Deep Blue Accents

CREATE A FEELING OF POSITIVITY

Deep blue, similar to the color of the night sky or a beautiful sea, suggests a mood of calm and harmony. This beautiful color comes with several names and nuances, including: Cobalt, Royal Blue, Navy, Indigo, Lapis, Mediterranean Blue and Midnight Blue. 

Deep blue complements almost any design plan, from the most modern look to Asian décor to traditional and Victorian styles. 

CONSIDER THESE COLOR COMBINATIONS

Deep blue works as a beautiful accent with neutrals such as grey, ivory, white and beige, and it even pairs well with lighter shades of blue. On the cool side of the color spectrum, deep blue is beautiful when combined with periwinkle, lavender and pink. 

Deep blue can also help to bring attention to other colors in a room, especially complementary warm hues, such as copper, rust, tangerine, lemon, and ochre. 

WHERE TO USE DEEP BLUE ACCENTS

Consider using a deep blue tone in the following ways: 
– In striped, plaid or gingham patterns
– For a dramatic accent wall in your powder room or foyer
– Paired with soft and gauzy white fabrics for a summer décor
– To create a nautical or beachy theme
– To build an Asian look with ceramic stools, lamps and vases
– To invent a Moroccan style with patterned tile, fabrics and rugs 

Create peacefulness in your interior plan this year by adding a touch of deep blue. 

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Master Bathroom

Upgrade your master bathroom to a five-star retreat.

A spa oasis will help soak your stress away.

We all love a beautiful spa bathroom when we’re on a luxury vacation. Why not enjoy that luxury every day of the year while we’re at home too?

You can create a spa experience in any size bathroom although bigger is almost always better! Think neutral colors because they lend themselves to the calmness and serenity you’d like for a spa retreat. Also consider coordinating colors with your master bedroom for a seamless transition from sleep to serenity.

Here’s where you can start:

• A beautiful, elegant soaking tub

• New sinks, countertops and backsplashes

• Exquisite new hardware, including pulls, handles and faucets

• A soothing paint color that makes you feel calm

• Soft and luxurious bath textiles, including towels, washcloths, bath rugs and bathrobes

• An elegant vanity (preferably a double vanity if you have room)

• Stunning framed mirrors, instead of frameless wall-to-wall mirrors

• Layered lighting for both function and beauty, and maybe even a skylight to bring in natural light

Even more ideas to enhance your spa experience include:

• A steam shower

• Plenty of towel racks, and even heated towel warmers

• Soaps, scrubs, lotions and fragrances that please YOU

• Beautiful smelling candles and aromatherapy

• A built-in bench or movable chair or stool

• Built-in storage, to keep chaos to a minimum and maintain a zen calm feeling

Begin and end your days in luxury and comfort. Plan for a master bathroom redo this season. You can’t help but slow down and relax. 

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!

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Pillows

A few small pillows can have a big impact on your decor

Fluff up your decorating plan with pillows.

Pillows seem like a small detail in a decorating scheme, yet they can add so much color, texture and personality to the look of your home.

With pillows, size matters! And so does shape. In addition to square or rectangular pillows, consider unusual shapes, such as round, triangular, oblong and oval. It’s almost always best to have more than one throw pillow on a sofa or bed. Two is most common, but you can also go with three or four.

Adding pillows is an easy way to add color and interest without adding stress or a large budget. For maximum impact and decorating harmony, consider these attributes when you select decorative pillows:

• Use complementary fabrics rather than the same material as your sofa.

• Use colors that are compatible with the rest of your interior elements in the room, such as rugs, carpeting, window coverings and upholstery.

• Mix patterns and solids if you’d like, but avoid more than two patterns because the look may become chaotic.

• Layer different textures with multiple pillows, including smooth silk, soft velvet, rough tapestry and even fuzzy faux fur.

• Think about embellishments on your pillows, such as embroidery, beading, tassels and fringe.

Think about comfort and your budget when you purchase pillows. Feathers and down stuffing feel soft and sensuous, but they tend to be more expensive and don’t hold a stiff shape. Synthetic fills and foam hold their shape better and are more reasonably priced.

​Selecting the perfect throw pillows for your rooms will puff up your home décor beautifully.

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Coffee Tables

Create interest and function with the perfect coffee table.

A fabulous coffee table adds personality to your rooms.

A coffee table shouldn’t be an insignificant afterthought near the end of planning your living room, den or great room. It’s a pivotal design element that can add drama to your interior design plan. 

Because a coffee table is often the anchor for a room, selecting it is key to your design plan. The table should be in scale with your furniture and the size of your room, complement your design plan and provide the functions you’re looking for: 

• A durable surface if you’re planning to serve food or drinks 

• Lightweight design if you want to move the table on occasion 

• A large size if you’d like to display a collection of favorite books or objects 

• No sharp corners if you have children or seniors visiting often

We most often think of coffee tables being constructed from wood, and a hand-crafted wood coffee table can be the perfect choice. But do consider innovative materials such as glass, stone, leather or metal. You can even use an upholstered ottoman as your coffee table. If you want your room to appear larger, think about a mirrored surface or a glass surface that doesn’t hide your beautiful rug or flooring. 

Be creative about the shape and size of your table too. Instead of a typical square or rectangular table, think round, oval, hexagonal or freeform. Add personality to your rooms with a beautiful new coffee table.

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Vases

Embellish your room design with a beautiful vase.Vases are not just empty vessels to fill with water and flowers.

Talk about a versatile design element! Vases come in just about any size, shape, color and material. A large floor vase can become the focus of an entire room, while smaller vases can be a final touch that subtly finish off a room’s beauty. 

Vases can add to the design perfection of almost any room:      

• In the foyer – to make an opening statement for your home 

• Around the tub – to make your bathroom feel like a luxury spa retreat 

• On the mantle – to add dimension and symmetry to your architecture 

• In the dining room, to anchor your table beautifully 

• In the living room or great room – to create a focal point or fill an awkward space 

• In the bedroom, to add interest to your bureau or chest of drawers

Often we think about vases solely as vessels to display fresh flowers – and it is nice to bring some of outdoor nature inside! But they are so much more. Some vases are beautiful just on their own. Or you can fill them with dried branches and leaves, bamboo, succulents, evergreens or artificial flower arrangements. 

Vases work alone or in groups of two or more, placed close together. They look great when paired with a chair, occasional table or work of art in a complementary style, shape, color or finish. And one of the best things about vases is you can easily change where they’re placed in a room and change what elements they hold to update a room for every season. 

Add a smart finishing touch to your interior design plan this season with beautiful vases.

March Into Spring

March into Spring.......
With window covering by Hunter Douglas and Custom Draperies

We can see the start of warm weather ahead of us and it is time to freshen up your home just in time for Spring. And what better way then changing out your window coverings or adding Custom Window Treatments. I love to open the windows at the beginning of Spring and see nature at it's glory and to smell the freshness of Spring. 

A Great way to open up your home is to update your window coverings! 

Silhouette, Pirouette, and Roman Shades

When customers ask us what we would do we always suggest shades. These include Silhouettes, Pirouettes, Roman Shades, or Roller Shades all from Hunter Douglas. These are products where you can easily lift them all the way up and let the sun shine in. 

Silhouette transforms light. Like the subtle cast their name suggests, Silhouette window shadings, with the Signature S-Vane, create beautiful and ambient light ande shadow. Soft fabric vanes are suspended between two sheers, diffusing softened light deep into a room. Tilt the vanes to achieve the privacy you desire while maintaining UV protection. These shades can easily be rolled all the way into a cassette to give full view of the outside. 

Stringing design, dramatically filtered light. With Pirouette window shadings, the look and feel of a traditional fabric shade is enhanced, the gentle pull of a cord lets you change a room's lighting in a whole new way. Soft, horizontal fabric vanes close to filter natural light, or open to give you a perfect outside view. Our revolutionary invisi-Lift system allows the vanes to float gracefully, and even opened they offer UV protection and reduced glare through the sheer backing. 

Vignette and Design Studio Roman Shades offer a simple, uncluttered look. Luxurious fabrics and soft folds give the shades a clean, crisp look. The range of styles and help you create a warm, inviting, and beautiful space. Offered in Top Down/Bottom Up design, this product is versatile and functional. Create amazing light scapes with this design and control the light that enters your home. We love the way this product adds style and beauty to any room.

Sophisticated but uncomplicated is how we describe Roller Shades. For a look that is both custom and classic, our Designer Roller Shades offer a clean appearance in a beautiful range of fabrics and have a variety of design options and operating systems. 

There other Shades from Hunter Douglas that also fit this bill including Duette Honeycomb Shades, Provenance Woven Shades, and Solera Soft Shade.

Stop in to see us at Read Design in Southlake or Plano let one of our designer help you select the perfect shade for your home. And because we are a full service Interior Design Studio, we can help you with Custom Window Treatment. We can even pair them to Hunter Douglas Shades. With the thousands of fabrics available, we are sure that we can find the perfect fit for your home. Here is just a few ideas.

Stay Warm With Energy Efficient Window Coverings

Stay Warm with Energy Effiecient Window Coverings

It is winter and the cold months are here to stay for a while. During these chilly months being bundled up next to a warm fire while you read a book or watch TV is the best feeling ever. But the worst feeling is trying to keep your energy bill down when on an average we spend 59% more on energy bills. But don't worry - Read Design has a solution for you with energy efficient window treatments from Hunter Douglas.

Cellular Shades and Roman Shades

Cellular Shades and Roman Shades are the top energy-saving window coverings. They both are very trendy and have plenty of factors that help you save money on your energy bills.

Cellular Shades, also referred to as Duette Honeycomb Shades by Hunter Douglas, are the most energy efficient window coverings. They are designed to have dead-air spaces which increase their insulation by trapping the warm air inside which helps to keep you warm all winter long. With the introduction of Hunter Douglas Architella Duettes, this got even better. The Architella Duette is a honeycomb within a honeycomb which gives 3 air pockets and keeps even more of the warmth inside. Duette Honeycomb Shades are very versatile window coverings with a variety of fabric and colors to choose from. They offer various degrees of light filtering options including sheer, light filtering and room darkening. This also helps with privacy and insulation. Duette Honeycomb can also be made in specialty shapes including arches and skylights. There are a number of lift options including Ultraglide, LiteRise, or can be motorized with Hunter Douglas PowerView Motorization making them easy to open and close as well as child safe.

Roman Shades are similar to cellular shades and are one of the most popular window coverings today. They are both functional and beautiful And they offer great energy efficiency. Hunter Douglas has the Vignette Modern Roman Shade and the Solera Soft Shades to choose from. The both come in a variety of colors and textures that add beauty to your home Roman Shades can also trap in the warmth which can save you money on your electric bill. Also, like the Duette Honeycomb Shades, Roman Shades come in various degrees of light filtering options for privacy and light control. They also have a number of lift options to choose from.

Here is one of our recent installation in Prosper, Texas. We used Tierred Vignette Modern Roman Shades by Hunter Douglas. The fabric we choose was Drake. The color of the fabric blended all the colors in this new home together. They have a total of 10 windows in the Family Room so we chose to use PowerView Motorization which will make it easy to open all of the shades at once and with this system the customer can set the shades to raise to their favorite spot. We all were very pleased with the look the Vignette Modern Roman Shades created.

Right Now Hunter Douglas is offering Rebates on these Energy Efficient Window Shades- Duette Honey Comb Shades, Vignette Modern Roman Shades and Sonnette Shades. For every Vignette shade you purchase, you will get $50 back (with a minimum of 2 shades). For every Duette and Sonnette Shades, you will get $25 back (with a minimum purchase of 4 shades).

Custom Drapery

At Read Design Plano and Read Design Southlake, our Designers can also help you with Custom Window Treatments including Draperies, Valances, Cornice Boards and much more. And now we are receiving New Fabrics from all of the manufactures which makes now an exciting time to start thinking about updating your home. Many drapery treatments are designed for insulation which also helps with the energy efficiency of your home during the window but also during those hot summer months in the North Texas area.

Where to find Energy Efficient Shades in the Dallas / Fort Worth Area

Read Design has bed a leader in Hunter Douglas and Custom Window Treatments in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and have 2 convenient locations- one in Plano and one in Southlake. At Read Design you can see our many displays and our designer can help you find a solution just for your windows. And we can help you solve all of your interior design needs. Stop in or give us a call.

Plano. 972-608-4999
Southlake. 817-416-7164

We service all of these areas and more
Irving, Dallas, Grapevine, Plano, Highland Park, Preston Hollow, Carrollton, Allen, McKinney, Richardson, Rockwell, Garland, Prosper, Celina, Southlake, Keller, Trophy Club, Colleyville, Arlington, Westlake, Northlake, Robson Ranch, Flower Mound, Little Elm, Lewisville, The Colony, North Richland Hills, Mabank, and all areas in between.

We will be having a Window Dressing Event starting in February and will have a number of events running throughout the Spring. Watch for our Blogs and info on Facebook.