Palos Verdes

Well, first of all, I am making some design changes to the blog, working on individualizing and improving the layout, the overall look and feel. I'm not a professional, mind you, so it's a work in progress. Anyway, we made a trip to Palos Verdes, CA yesterday to install some silk panels for one of our favorite customers.

Here are some highlights!

Look at the detailing on this material? The texture is amazing and the colors are so rich.

Honestly, these are some of my favorite sheers. The detailed cut-out, pictured here, occurs about 2/3rds of the way down the panel. The stitching is just spectacular and the overall effect is simply stunning.

Here you can see the final scalloping detail, which we've lightly puddled along the hardwood floors. Soft. Elegant.

This is the main room. As you can see, we've done back to back swags with jabots centering each window. What's special about these swags in particular is that they've been rounded at the edges to give the impression of a subtle arching over the window. Typically, swags are attached to a flat board. Also, the panels and sheers puddle lightly against the floor to give a romantic feeling to the entire scene.

This is the material we used in the master bedroom.

You can see the panels here, coupled with gold sheer, and an arched cornice box valance. With the BRIGHT afternoon sunlight streaming in, you can't help but admire how it all seems to glow.

Last week, we made the six and a half hour drive north to Los Altos, CA to make some adjustments and repairs to the drapes in our friend Tanya's house. Tanya is a gorgeous ball of happiness and that aspect of her personality makes itself evident in her love of COLOR, which she uses enthusiastically throughout her house. Here, we've preserved the shape of this arched window in her aquamarine bathroom by installing cabinet knobs (purchased at Home Depot!) along the frame of the arch and hanging the curtains with rings and clips.

Tanya chose contrasting colors that really make this window stand out.

 This material was brought back from India and we lined it with crystal beading. The afternoon light comes in through this window and really makes them sparkle.

 This is a picture of the swags we made for Tanya's master bathroom. I'm particularly fond of the long, thin theater swag on the left. I love that the swags here are lined entirely with silk. The quality is fantastic.

Here's a close up.

And this is a picture of the material we used in Tanya's living room. This sheer, which is two-toned with shimmers of red and green, replaced a more boring single-toned gold. The pattern beneath is from Tanya's couch, which we not only upholstered but designed specifically to fit her needs.

We always enjoy the trip up to see Tanya--she even made a delicious lunch including chicken that had simmered in orange juice (extra flavor!)--and this time was no different.

Vintage Flair

 

 Hi there! It's been a busy time, and we haven't had a chance to update lately. But the ladies of LeMontree Interiors recently made a trip to Vintage Flair, a GORGEOUS local antique store owned by our good friend, Lucy. It's located on Elizabeth St-- make a right into the first alleyway.

The things I love in this picture: clear dangling twinkle lights for indoor lighting; empty white-washed picture frames and matching finials; a plethora of disparate knickknacks (porcelain, seashells, mirrors)!

Check out these beautiful porcelain plates, figurines, and pots!

How amazing is this mannequin? Look at that detailed hand-painting around the eyes: those eyelashes, those rosy cheeks, and sweet curls! ALSO, this multi-strand pearl necklace is magnificent.

Porcelain doll head, complete with pedestal and tiara! Tiny vintage perfume bottles. Crystal pendants. Swirling shells. Lovely lace and rose accessories. Imagine putting together such an imaginative and fantastic display. Our Lucy is a master.

Vintage Flair is full of Paris Chic style! I love the idea of using scrabble tiles as decorations-- tres adorable!

Vintage glass bottles are a fun and inexpensive way to decorate. Place a collection of various sizes and colors in a window sill. Fill up the empty spaces in a bookshelf or on a side table. Use them as vases or fill them with sand and tiny seashells. Buttons! Old pennies. Marbles. Feathers. Use your imagination!

I love antique statues. They've got such character. This cherub is both eerie and fascinating with its empty eyes.

Oh, my. Look at the detailing on this beaded dress. So intricate, so lovely.

Make sure to stop by Vintage Flair on Elizabeth Street in Riverside, CA. Vintage clothes, antiques, jewelry, books, fun stuff.

The wonders of shirring tape

I absolutely love this warm buttery yellow color, a hue along the lines of daffodils or summer sunshine, fresh cut lemons, saffron. Here, it's coupled with a creamy fleur-de-lis kind of pattern, putting me in mind of broad south-facing windows overlooking the countryside, a little taste of French Provincial. My mother always talks about how important color is--you can invigorate a dull room, improve the quality of life lived there, the ethos of a space: how can anyone manage to be sad in a room so alive with color?
 







Color is a lifestyle choice, rather than an aesthetic.








These drapes are intended for a bedroom and, to lessen the formality of a floor-to-ceiling waterfall of fabric, we used shirring tape at the top to create an "unstructured pleat." The effect is really quite pleasant. We're going to be redecorating my room soon (in green!)--and I've requested pleats just like this.
 

 

This material, in particular, was brought back from France. It's soft and it lays beautifully, elegantly; you can tell the quality is extraordinarily fine.

Beneath the drapes, we've hung cream-colored sheers. We're going to hang these drapes soon and, hopefully, I'll come back with pictures of them in place with the sheers. Sheers tend to contribute extra privacy without entirely blocking the sunlight, so you can pull the drapes closed and sleep in, or leave them open and wake up with the dawn. They also communicate a certain romance to a space--you just want to open the window and let a soft breeze billow them to and fro.

Sleeping in

Well, it's not always a 'homemade cappuccino' in the morning, especially if you sleep in past 9am. I don't personally make the cappuccinos; they come courtesy Mama LeMontree's beautiful expertise. After crawling out of bed at 10am today, I've had to make do with the easiest alternative: a light vanilla-flavored frappuccino coffee drink, though I often wonder how much coffee is really in one of these things...

"Light" mostly means you can taste the sucralose.

You can see by this photo, too, that the kitchen table is awash in paperwork. We try to keep it clear as much as possible, but there's so much to sort through and take care of-- print-outs of photos from past jobs, newspapers delivered each morning, magazines and coupons, mail, samples of fabrics, price books from different companies. Running a business out of your home, which is what we've been doing for 20+ years, takes a lot of patience and a lot of organization. 

Here's a scrap of silk--so incredibly soft!--in a lovely neutral taupe.

I mentioned yesterday that we were headed to Ashoka the Great. The weather has been in the high nineties all week--perfect blue skies and fierce bright sun, as you can see. The food was delicious--spicy, flavorful--but Mama LeMontree and I both agreed that we prefer the chicken tikka masala at Gill's Indian Restaurant, located in the Stillwell Hotel, downtown L.A. (richer, creamier sauce). However, Ashoka offers a wider selection of dishes (I recommend trying the lentils). Definitely stop by if you're in Cerritos.

On the business side of lunch, we talked about how important it is to find and develop a niche--whether you're working with a commercial or residential clientele. We discussed some new upcoming things--like utilizing smart fabrics in industrial buildings where they need materials to keep large computer units from overheating. But we also talked about promoting 'green fabrics,' or all natural organic materials. One thing is for sure, we need to work on developing a website. My goal today is to try scanning in some of the photos from our past jobs--if I'm successful, I'll post a few of here later. Sunday mornings are always a quiet affair in the LeMontree household, though. So, for now, I'm going to finish my frappuccino and read a little bit.

A new enterprise

Every morning we begin with a homemade cappuccino and a fresh plan. Today's plan involves starting up this blog, but mostly it involves lunch. 

Manesha, one of our beloved clients, called and lectured us about the difference between North Indian and South Indian cuisine. We told her we're headed to Cerritos to have lunch at Ashoka the Great (North Indian cuisine--featuring a fantastic lunch buffet for $8.95!) with Archna, a good friend. Archna manages John Hall Designs, whose main showroom and design studio is located in Oxnard, and we've worked together before. Part of what keeps us so busy is making sure that we stay connected, build close relationships: calling up past clients just to see how they're doing or to ask about a recipe or a book they mentioned, meeting for lunch, for pleasure, for business. Most of the people we work with we've known now for five, ten, fifteen years.  Later on this month, we've promised to go shopping for saris with Manesha.

Of course, before we do anything today we've got to wash the dog-- Joey, our 7-month-old miniature Australian Shepherd.

Well...I tried.