Paul Kempler blogs about interior design and window coverings. He lives and works in the Reno, Lake Tahoe area.

Finishing Touches to Valance and Drapery Treatment

By Paul | 2012/01/24 09:46 Posted in Customization, drapery, Hard Window Coverings, Home Automation, industry trends, Interior Design and Decorating, motorization, Soft Treatments | Comments (0)

Sometimes, the finishing touches make all the difference. The client in this video wanted to add cove lighting to their room. When we were designing the valances we were trying to determine if the lighting should go all around their master bedroom. Because of the way they had windows on two of the four walls, It became important to integrate the window treatments with the moldings. This was not easy for the wood-worker, but he did a great job making the vision come to fruition.

To see what the room looked like before the crown was added, see a previous video clip. I think the transformation is dramatic. This is a very traditional look, but it’s perfect for this client.

So, what should you take from this posting? Be creative in the design. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make your window treatments truly unique and personalized.

Solution for Reno Home with Arched Windows

By Paul | 2011/12/23 07:31 Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

One of the most confounding windows for homeowners to deal with is a window with a shape. These can come in many different shapes. Angles, round, elliptical, elongated arches and standard arches. I have seen all types of potential solutions to these windows, from asian fans to cardboard to aluminum foil inserted into these shapes to provide some relief from the sun’s effects on the room. One of my favorite solutions to this age-old problem is the movable shutter arch.

This arch can be done in any color if painted, and most stain colors as well. They are even easy to install. I’ve been contacted by people across the USA to have these shipped to them and to this day, I have not had any complaints from anyone who has installed them. In fact, invariably they love them. The costs are very reasonable and usually not prohibitive. To see all the choices for shaped windows see the site thearchguys.com

Before and After of Reno Home with Top Treatments

By Paul | 2011/12/18 23:16 Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

One of the more common questions I receive is, “Does adding valances or top treatments really make that much of a difference? The following video, while lacking in video quality, really shows very well how much a Window Dressing can finish off a room.

Even though this home is in south Reno, Nevada, I recently spoke with another professional in England who said that design options there aren’t that different.

The thing that is really hard to convey in these videos is how well the window treatment blends the decor of the home together. The fabrics and drapery rods can really be the finishing touch. We spend a great deal of time making all the selections as close to perfect as we can. The customer is extremely happy with all the treatments we’ve done so far, and I will be posting further photos or videos in the near future.

Decorative Side Panels for a Large Window in Reno

By Paul | 2011/10/30 16:03 Posted in Customization, drapery, fabric, Hard Window Coverings, industry trends, Interior Design and Decorating, Soft Treatments | Comments (0)

Often times, people have very large windows, and they want to do a drapery look without having to do a full drapery. This video shows some important things to keep in mind when doing this treatment.

I feel that one of the most important things to keep in mind is “Scale”. When you look at this video, there are a few things to look for.

Rod Size- This rod is a full 3″ thick. At the height of almost 12 feet off the ground, it still has the desired mass without being “wimpy”.
Amount of fabric- We carefully determined the amount of fabric to make sure that it could stand up to the scale of the wall of windows. This is probably the biggest flaw in doing “ready-made” draperies. They rarely use enough fabric.
Use of accessories- If we were to use one continuous rod across the entire window, the look would be dramatically different. Knowing how to use the finials and rings to get the appropriate look is critical to the overall look.

Reno and Lake Tahoe also have different needs. The need for this client was a combination of functional and aesthetic. We worked with them to determine that need and then provided this treatment to their satisfaction. The key is understanding the difference between the “look” and the “function”.

(South Reno) Draperies over Hunter Douglas Pirouette Motorized Shades

By Paul | 2011/08/19 08:20 Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The main reason that I posted this video is to show the AMAZING contrast between adding drapery treatments to your window coverings. The Pirouette Shade by Hunter Douglas is one of the most beautiful “Hard Window Coverings” there is, but notice how the room is completely transformed by the addition of custom fabric window fashions. We did an inverted box pleat valance as well as drapery side panels over the shades and when we finished, it was as though we were in a different room. What do you think? Did the addition of the draperies change the overall feel of the room for you?

Shades or Blinds for Reno? Part 2

By Paul | 2011/08/15 09:49 Posted in Blinds, Hard Window Coverings, Interior Design and Decorating | Comments (1)

This is part two of a discussion about the function of shades and blinds, specifically in the Reno and Lake Tahoe areas. Last time, we specifically talked about INSULATION and SHADING. This time I want to talk about how to determine the right choice for you.

There are many factors to consider when buying custom window coverings. Light control, privacy, insulation, shading, sound absorption, moisture resistance, weight, ease of use and a few others. Did you notice that fashion, design, aesthetics and other similar words to describe how they “Look” were missing? This is because the function of the product is probably more important than the style for a window covering. When we talk about Top Treatments, or decorative styles of draperies the exact opposite can be true.

So, when you are trying to determine which of the many types of products best suit your needs, you have to be realistic. In the last blog, we mentioned how 2″ faux wood blinds (vinyl) shade well, but they don’t insulate well. That was just one of the issues. For example, if you like a view, had you considered that opening the louvers will cause you to lose ALL of your insulation capabilities? Did you realize that if you wanted to raise the blind to the top of the window to maximize your view, that the blind would be extremely heavy to lift, thus shortening the life-span of your cording, and that the stack of louvers at the top of the window would probably cause you to lose the top 8″-9″ of your view anyway?

Stacking Height

What if you have determined that you want to maximize your energy savings by doing the very popular cellular shades? Had you considered that in order to get the benefits that are touted in the sales brochures you’d have to keep them closed at all times? The minute you enjoy fresh air, or a nice view, you just lost their prime benefit by opening the shade. Or if you like to sleep in and want opaque shades, did you consider that you will get basically NO light in your room unless you open the shades, thus, potentially losing any privacy?

Cellular shades in various positions of open

In reality, there probably is no perfect window covering. All of them have pros and cons. When you are making a buying decision, obviously it is in your best interest to know all of the facts, so that you can make a choice that will give you “the function you require, in a style you desire.” This is why there are so many “cross-over” window coverings.
These are products that combine the benefits of both blinds and shadings in one unit. There will be a follow-up to this blog on that topic.

If you would like any questions answered in regard to your personal window covering choices, please leave a question or comment so that I may address it.

Shades or Blinds for Reno?

By Paul | 2011/08/10 08:38 Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

People buy different products at different times of year. People buy products that shade well in the summer, and they buy products that insulate well in the winter. In order to help make the best buying decision, I will try to explain how window coverings, namely blinds and shadings really work.

Insulation vs. Shading

Window coverings do not all perform all the same function. If we are talking about heat transfer, they do different things and the most simple way to explain it is using the words INSULATION and SHADING.

Insulation- Simply put, insulation means creating a barrier between two different air masses. If you have an insulating layer in your window, you can stop the warm or the cold air from transferring from one side of the window to the other. So, to explain, imagine a hot summer Reno day. If the temperature outside is 100 degrees, you will need an actual barrier on that window to prevent an equalization of temperatures. You have a R-rating ( a measure of insulation ) in your walls of at least R-19 and yet most of the window coverings have an average R-value of R-2 or so. Clearly, if you are trying to keep your expensive cool air inside your house, you need a better barrier. The same is true when trying to keep your also expensive heat in the house during our cold Reno or Tahoe winters. Some window shadings have R-values over R-7, which is just about as effective as you can be in stopping the exchange of air temperatures.

Shading- The other main way to stop heat gain is via shading. This is a concept that is easy to illustrate. When you are out in the sun, and you want to cool down, don’t you find shade? This is because the thing blocking the sun is keeping the actual energy from the sun from hitting on you and radiating the suns energy off of you. In your house it is the same thing. If you can stop the sun’s rays at your window, you keep the sun’s energy from entering your home and heating up all the things inside your house. So, your furniture, your carpet and anything else that the sun normally hits will not heat up and therefore will not provide heat gain. For the most part, anything that is not sheer will shade at roughly the same rate, though the more opaque (blackout) that a product is, the better it will shade.

Herein lies the rub. A blind or a shade will probably not suit all your needs. The single most popular product in Reno or Tahoe right now is a 2″ faux wood blind. This product does shade very well, but it has serious flaws in its insulative qualities. The following blog post will discuss how to select what is best for you.

Narrowing Down Your Choices

By Paul | 2011/06/20 14:13 Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

So many choices...

The other day I was shopping for health insurance. I talked to a couple of different agents and had a bit of an epiphany. There really are a lot of choices in coverages. Honestly, I was overwhelmed. How does one decide which policy to select? What I really wanted was for the agent to say, “This is the one for you”, and then explain why. It really was very much like how my clients must feel when faced with the daunting task of selecting the right window treatments. If you look at the accompanying photograph, you will see just a few of the MANY styles of shadings offered by just one company, Hunter Douglas. What makes one better than another for you? Therein lies the issue. Just like with purchasing insurance, the answer is incredibly individualized.

I am often asked, “What is the best window covering for…”. There is no easy answer to that question. The answer will often lie buried in the recesses of your mind and emotions. Sometimes the best solution will be one that goes against some emotional barrier that you have. For example, sometimes I hear the expression, “That reminds me of my grandmother’s house”, or “I used to have something like that when…(insert a tragedy here”). Unless your designer really takes the time to know you and find out what you really need, these issues can be unresolved. I know it sounds like a good designer is like a therapist, but… ok, no “but”; a good designer IS like a therapist!!

It makes me laugh when I hear about my competitors showing up at someone’s door with a handful of samples in their hand, when they haven’t even determined what the needs of the client are yet. I can always tell when someone has had one of these sales calls, because invariably they ask, “where are your samples?” when I’m standing at their door. I usually reply that I can’t bring in samples until I know which direction we might be heading.

Anyway, the point is that a good designer will determine what your needs are and make suggestions that will make the selection process much easier for you. If you are the type that can navigate about a hundred different health insurance choices without assistance, then you are probably the type that can figure out which window coverings choices are best for you. If you are the more typical type that likes some assistance, then choose a good designer who finds out what you need and has the technical abilities to join together your desires with the products that best fit that need.

New Accessories for Hunter Douglas Motorized Products

By Paul | 2011/06/09 15:25 Posted in Blinds, Hard Window Coverings, Home Automation, industry trends, motorization | Comments (0)

Motorization Accessories Ease Your Life

Motorization has come a long way over the last few years. One of the leaders of the movement has been Hunter Douglas. Recently, they upgraded their battery powered motor system to make it more powerful, more quiet and more diverse. One thing that sometimes made them lag behind the hard-wired systems was their lack of accessories. Starting in May of 2011, Hunter Douglas released three new accessories. These Platinum Motorization Accessories will provide you with:

Convenience
Reliability
Security
Energy Savings.

Below, see a listing of these new products and their suggested use.

Platinum Solar Energy Sensor: This Solar Energy Sensor detects the amount of solar energy coming through the window and sends out a wireless signal that automatically raises or lowers your window coverings. It has a winter and summer mode so you can take advantage of the sun’s heat when you want to.

RF Adapter: This unit adapts any household outlet to control your window coverings. You use it in conjunction with a switched outlet or lamp timer as a cost effective solution for automatic use of your window treatments. As an example, if you have it attached to a switched outlet, then when you hit the normal wall switch, the RF Adapter will sense the change in power and send a signal to your window covering and raise or lower it, depending on how you set the control.

LCD Timer: This can be used to set your window coverings to raise or lower or tilt at any time throughout the day. The timer helps ensure privacy, protect your home furnishings and fool any would-be home invaders if you are away.

All three of these accessories can operate a group of shades and not just individual openings.

For other blog posts dealing with motorization, please see this link. http://blog.kemplerdesign.com/?p=92

The Platinum Technology accessories are recommended for use with select Hunter Douglas PowerRise® 2.0 and PowerGlide® 2.0 with Platinum Technology wireless control system products.

Have Fun with Color

By Paul | 2011/06/03 12:29 Posted in Hard Window Coverings, industry trends, Interior Design and Decorating | Comments (0)

So many people freak out when I suggest using dynamic colors in their homes. View this video which will show the amazing results that come from experimenting with color.

Kempler Design Blog