Not just Designs & Decorating Blog

The recent winter storm blanketed parts of the country with white snow including some parts of California, Nevada, and Texas. I live a few miles from the San Francisco International Airport and this part of the Bay Area is really cold. Santa Cruz mountains and Oakland hills were unbelievably capped with snowflakes.. It's Winter Wonderland in California!? This was an inspiration in decorating our Christmas tree this year. My daughter and I agreed on this theme and she had her first hand in decorating a Christmas tree from buying the fresh tree to putting the last ornament. Inspiring her to hone her decorating skills, she was designated the one in charge of decorating the house, the Christmas tree, and buying gifts for everyone, in preparation for Christmas. I advised her that her taste will improve through the years and that she should develop an "eye" for fine art. I encouraged her to read books and magazines related to interior design i.e. Architectural Digest, ...

If you haven't done anything yet, start bringing out those different ornaments, glittery balls, ribbons, and decide whether you want to use your artificial tree or opt for a fresh one this year. If your budget is tight, using your old decorations and your o ld artificial tree will do. On the other hand, if you are willing to get new ones and you're able to do so, go ahead. Christmas comes only once a year and the time spent together with your family and friends, in the sanctity of your home, at this time of the year, will be memories you are passing down to your children and grandchildren. After you've decorated your tree, the outside and inside of your home, start planning your Christmas dinner menu. You may want to design/decorate your Christmas dinner table days ahead. Bring out your precious china, your silverware, crystal glasses, and crisp table linen and runners that you plan to use. This is the time you can use your grandmother's or your mother'...

It was only recently when I received an email from Window Coverings Association of America advising me that its' Executive Director, Mark Nortman, was going for his interim leave of absence. I do not know Mark Nortman personally, but I have talked to him before, over the phone, when I first joined the WCCA. He was very gracious and he explained to me the mission and goals of WCCA and how it can help my business. Window Coverings Association of America is the only non-profit trade organization founded in 1987 serving the window coverings industry on a national level. The WCAA helps its members through educational and sales/marketing programs, and providing great opportunities in networking among members and experts in the window coverings industry. Today I received another advise from WCAA that they are moving their office to Gold River in California. It is now headed by the new Executive Director, Jenna Abbott. Jenna is currently the owner of Sew Elegant, a design firm base...

Without any window covering or treatment enhancing the role it plays in transforming the aesthetics of a room into one that soothes our appeal and personal comfort, a window is just a "hole in the wall". Nowadays, one can get lost and confused in choosing the right window coverings for their windows. The window coverings industry has evolved from the time when a simple curtain that hangs on a metal wire was functional, to a five-layered drapery treatments complete with cornices, lambrequins, sheers, shades, blinds, top treatments, jabots and cascades, etc. There's also the choice of using hard or soft window treatments or incorporating both in order to achieve a certain architectural charm and character. Some may even go for the minimalist look or the modern-day metal , wood, or faux wood blinds with decorative tapes, window shades with beautiful patterns, fabrics, and textures, vinyl or wood shutters with vanes that go up to 4 1/2" to give a bette...

After my stint as a Decorator Consultant at the Custom Decorating Department of Montgomery Ward in Daly City, California in 1989, when the management decided to phase out our department, it didn't take long for me to decide that this was the career I wanted to embark in for the rest of my life.    My previous job was a good training ground for running a business. My duties and responsibilities as the Executive Secretary/Administrative Assistant of Borden International, Inc. , a multinational, regional office in the Far East, which handled the distribution of the dairy milk products in Singapore, Malaysia, Hongkong, Bangladesh, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Thailand, was practically running the business when my boss, the Regional Manager, was out of the country.       I love arts and interior decorating/design, so I enrolled myself in a correspondence course in interior design, after which Window Coverings By Chris w...