Renew Furniture Designs with Decorative Medallions

What a unique way to use medallions!

This "Palm Beach in the 70's" design by Kate Schintzius with M. Design Interiors shows a fabulous way to use medallions on furniture pieces. Medallions can be added to any vintage furniture or heirloom piece as a way to renew old designs.

Beauregard Medallion (offered in 4.88"D, 3.5"D, and 6"D)

reference: Design Sponge Online

Custom Carved Drapery Hardware: The Install

Grand Designs can create challenging installations especially when you are dealing with these statistics:

30ft ceilings

24" crown molding from window to ceiling

855 yards of Dupioni Silk

48 large tassels

6ft custom carved plaques straight and mitered for corner installation

Challenge:

After designing the beautiful custom plaque and its placement, how was it going to be installed? There was concern of the weight of the plaque along with the 30ft drapes that would hang from them. In addition, the large crown molding was from window to ceiling. Luckily we received permission from the homeowners to be able to install into the crown molding. But, we only had about a 3"space to fit any kind bracket or attachment for securing the massive treatment.

Solution:

We used 2"D steel plumbing pipe with flanges that attached to the crown molding and protruded 8" off of the wall. Then, we fastened a 1 1/2" steel pipe with flange onto the plaque and slid it into the 2"D pipe coming off of the wall. A hole was drilled through each pipe to insert a bolt through as a set screw and securely fastened with a large nut.

Installation in progress hoisting the 30ft draperies and plaques in place. It took five of us to guide the long panels from the floor to the scaffolding while winding its way up to the top.

Rear entry to pool shown with one side panel installed.

View from second story balcony of the installation in progress. In order to hide the steel pipe used to attach the carved plaques to the wall, Regina made a sleeve out of silk to hide it. The other option would be to hand finish it to match with the fabric or wall trim.

What a fabulous project to be involved in! From start to finish it was an engineering feat to figure out the scale, design and installation of the beautiful carvings! The result is astounding and an inspiration to any designer or manufacturer like Finestra.

Let's have one more glance at the finished product...

Regina Kindelberger, Designer and Workroom

Over The Top Creations, Inc.

Plaque Design and Manufacturing by Finestra

Designing Custom Carved Drapery Hardware

Luxurious projects call for luxurious details. One way to give your client a truly unique and spectacular design is to use custom, hand-carved drapery hardware.

Regina Kindelberger with Over The Top Designs, Inc. recently had a project of grand scale with spectacular architectural details in an entry room of almost 3,000sq/ft. The large room boasted ceilings of 30ft with huge crown molding and floor to ceiling windows. There were two main obstacles to tackle with the project, its sheer size combined with a challenging installation.

Any standard drapery hardware would be lost in the scale of the room, so she set out for a solution and teamed up with Finestra. After I visited the site, it was clear that this project needed something fantastic!

Every design at Finestra starts with a sketch and is hand carved or sculpted by an artist. After the drawing was approved, our artist hand carved the original piece out of walnut. The dimensions span almost 6ft long and 3ft high!

To get the most value for the original wood carving and mold making, we took 3 more design elements out of the original large plaque. We used the center piece for side panels, and the very center medallion we used as a "napkin ring" tie back that included a ring molded into the back of the medallion that helped hold the fabric in place.

After designing a unique carving for this project, the next challenge was the installation!

Check back for the next Blog Post... Custom Carved Drapery Hardware: The Install

Table Runner with Decorative Hardware

Holiday season is approaching! Need a low cost decorative addition to your holiday entertaining? Renew or re-invent old table runners with a splash of color, texture, and high design with Finestra tassels. Choose from one of 36 hand rubbed finishes, or use any Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams color to create your own look.

The decorative tassel shown above is our #27 Tassel measuring 3 5/8"H x 1 5/8"W. There are an array of designs to choose from with various themes.

Decorating a game table? Try our Diamond, Spade, Heart, or Club tassels.

Choose from fruit designs for a bountiful table setting, or a fish tassel for coastal design settings.

If you would like to fabricate your own table runner with Finestra tassels, visit Rowley Company for complete DIY instructions.

http://pdf.rowleycompany.com/manuals/HowTo/Table_Runner.pdf

Nautical Window Treatments

Michele Tran, Lakeway Interior Fabrics

Ahoy there! Finestra offers a variety of nautical drapery designs to incorporate into your custom treatments. These designs include finials, hold backs, and pole holders. You can choose from from 36 hand rubbed finishes or you can create your own with our custom solutions.

Michele with Lakeway Interiors used our Buoy Ball finial with the Anchor design mounted to her European bracket as pole holders. What a unique treatment with the use of rope!

#1302 Imperial Shell Hold Back

#2756 Schooner Hold Back

#2759 Hand Painted Burgee on Hold Back

We can hand paint any burgee on this nautical hold back.

#1104 Shell Hold Back

For more information and design ideas, please visit our website:

http://www.finestradecorativehardware.com/07_theme.asp

Fabrics by Greenhouse Fabrics

2011 Color Trends in Design

Ben Moore Color Wheel

Can you believe Fall is upon us? Fall allows us to flash forward into the new year with upcoming trends and decor. Color plays an important role in what we design and how we translate feelings of well being into our homes.

Benjamin Moore's 2011 trends in color relate to "Balance" and support four themes The Farm, Order, Escape, and Tribe. It is a search for balance in our lives, placing our priorities in order and "...sorting the Real from the Surreal".

Sherwin Williams 2011 trends encompass four themes "Purely Refined, Restless Nomad, Bold Invention, and Gentle Medley." Each one of these themes represent self expression and cover the gammet of design emotions.

Purely Refined creates an understated elegance with its color palette. These colors tend to be very streamlined and tailored in their design expression and create an atmosphere of timeless indulgence.

Restless Nomad is like a set of international spices gathered from exotic places all over the globe. It is an ecclectic color palette with both sultry and vibrant hues.

Bold Invention is our artistic expression from within. It includes neon and vibrant colors that represent our own "perfect world" of self expression and global influences.

Gentle Medley is a palette of light and airy colors that reflects innocence. These colors are subtle in hue and do not make bold statements. They create a serene and refreshing environment.

Color for 2011 is an expression of ourselves and how we paint our environment to encompass those emotions. Every design personality can be reflected with these new color palettes.

Try incorporating one of these fashion forward colors into your next design project! And, do not forget about the drapery hardware! Finestra provides custom painting services where you can use any Ben Moore or Sherwin Williams paint color on your decorative hardware. If you spec the color, we will paint the hardware to match your design vision.

Call us for more information 1-888-443-8182

The Romance of Handmade

Is handmade important to you?

It is important to Finestra Decorative Hardware.

Did you know that all of Finestra Decorative Hardware is handmade and painted here in Charlotte, NC? We take pride in our casting, prepping, and custom hand finishing on all of our products. It allows us to create the most unique custom products made especially for you!

Each and every order placed with Finestra is made to order. So, you are assured to get the custom handmade look you deserve.