Transform Your Space with Passementerie: Elevate Your Decor with Ornamental Trimmings

 

When it comes to decorating, it’s often the small details that make the biggest impact. Passementerie, the elegant term for ornamental trimmings, is a wonderful way to add that final flourish to your space. Tassels, cords, and tapes not only provide a pop of color but also bring texture, personality, and a sense of sophistication to your decor.

Think of passementerie as the finishing touch—the bow on a perfectly wrapped gift. Whether you’re aiming for a sleek, minimalist design or something a bit more luxurious, trimmings can be that versatile element that ties everything together. Here’s how you can use these beautiful details to elevate your home.

 

Mixing Modern Minimalism with Intricate Trimmings

In today's design world, blending different styles creates an intriguing contrast. Don’t shy away from pairing simple, clean lines with intricate trimmings. A minimalist space can come to life with just the right touch of texture. For example, adding velvet trimmings to a pillow creates warmth and luxury, perfect for creating a cozy, inviting space.

 

Imagine a deep green velvet trim against a neutral-toned pillow—it instantly makes the pillow feel more special, without overpowering the rest of your decor. Likewise, placing a tassel in just the right spot on your mantel or a delicate cord along your drapes can subtly elevate the room, creating a balance between modern and classic design elements.

 

Cozy Up with Earthy Tones

When incorporating passementerie into your decor, color is key. Deep earth tones or soft beiges work wonders in creating a cozy, inviting winter atmosphere. These natural hues blend seamlessly into a range of color schemes and add a sense of warmth to your space.

 

For the winter months, think of rich browns, warm taupe, and soft creams. These colors not only evoke the season’s cozy spirit but also provide a neutral backdrop for you to experiment with brighter accents, like a pop of red or green during the holidays.

 

Creative Ways to Use Passementerie in Your Home

Passementerie is versatile and can be used in a variety of ways to add charm and personality to your space. Here are a few fun ideas to get you started:

 

• Tassels on the Mantel: Drape tassels around the stems of pumpkins during fall or place them along your mantel as an accent during the holidays.
• Tassels as Drawer Pulls: A tassel makes for a charming and unexpected drawer pull, adding a playful yet sophisticated touch to furniture.
• Tassels for Tablecloths: Secure the edges of your tablecloth by adding tassels at the corners to keep it in place and add a bit of flair.
• Tassel Garland: Create a festive garland using tassel fringe to add texture and color to your holiday decor.
• Stocking Accents: Add a colorful tassel to your holiday stockings to give them a little extra personality.
• Cords for Drapes: Tie back your draperies with elegant cords for a polished, classic look that complements both traditional and modern decor.

The Finishing Touches

Passementerie is all about those finishing touches that transform a room from ordinary to extraordinary. Whether you choose to use intricate trims on your pillows, tassels on your mantel, or elegant cords on your drapes, these small details add a sense of thoughtfulness to your home decor.

 

With a few simple, creative ideas, you can embrace the timeless beauty of passementerie and bring warmth, texture, and elegance into your space. So the next time you’re redecorating or adding seasonal accents, consider the power of these ornamental trimmings to give your home that perfect, polished look.

Drapery Pin Settings How-To

At www.InteriorDecorating.com we can help you order custom made draperies and curtains (and lots more). One of the questions on our custom drapery form asks for your pin setting. This is a measurement from the top of the pin to the top of your drapery. Drapery pins can be hooked into a curtain ring or a traverse rod carrier. Although drapery pins can be reset by hand, it is a tedious process that is best done by the professional making your draperies.

Things to Know

Pins can be adjusted - just remember to keep the height the same across the panel. Move the pin down to shorten your draperies and move the pin up to lengthen them.
Typically, there will be one pin per pleat.

Determining Pin Settings

Start by measuring where you want the top of the drape to "hit". With a curtain ring, typically the top of the drape touches the bottom of the ring. With an eyelet, this usually requires a 1/2" pin setting.

For the traverse rod shown, if you want the drape to touch the bottom - typical with ceiling mounted track, it would be 1/2 inch; if you wanted the pleats to cover the rod and reach the top, it would be 1 1/2" inches.

Inserting Drapery Pins

For uniform gathers, space the pins evenly, usually every four to six inches. If your draperies have pleats, insert the pins into the lower backside of each pleat for a crisp appearance.
Insert the pointy end of a drapery pin into the fabric at your marked spot, ensuring it’s secure but not poking through to the room-facing side. Repeat this process until all pins are positioned.

Please note that with our custom-made draperies, the pins are inserted at your specified position in the workroom.

Take a look at Custom Window Treatments Click Here>>  

Is it worth it?

Is your sofa or favorite chair starting to show a little wear and tear? Maybe it's time for a fresh new look! Discover all the things to consider when recovering and reupholstering your beloved furniture. Give it a makeover that will make it look as good as new!

Recover: replace the fabric on the outside

Reupholster: replace both the fabric on the outside and parts on the inside such as webbing, foam cushions, etc

If you've got a trusty piece of furniture that's been by your side for over a decade and is still standing strong, chances are, it has a sturdy frame that's built to last a lifetime. Keep in mind that a good upholsterer can enhance, repair and strengthen your furniture pieces as well.
Check with your upholsterer for yardage requirements. Some shops will allow you to bring your own material - customarily called COM fabric (customer's own material) and some require you to purchase through their shop. This is something you will need to know before beginning your fabric search.

Shop Upholstery Fabrics

What To Look For When Buying Ceiling Fans

Shop Ceiling Fans

One way we can save on energy costs is by using a ceiling fan. While a fan doesn't actually cool down a room it does circulate the air in the room to help cool you down; It makes your skin feel at least 5° cooler and you might save between 10% and 40% on your energy bill.

Many consumers often forget that it isn't always about how big the fan is. Yes, you need the appropriate size fan for your room, however, the pitch of the blades and the rotation of the blades is what really gives the maximum airflow. 

A couple of tips to remember: 

• During winter heating, your fan blades should rotate in a clockwise motion. This helps push up and pull down the warm air to improve heat distribution. 
• During summer cooling, your fan blades should rotate in a counter-clockwise motion.

Something to remember when installing your ceiling fan is how far from the ceiling it should hang. Fans should be between 7 feet and 9 feet from the floor. Your fan should be no closer to the ceiling than 10 inches. Anything less will restrict the airflow and lower the fans efficiency.

And remember, many more fan companies are making fans that are Energy Star rated and just because they are Energy Star does not mean you have to sacrifice with the look of the fan. Within the past few years Hunter Fan Company has created a full line of Energy Star approved fans that help save on your energy bill and look great too!

Shop Fans on www.InteriorDecorating.com

French Doors and Metal Door Blinds

French Doors
Metal Doors

Do you need to cover your half door window or French door windows? These magnetic blinds use powerful magnets to attach to your door in seconds. No drilling. No tools. No mess. The blind attaches with magnets at the top and bottom.

With the recent rules regarding corded blinds, we now have these wonderful blinds available in a cordless option.

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Make A Bow for A Present

One of our trim suppliers created this nice little video for making a classic bow for wrapping presents.

Gift Wrapping Tips
Secure a hard-to wrap gift with an embellished ponytail holder.
Assign a different colored wrapping paper for each child.
Martha Stewart recommends a rotary cutter.
Use double-sided tape.
Don't use too much paper.
Turn fabric scraps into ribbons and embellishments.
Wrap awkwardly boxes diagonally and it will look perfect.

Shop discount fabrics >>

Time To Go Cordless

Time To Go Cordless

New Safety Regulations for Window Coverings

Effective December 15, 2018

The Window Covering Safety Council in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a significant change to window covering standards. As of December 15, 2018 all ready made blinds must be cordless. Once current inventory levels of corded blinds are depleted, all the consumer will see are cordless blinds in the big box stores both locally and online. All types of custom blinds are exempt which will allow consumers to order window coverings with cords if so desired.

Why such a costly change? The concern is for the safety of our children. With an average of 12 children a year dying from strangulation from cord entanglement and 20 a month being take to the emergency room, the time has come to make a significant change to protect our children.

www.InteriorDecorating.com has already prepared for this change.  You can order cordless blinds online today. The new blinds feature easy to use cordless lift systems. If you want to see how they work, check out our informative videos on our 

YouTube channel.

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Metal Mini Blinds Vinyl Mini Blinds Faux Wood Blinds 2" Vinyl Blinds

Arched Window Products

One of the products offered on www.InteriorDecorating.com is the notched pin strip.  This product makes it easy to hang draperies inside an arched window.  Check out this video:



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Fabric Focus: Alexander Henry

Unusual. Distinctive. Fun. Vibrant. Novelty. All words that describe the cotton fabric prints from Alexander Henry. These popular fabrics are loved from fashion designers to home sewers. If you are looking for something unique, you will find it in these designer fabrics.

Alexander Henry is located in Burbank California and is run by the De Leon Design Group—Marc, Phillip and Nicole de Leon.  Each pattern is designed by in-house artists  who paints each pattern by hand. 

Of the essential studio process, Nicole de Leon explains, "We are painters and we love to paint, and we love that the process is organic and sometimes wonderfully unpredictable. Moving and blending the media is vital to the process." Phillip de Leon, her brother and design partner concurs, "As a fabric company and as painters we feel tied to the tradition of old world textile design. There is an intimacy to our finished product that I believe our clients notice. When we introduce a collection, our customers approach each design as something unique, where the hand of the artist is definitely in evidence."

Don't you just love these new fabrics?

Ripplefold Curtains

Ripplefold window treatments are gaining in popularity in the residential market. A common look for commercial spaces, the ripplefold carrier system creates a sleek, elegant wave like pattern visible on both sides of the curtains. When the curtains are open, they require less stackback space and provide more exposure to the glass.

 When choosing ripplefold curtains, you need to choose either a butt master carrier or overlap master carrier. 

Center Draw: Butt master will provide a continuous fold look but will allow some light to filter in between the center crack. An overlap carrier will cover the light gap but create a flat center.
Left or Right Draw: A butt master carrier will have a continuous wave look with the curtain panel wrapping completely around the end. An overlap master carrier will create a flat look on the end.

Overlap Master Carrier

Butt Master Carrier

Shop Aria H-Rail Traverse Curtain Rods

Souce: https://www.interiordecorating.com/help/ripplefold-curtains.html