Sheers and panels

Our house renovation is almost complete, and now, it's time to think about how to dress our windows!

Personally, I like decorating room by room, so thinking beforehand on what curtains to use for all the rooms in our house is quite the challenge for me.

I have an idea of how I want my curtains to look like - a neutral colour in a natural material that I won't get bored of over time. I'm not really into patterns, as I like the flexibility of plains where it can go with any theme.

But the thing that has left me scratching my head is on how to layer day with night curtains. You see, houses here are so close together, that day curtains are a must - it keeps sunlight in, but gives us the privacy we need during the day.

I was thinking of going for sheers and pair them with panels - but I really can't find much inspiration out there. Here are a few photos of rooms that have dressed up their windows with both sheer and panels that I will refer to as inspiration.

Velvet & Linen

This is from Brooke Giannetti, I love the use of this gauzy sheer fabric, layered with linen panels for night curtains. Gorgeous.

Phoebe Howard

Phoebe Howard

Phoebe Howard

Phoebe Howard mentions in her blog to stay away from polyester when you use sheers, and she likes using double poles to pair sheer curtains with panels. Aren't the three photos above just beautiful?

The photos of the room below uses double poles with sheer curtains and panels. The room is just beautiful, so I thought I'd just put in all three for your viewing pleasure. :-)

The sheers bring that elegant and romantic touch to the room. I love the use of natural textures of linen, sisal, antique chairs and console. 

You can better see the double poles used here in this photo. I love the stripe on these chairs. 

Source unknown! Let me know if you know who the designer is!

The below room has a modern touch to the interiors as well as the sheers used. You can't really see it, but the sheers to filter in light and maintain privacy is hung as blinds and pulled all the way down to the floor. This is a gorgeous room.

via Eclectic Revisited

The below is one of my favourite photos of sitting rooms - you can't really see the curtains, but they have also used sheers and panels here.

via Mark D Sikes

A beautiful dining area uses sheers and panels here too. I love the ornate chandelier.

House Beautiful

Well, I guess I'll be referring to these photos when I'm making choices for my windows! Have a great week ahead!

A Villa in Mykonos island

There's this little island in Greece, called Mykonos, where there are lovely villas for super rich tourists to lay back and enjoy the beach.

I found these two images from this website.

I love the colour palette of blues, creams and beiges. Note the casual elegance of the room - the curtains, the trestle table, the plaster walls. Gorgeous.

Another view of the same room. I fell in love with the window seats. Beautiful. Another trestle table behind the L-shaped linen-covered sofa.

Beach decor at its best!

thank goodness it's Friday!

Don't you love that today is Friday?

The sky is bluer, the sun is shinier (is there such a thing?), the grass is greener, and the house is cleaner. It isn't really, but just because its Friday, it feels that way.

Wouldn't it be great to wake up every morning feeling that way?

Having a room to wake in looking something like this wouldn't be too bad, too.

Charles Spade from New England Home

I love the windows and their sheer half-shades. Beautiful rug faded over time. A charming chair by the window. Gorgeous!

Have a wonderful Friday, all!

Pink!

I remember reading this magazine in the Summer of 2008 (there's no Summer here in Malaysia, but it was the Summer edition of the magazine)...

Source

When I saw this particular article and its rooms, I was very inspired. I love how the designer, Liz Williams chose the vintage carpet as her point of determining the theme colours of the room.

Liz Williams Interiors

The pink from the carpet was further highlighted with bright pinks in the throw pillows on the sofa and arm chairs. I've never been a fan of pink, but I definitely love it here!

On a side note, I also love the curtains used in the room below of the same house. So rich and classy.

Liz Williams Interiors

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Project update 2!

I think this project deserves an update. I’ve been rather busy to actually go out and start purchasing, but I’ve used this time to gather inspiration and decide on what would be suited best for the room. Click here for the last update, and here for a photo of the room in it’s current state (it's the last photo in the post).

I’ve also taken the measurements down in order to get started on looking for affordable wardrobes and stuff.

Can someone please recommend me a good measuring tape? This is already the second one where the tape would not roll back in. :-/

Because the room is rather small, we're going to go for a wardrobe that is not too deep - 30cm max. Also, we don't want the doors to bang into the ceiling fan when it's opened. 

As for curtains, we've chosen Ikea's Wilma and Lenda curtains as they're a great price and look good, too.

For the accessories, I was thinking of painting the desk in the room black. Here's the photo of it.

There’s also a funky bookshelf – still haven't decided on how to revamp this one.

I also have an idea for artwork. We visited a second hand shop all the way in Bangi and found some great encyclopedias and maps. I was thinking of using the illustrations in some of the books and framing them.

Here are some cute map ideas I found on Houzz that I thought I'd share:

eclectic artwork design by Etsy

traditional artwork design by Etsy

eclectic accessories and decor design by Urban Outfitters

Image source from Country Living

We can either look for frames at Ikea, or get some cheap ones at a second hand shop at Petaling Jaya called Cash Converters. As for other accessories, I was thinking of visiting the flea market that I heard about at Amcorp Mall. Have been procrastinating on going there for ages!

I can't wait to get to work on this room soon! Have a great weekend!

Crazy for linen curtains

I am a fan of linen curtains - I love the fact that linen is a natural material, and the no-frills look it brings is a charm. Paired with a single and thin black rod, it is perfect.

These are some of the photos of beautiful linen curtains I found.

Source here

I love this room - it's actually a master bathroom. I love that it's directly connected to an attractive garden (from this view, at least).

Source here

Designer Susan Ferrier used sheer curtains for the right side of the room and linen drapes of the same colour for the window wall on the left. I love how the light filters through the sheer curtains.

Linen sheers. Source here

Linen curtains look oh-so casual and beautiful. They're great as they are less susceptible to holding dirt and dust - making them longer lasting.

Elle Decor

Lovely linen curtains with linen slip-covered sofa! I adore the lines in this room.

Atlanta Homes Mag

This room is absolutely beautiful - the natural wood beam ceilings, the sisal rug, the linen slipcovers and linen curtains. Gorgeous!

Here's another photo of the same house:

I love the idea of using natural, strong materials to decorate your home such as linen, cotton, sisal and sea grass rugs. These elements bring a sense of calm as - as if you're going back to nature.