord, Ultraglide lift system and PowerView only from Hunter Douglas.

We recently helped a customer in Plano. Her family room sliding Doors look out onto her pool patio and beyond to a wooded area. She wanted to be able to raise her shades to give her full view of the beautiful spot so we decided the best solution for this project was Design Studio Roman Shades by Hunter Douglas. For ease of operation we selected the PowerView Motorization. She used the Hub and set the shades so that they raise to a certain spot every morning and lower every evening. For an additional touch be added a custom cornice to cover all shades using a textured fabric. This was a solution both the customer and I love.

Let Read Design Southlake or Read Design Plano help you with you next custom window fashion project. Our Designers will be happy to come out to your home and give you ideas. If you are wanting just shades, shutters, blinds or are wanting to add Drapery Panels or Valances and Cornice boards, we will help you find the perfect solution.

We service these areas - Plano, Southlale, Dallas, Fort Worth and all areas in between!

Making The "Dark Dallas Dining Room" Light Again

DINING ROOM BEFORE

We Recently made an appointment with a client in North Dallas. Her home was a little dated - especially the dining room. I could tell that the previous owner had invested quite a bit to make this room beautiful. The walls were faux painted a deep red with brown and gold highlights. They had plantation shutters on the windows and also a heavy drapery treatment in red. This was definitely the traditional trend that was popular a decade ago. But now it is dark and uninviting. 

Our client has a light and fun personality and this room definitely did not reflect that. She likes a more transitional look and definitely wanted to brighten up this room. 

The Design Plan

She loves her dining table and chairs, which have that transitional look, so we used those as our inspiration. We also kept her side board, plantation shutters and a few accessories. But that was it, the rest had to go.. starting with the heavy drapery. 

We began with a new window treatment - new fabric and a new design. We chose a fabric from Fabricut that has a beautiful neutral pattern and we knew it would hang beautifully. Because less is more for this type of design, we custom made simple drapery panels to frame the beautiful shutters. We raised the rod up to give the feeling of height and we also made the treatment wider to allow more light into the room.

We pulled out the light tan color in the fabric to paint above the chair rail. Paint can change everything and immediately the room brightened up. 

The Finishing Touches

This was the fun part! We took down the small framed mirror that hung above the sideboard and replaced it with a large arched mirror. This gave a lot of reflection to the room making it appear lighter and larger all while adding some character. I love this mirror by Guildmaster! Then we added two matching lamps and just a few accessories (some new and some old). We also removed the red runner on the table and replaced it with the large tray. The tray was the clients before and wanted to incorporate it into the new design so all we did there was rearrange the accessories. We suggested that in the evening she leave the chandelier off and turn on these two lamps and she let us know that she does this every evening and loves the way it looks and feels! She also commented on how beautiful our custom drapery panels are. 

This was a fun project from the very beginning to the end and I think we achieved the objective and made the room light, livable and a true reflection of our client's personality.

Call Read Design Plano or Southlake For Your Next Interior Design Project!

Read Design has been a leader in Window Fashions and Interior Design for over 25 years. With two generations of the Read Family working together, we are dedicated to making your home beautiful and a true reflection of you. We can help you not matter how large or how small your project is. Stop by either of our stores to see the latest in Hunter Douglas window treatments and to learn about PowerView Motorization. After all, smart homes are the future! Our designers can help you visualize and give your personal service to help you find the perfect solution for all of your projects.

Read Design Services All Of the Following Areas:

Carrollton, Lewisville, Westlake, Southlake, Dallas, North Dallas, Fort Worth, Roanoke, Keller, Coppell, Colleyville, Irving, Las Colinas, Denton, Argyle, Allen, Sachse, Wylie, Benbrook, Hurst, Euless, Addison, Farmers Branch, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Parker, St Paul, Prosper, Celina, Little Elm, McKinney and many more!

Reupholstery & Paint

Sometimes we have a piece of furniture that we love, but it just doesn't fit in our design anymore.  This is where paint and reupholstery changes everything! Our designers use this technique a lot because we love vintage pieces and antiques!  

Take a look at these side chairs. The striped fabric was dated and worn and the finish was in serious need of some help! The bold colors didn't fit this clients decor anymore so we found a new fabric that was light and fresh, but still fit her traditional style. We then sanded and specialty painted over the finish with a silver shimmer to give it a unique pop. What a transformation!

BEFORE

AFTER

Check out the dining chairs below. The finish was still in great condition so we didn't touch it, but we did remove the old fabric and updated them with a fresh design. We kept them simple for the most part, just adding that beautiful blue color, but on the end chairs we added a pop of pattern within the same color spectrum.

Call us today for more information about custom painting and upholstery. 972.608.4999

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Draperies

Draperies are soft on the eyes and soft to the touch.

Adding draperies to your decor will beautifully finish your interior design plans.

Draperies are a design element that has so many looks and so many functions!

The versatility of draperies means that they can enhance the openness of your rooms to make them appear larger - or make your living spaces more intimate and private with a cozy feel.

• Tailored, formal panels with clean lines
• Soft and feminine sheers
• Lusciour draperies with tassels and fringe
• Side or top treatments that are totally ornamental

The possibilities of decorating with draperies are almost unlimited! You can make draperies the star of a room, adding color and drama - or consider them as a beautiful background to quietly blend with your other home furnishings elements.

Draperies are used primarily to enhance your decor; but they can be functional too, providing privacy and preventing fading. Best of all, add draperies as a decorative accent over shades, blinds or shutters that provide the function you need at the window - improving energy efficiency, preventing fading and keeping a room dark even during the brightest sunny day.

Often draperies don't just cover the window and window frame, but are sized to optimally fit the wall they hang on and complement your decorating plan. Even a small window can have draperies covering and entire wall from side to side and floor to ceiling!

When purchasing draperies, there are important decisions about the fabric fullness, type of lining, where the draperies should draw, what kind of pleats work best, whether your should consider motorization, and more. That's why getting advice from an expert is best when you ordercustom draperies!

Add a little softness to your decor with the magic of draperies!

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Geometric Shapes

Geometric shapes can add movement and energy to your rooms. Think outside the box for a refreshing change of decor.

When most of us purchase home elements, we tend to focus on square and rectangular shapes and surfaces. Yet consider some of the most ancient decorating styles used by the Greeks, Romans and other cultures; they include lots more than just squares and rectangles! Try thinking out of the box for more interest and excitement in your decorating style.

Triangles, hexagons, trapezoids, parallelograms. Who even remembers what some of these shapes are? Maybe now’s the time for a refresher course in high school geometry to spice up your home décor. And don’t forget to add diamonds, chevrons, zig zags and stars to the equation.

Add geometric shapes and patterns to your décor with these home elements:

• Table tops and table bases
• Tile and wood flooring
• Rugs and carpeting
• Wallcoverings and draperies
• Upholstery fabric
• Bed and table linens
• Throw pillows
• Dishware
• Mirrors
• Inlays on wood furniture
• Light fixtures
• Painted wall stencils
• And even the architectural elements of your home, such as door panels, window panes and brickwork patterns.

Beware of too much geometry; a little goes a long way at perking up a room. Too much can become chaotic. Geometric patterns can look modern, retro or thoroughly traditional, depending on their style, color and design. And they can range from the superwix subtle to ultra bold in look.

Add geometric shapes to your interior design plan. It’s an angle that works!

Providing Services to all of these areas: Dallas, North Dallas, Plano, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Addison, Coppell, Southlake, Denton, Keller, Roanoke, Benbrook,  Westlake, Fort Worth, Lewisville, Grapevine, Trophy Club, The Colony, Frisco, Prosper, Celina, Savannah, Aubrey, McKinney, Allen, St. Paul, Wylie, Sachse, Rockwall, Rowlett, Lucas, Parker, Melissa, Anna, Fairview, Heath, Garland, Richardson, Irving, Las Colinas, University Park, Highland Park, Kessler Park, Euless, North Richland Hills, Colleyville, Flower Mound, Corinth, Arlington, Little Elm, Hurst, Saginaw, Haltom City, Bedford, Watauga, Haslet and many more!