Here it is,  Only a few days until the month of November...  Thanksgiving is around the corner and Christmas only 2 months away... So much has happened in this summer... We finished the chairs and the 6th floor at the Stillwell Hotel.  We did the lobby draperies at the Comfort Inn in Toledo... We enjoyed working with the owners and look forward to a on going business relationship.

Moved to Toledo,Ohio.  Its been one year that we have been here and this winter was the coldest in 40 years.  We survived,  snow blizzards, ice.  The hardest part is waiting for spring. I want to start my garden and walk barefoot in the grass.  I am hoping to have an amazing crop of tomatoes and squash, roses are a must and peonis and coneflowers are already planted and should be abundant.
As for draperies, we finished 5 floors of the Stillwell hotel.  We have chairs for the lobby on the horizen and look forward to a new project..
We have started working hand in hand with David @ Sierra Textile . We will be representing his hospitality line of bed in a bag  and fresh start program.. I will upload these programs onto the blog in a couple of days.  Hopefully, we will soon be doing another hotel in the midwest. 
I will be flying to California to finish up one residential job in Palos Verdes, 
Here is to Mother Nature getting over her bout with bipolar ... spring is needed ..
My best to all .

stricklylemontree.blogspot.com

Spring 2013

elegant and beautiful.

Silk with Velvet trim and Crystal beads line these swags and cascades to make them lovely.

 

The Fox Theatre in Riverside, CA

Hello friends!

Not too long ago LeMontree Interiors was lucky enough to have the privilege of designing and installing the drapes for the offices of the renowned Fox Theater, a beautiful, historical landmark right here in Riverside, CA. 

Here it is! The Fox at Mission Inn Blvd and Market Ave.

Stop by to see a show sometime! There's always something interesting playing or someone fabulous performing.

Look at the absolutely marvelous attention to detail in the eaves here. The color combo, the painted designs, the little white bulbs, and rod iron and tinted glass light fixture. It really stands out at night, too. 

Another shot of the entrance area.

And this! Oh, this. The exposed brick walls, the tall tables for two, the french doors and 3/4 cafe curtains, the clean curves of the mocha leather couches-- what's not to love? Doesn't it remind you of a loft in New York?
An art gallery or a coffee shop in SoHo, maybe?  Definitely an aesthetic we love to love.

Here's that same room from another angle.

Cafe curtains on a tension rod are a perfect fix for the tricky french door dilemma! We used a lovely embroidered sheer in a neutral color in order to allow all that gorgeous natural light into the room.

And for a more theatrical flair-- here we did lush, thick panels of chenille (imagine tapestry and velvet mixed together and that's the texture of chenille!) with a gold fleur-de-lis pattern on vibrant red. 

What I love about windows like this, with a window covering of this nature, is that gives an impression of grandeur. It's an essentially simple set up-- panels, french pleats, metal rod and rings--but the execution, the overall impression, is so stunning, so immense. It's just lovely to see a room transform after an installation like this.

It was such a pleasure to be able to contribute in our own small way to the beautification of one of Riverside's preeminent historical sites. Hopefully we'll see you at The Fox for a show sometime!

The Elegance of Sheer

Two posts in one day! Well, why not? If for no other reason than we've got some lost time to make up for.

This blog post will feature a local client, Christi, who lives in our very own neighborhood in the historic wood streets of Riverside!

One of our favorite "quick fix" designer tricks that we like to employ in order to transform an average room into a truly elegant space is to use simple crushed sheer panels, in white or off-white, on a dark metal pole with rings. In this case, we paired them with matching tie backs.

Check out the results, both inside and out!

Even from the curb, adding sheers or drapes can accent your windows and set your house apart from the rest. It gives a decorative "finished" look, like adding a frame to a beautiful painting.

Here's the same window (notice the awning) from inside the room.

This is the same window again. Notice how it's an extremely simple, yet elegant look. Inexpensive, but with enormous appeal. You don't always have to keep your panels held in their tie backs. Feel free to let them hang loose!

Here's the outside view from the front porch. Very "French Cafe," non? Can't you imagine sitting out here with your fresh-squeezed orange juice or your cafe-pressed coffee, reading the paper on a Sunday morning, the sunshine gently warming you and you watch the neighbors walk their dogs? How very pleasant :)

Once again, the same window from within the house. The sheers, with their elegant tie backs, lend a romantic feel this dining room.

Same window from another angle.

And here is another picture, showing both the dining and living room areas. How much do you love the soft butter yellow of the walls in the living room? It's one of my favorite colors.

Commercial Work

Hello!

We've talked a lot about our residential work on this blog so far, but the LeMontree Ladies have been known to do a commercial project here and there.

These pictures come from the offices of ESC Imaging, Inc., a local computer company here in Riverside, CA. We've known the owner, Jim, and wife, Judy, for years and years now.

In order to cut the glare from the afternoon sun, we installed roller shades. They offer privacy (like a one-way mirror!), but preserve your view. As a bonus, they're easy to clean! Perfect for an office setting.

As you can see, we've installed a roller shade over both a large window and a door. Little clips at the bottom secure the shade so that it doesn't swing wildly when your customers enter.

Here's a slightly closer view. (P.S. How about that yellow/red wall contrast? Way to brighten up the workplace, am I right?)

In fact, those colors--the whole design scheme--was planned out by LeMontree Interiors. Here's a peek at our color board!

We were also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do work in the offices at the Fox Theater in downtown Riverside. I hope to have pictures to show you from that job soon! Take care everyone. Until next time.

Last summer...

As this summer comes to a close, I can't help but reminisce about our adventures of the previous summer. In July 2010, we traveled to a beautiful, coastal town just north of Boston in order to design (and install!) the window coverings in a stunning custom home.

As a side note, please disregard the time stamp on some of these pictures! It hadn't been calibrated to the correct date. :) Although, if the east coast looked this sunny and idyllic in January, maybe we'd consider relocating!

Here is a view of the front of the house. We fell in love with this majestic old tree.

And this is a view from a window at the rear of the house. That is the ocean, and just beyond, you can see a little island!

Another view, another island.

I believe that's a fire pit out on the terrace. Imagine gathering around on a summer evening to watch the sunset, the salty ocean air washing over you. How relaxing.

In the distance, you can see the remains of an old pier, and more little islands beyond that. It's really very picturesque.

Now, for draperies!!

These panels were hung all throughout the family room. The metal poles were custom-painted to match the other accents in the house.

Bay area setting. So much beautiful natural lighting.

We made sure to hang all the drapes well over the frame of the window so that, while they're open, you can enjoy 100% of the view. As you can see from the pictures above, that's a view worth preserving!

This is an upstairs family room. Again, the window coverings are designed to frame the window without obstructing the view or blocking the light. Clean, simple lines.

Here's a closer view of one of the windows from the upstairs family room.

This is from the master bedroom-- one of my favorite shots. This picture was included in our last post, but I couldn't resist posting it again with the others.

Also from the master bedroom, we've done roman shades for these two little recessed windows, and upholstered matching cushions for the window seats!

While we were here, we had to admire the sheer number and scale of the windows in this house. This was taken from the main staircase in the foyer.

And this! It's a decorative light fixture. It reminds me of bubbles. A simply fabulous touch.

Finally, here is a picture of the silk panels from the dining room. A plaid pattern gives a little bit of a 'country' feel to the room. The dining table, you may notice, is missing. That was because it had not yet arrived! It was also custom designed.

We had an absolutely wonderful time working on the drapes for this house. We flew back twice--and even made the 6000 mile round-trip drive once!--and stayed in the coach house (not pictured here, although also on the property). It was a pleasure and a privilege to be involved in this project. We can't wait to encounter another opportunity of this kind.

Past work!

Hello everyone!

Today I took a look through an old camera, one that's seen many a fancy job. I'm taking the liberty now of uploading some pictures from our past clients for your viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy our work.

PS. Sorry if the photo quality is a little on the low side on some of these, but they are from an older camera after all. You get the idea, we hope. :)

The above photos show primarily various drapery/sheer panels hung by rings on poles. Here and there, you'll see a swag valance, a cornice box, or some Roman/London Shades.

Stay tuned because we'll be adding even MORE pictures soon! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send us an email at lemontreeint03@yahoo.com.