Awaken your Window Designs

Trend dictates much of the way we design our spaces and window treatments. Our clients look to us for a"current" vision and a cohesive pattern in design.  In keeping current with today's trend, Finestra has developed 7 new distinct finishes to add modern pizazz to your next project.

Harvest Gold creates an element of subtle glamour and lustrous matte gold detail.  It's deep gold leaf base is antiqued with a light gray wash to create a matte finish and define the hand carved detail within the pieces.

Linen combines an off-white base with textural accents in ochre and buff.  It adds a light textural layer to any window design.

Matte Black is a contemporary classic with clean lines and a low luster.  It is a wonderful companion to rod iron architectural accents and lighting as well as bold graphic prints.

Rustic Taupe features a natural taupe with pearl gray overtones and subtle highlights of platinum to give depth to the smallest of carved details.  This finish combines two of the hottest trends in color: tone on tone and the color gray.

Urban Bronze is a metropolitan mixture of deep russet tones, sunset gold and antique bronze.  This metallic finish blends with both rustic and refined environments.

Weathered Wood features a walnut wood tone with a gray antique wash.  It is naturally distressed to show its timeworn character and compliments both heirloom and modern-day decor.

Walnut is a classic wood stain applied by hand to give depth and texture to any window treatment.  Its chocolate colored attributes make it a delicious accent to pull wood tones, leathers and browns out of fabric and furniture alike.


In addition to these 7 trend setting new colors, Finestra has 18 more hand finishes in its repertoire.  Which finish will you choose for your next design project?


Sources in photos: Greenhouse Fabrics, Fabricut, Restoration Hardware, Trina Turk Fabrics, Schumacher, High Point Furniture Market

Snapshots on Trend: High Point Furniture Market

 

Color, texture, and pattern is an ever changing palette for designers. Keeping a pulse on industry trends is an important part of being a creative professional.  We attended the recent High Point Furniture Market and it provided us with inspiration, new color palettes, and creative techniques to bring back to our workroom and design center.

The two predominant background colors exhibited were variations of gray and taupe with pops of accent colors in plum, lavender, orange, aqua, and green.  We even saw the resurgence of avocado green, rust, and mustard yellow!

 

 Nail heads either decorative or rustic were exposed and on many of the upholstered pieces.  Some were used in practical applications and others such as the diamond head upholstery nails above were used to create shiny accents and motifs within the furniture design itself.

One unique design tip we noticed was the textural accent that was created with the button forms sewn on the corner of the lavender pillow shown above.  What a wonderful way to add dimension and depth to a tonal accent!

  

 The handmade look has become infused in the design of pillows, drapery panels, lampshades and other home accents.  This look also gives depth and dimension to a visually smooth surface.  At market, drapery panels donned appliques and hand sewn cutouts.  Pillows had felting and layers of fringe or ribbon tacked their surfaces.

The tactile experience continued with burlap and linen fabrics on everything from draperies and lampshades to bedding and floor coverings.  Weaving and layering these textures in and out of designs was very popular.  The juxtaposition of tailored and traditional techniques like smocking on time worn burlap created intrigue and drama in what is usually a simple accent. 

 Contemporary graphic prints on fabrics and floor coverings were abundant in mod hues of gray and taupe with the interesting high gloss additions of patent leather and shiny sequins and stones.  Paired with these eye-catching accents were matte furniture finishes of driftwood and weathered patinas.

The take-aways from High Point were in the details!  The base for much of our design as far as colorway (gray and taupe) has stayed the same over the past couple of years, but the embellishments have increased and are being used in new and different ways.  Texture is the #1 take-away from the market.  How you choose to use it is up to you.  It can be achieved by playing with gloss and matte finishes, weaving and layering, hand-sewing appliques, and eye-catching accents like diamond head upholstery nails.

What inspired you at market?

The Art of Layering Patterns

Patterns play an important role in interior design.  Patterns add color, depth, dimension and texture to any room or window treatment.  The scale of pattern may be small, medium or large in size and any patterns used in the same space must relate to each other in order to create a cohesive design.

When used properly, pattern can ground a design that shows two distinctly different shapes, scale and proportion.  The large bold orange striped draperies in this room anchor the small scale pattern in the floor coverings.  It allows the eye to see the design, color and texture as a whole and not as different distinct parts.

Designer Linda Allen

Believe it or not, pattern in design also signifies the shape of furnishings, lighting and accessories.  This particular design is very tonal with a pop of lime in the furnishings to ground the eye away from the multi-pattern ceiling treatment.  Take note of the chair back designs; they repeat the shapes in the mirrors, lighting, floor covering and the ceiling design.  This is a perfect reflection of using the shapes throughout a design to create an elegant and harmonious feel within the space.

Texture is created with pattern by directional movement and contrast.  These two designs use directional movement and distinct contrast in the black and white patterns.  Look closely at the Chevron design on the right.  Not only is it directional, it has a pattern within the pattern of a Greek Key design.  This adds depth and texture.

Think about how you use pattern in your designs.  How does it affect your design style?  Experiment with different scales, proportions, and colors to find the right balance for your next project and signature look.

Dressing your Studio with Hardware

Sudio by Lauren Liess, Pure Style Home
Fabrics samples hung on drapery rods



Everyone loves an organized workspace!  These are the places whether inside or outside of our homes that we meet with clients and create beautiful spaces for a living.  It is a place where we draw inspiration from color, texture and pattern.  Out of these elements, fabric is a large part of this process and displaying it in an organized and visually pleasing manor facilitates creativity.

So, why not feature two important design elements in your studio for organization and inspiration?!


Aria Metal Hardware and Fabric

Create your Own Display
There are several ways...

1.  Install a French Rod made out of Aria Metal Hardware on your wall in desired length and use clip-on rings (FM201/) to hold your fabric.  This will allow easy access to your fabrics with a quick release of the clip-on ring.  This version works well with light to medium weight fabric samples.

2.  Install an Aria Metal Hardware pole with brackets, decorative finials, and clip-on rings to hold your fabric.

3.  Install an Aria Metal Hardware pole either like a French Rod or with decorative finials.  Place a small grommet (GR2/) on the corner of your fabric sample.  Next place shower curtain rings (ST18 or ST19) on the rod and open the clasp.  This will allow you to easily slip the grommet on the fabric swatch over the curtain ring and then snap in place.  When you want to remove it, unhook the shower curtain ring clasp and pull fabric sample off the ring.  This is a more secure way to hang your fabric and will support light to heavy weight draperies.

Organize and create inspiration in your studio today!

New C Ring Traverse Rod Hardware

We are so excited about our new traverse system with C rings!  It has significant improvements over traditional C ring systems.  The system is offered in cord draw or baton draw in Brown or White track and all components are ball bearing. 

Finestra can assemble and paint your traverse systems in one of our 36 custom hand finishes.  Or, you can purchase components individually and assemble and paint your own system. 

Easy to Install

1.  After installing the bracket securely to the wall, attach the wood fascia to bracket using one screw per bracket. Short screws are provided. The wood fascia is decorative and holds no weight.

2.  Traverse track will be held in place with the support notch or “tooth” at the end of the bracket (Figure 1) and the camlock on the bracket that locks the track in place (Figure 2). When the track is in place inside the tooth of the bracket, turn the camlock with a flat head screwdriver to hold the track into place (Figure 2,3).

3.  Attach the C Rings to the carriers and master carriers. Place the C rings with the prong facing downward in the square hole of the carriers. These are the top holes in the carriers. Position the rings up over the wood fascia with the prong facing the top hole in the carrier. For ease of installation, tilt the rings to the side at an angle and push into the square hole to lock into place.  This will lock the ring into place and will not move or sag back down to the pole.

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Easy to Order

Checklist

1.  Length of Pole/Track

2.  Fluted or Smooth

3.  Center, Left or Right Draw

4.  Cord Left or Right

5.  Length of cord drop (Standard is 72")

6.  3" or 6" return brackets

7.  Brown or White Track/Cord/Tension pulley

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If you have any questions about our new C ring traverse system, feel free to give us a call!

1-888-443-8182

Creative Ways to use Aria Metal Hardware

Aria Metal Hardware showcases clean lines and contemporary brushed metal finishes.  It is perfect for both residential and commercial applications.  Outside of simply installing beautiful poles, brackets, rings and finials, there are other creative ways to use the metal hardware designs.

FM100/BN Glass finial in Brushed Nickel on 1460 Finestra wood hold back

GLASS HOLD BACKS

One of the key design components of contemporary hardware is glass.  We offer both blown solid glass and crackle glass ball finials.  Recently, we had a customer ask us if we had blown glass hold backs.  She wanted to hang her panels from glass hold backs in a contemporary setting.  Since hanging drapery panels and tab top treatments from medallions are still very popular, we thought that this was a great idea and came up with a creative solution with the designs we already offer. 

The Aria line offers 9 brushed metal finishes for the finials.  You may choose from any of the 36 Finestra finishes for the wood hold back bases to accompany your glass ball finial.  If you are worried about matching the wood hold backs with the metal finishes, we have a solution for that too!  A very popular option is to finish the wood bases in the same color as your wall color.  With our color matching, you can choose from any Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams paint color.  This way the beauty of the glass shines through in your design and the bases become utilitarian and fade into the background. 

Solution for glass hold backs:
1.  Choose Your Glass Ball Design and Finish
FM107/ for blown glass
FM108/ for crackle glass
2.  Choose your hold back return and finish
1460 for 2" return from wall to base of finial
1460 plus 1461 for 4" return from the wall to
the case of the finial
3.  Attach the finial to the base and Install
The Finestra hold back attachment is easy to install with a back plate that screws of the base, attaches to the wall and then the hold back stem is installed onto the back plate.
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FRENCH ROD TREATMENT

Aria Metal poles shown in Brushed Nickel with Elbow FM402/ also in Brushed Nickel.

Inside Mounts FM401/ in Brushed Nickel shown to attach the pole returns to the wall

Another popular treatment are French Rods. With French rods, no finials are used and the treatment simply returns back to the wall. It is very sleek and would work well in spaces where you have no space for finials or even industrial applications.  It is easy to achieve this look with the Aria Metal Hardware!

French Rod Components:
1.  Three metal pole pieces in selected finish and length
Two small pole pieces are for your return, and one pole is for the length of your window span.  You will still need to support the span with the standard brackets FM400, so your return off of the wall is adjustable from 3.5”-5”.

2. Two Elbows FM402/ in selected finish.  One pair of inside mounts FM401/ in selected finish

Once your return pole pieces are cut, attach the elbows to each side of the long pole for the window span.  These return back to the wall at 90 degrees.

3.  One Pair of Inside Mounts FM401/
To finish the look and for added support, install the inside mounts to the wall and place your return pole in it. 
Then, it is complete!

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Creativity is at your fingertips with Aria Metal Hardware and these simple steps! 
We love coming up with creative solutions to your design ideas.  Keep them coming!

Designer Spotlight: Debhelin Designs

Cloud Nine Finials on 3"D Smooth Pole in Old World Gold

It is always an honor when customers like Debbie Millet with Debhelin Designs share their works of art with us. Debbie is located in Louisville, KY and her designs are outstanding. She has a keen eye for color blending and great attention to detail.

One of the main architectural details above is the chocolate coffered ceilings and amber chandelier.  Debbie accentuates these features by adding drama with large 3"D poles and Cloud Nine finials.  By installing the pole high above the window, it draws the eye up into the beautiful ceiling.  By choosing the Old World Gold finish, she has not only incorporated the chocolate/mahogany color, but also the amber chandelier with the gold accents.

Fall Reflections Hold Back in Rubbed Gold

Arched windows can create design challenges.  This hold back treatment is a wonderful solution. It softens the hard lines and stark white trim by placing drapery panels on either side.  It also leaves the view open to be enjoyed by all.  Matching hold backs were used on both panels below to elegantly tie the drapery panels back.  Beautiful!

Fleur de Lis Hold Back

Top treatments are very popular in window design.  They are frequently used in kitchens and bathrooms.  Debbie does a wonderful job anchoring this treatment with dark finished Fleur de Lis hold backs and dark fringe.  This not only ties in with the furniture in the room, but also, stabilizes the light colored fabric from fading into the wall color. 

Isabella finials on 2"D pole

And, yet, another amazing treatment from Debhelin Designs!  This one-sided swag on Finestra wood poles balances the weight of the cherry built-ins in this room.  It creates a warm and inviting space and allows our eyes to focus on the room's main architectural details, the mahogany woodwork.

Debbie, your work is inspiring!  Thank you for sharing!