Susan's Designs » Drapery & Home Decorating

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    Welcome to my showcase of design ideas and inspiration for custom home décor, flattering window treatments and other soft furnishings. I have been blessed by being invited into many beautiful homes and meeting the nicest people. I am among the fortunate few who truly enjoy a fulfilling and rewarding profession. Thank you for looking at my work.

Posted in cornices

Padded cornice boards are a excellent window treatment for large door walls. The style is tailored, minimal, yet elegant and stylish. Cornices compliment the functional window treatment, such as the vertical blinds on this window, without overpowering them.  This cornice also serves to hide the track mechanism that the vertical blinds are hung from. The fabric used on this cornice board is a traditional almost vintage floral pattern, yet the cornice styling brings a modern edge creating a perfect harmony. This cornice is accented by bands of fabric in a neutral solid color perfectly positioned on the floral pattern and accented with a patterned button.

by Susan Dorbeck

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Posted in accessories,roman shades,upholstery

This box out window creates  a perfect sweet seat. How to finish off the window could be a dilemma, the perfect solution a roman shade. The shade offers privacy, light control and once raised allows you to sit in the seat without touching the window treatment. A comfy cushion covered in a gold and red striped fabric draws your eye to the seat and out to the beautiful view from the window. As not to compete with the view a simple solid fabric, in the warm tones of the wall color, is used on the roman shade. The tailored folds of the shade soften the top of the window without being busy to the eye. By accenting with pillows in coordinating tones a comfy nook is created.

by Susan Dorbeck

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Posted in valances

It is the simple, subtle curved bottom that makes this inverted box pleated valance unique. The style is very tailored yet the curve gives the valance a slight feminine touch, helping to soften the hard edges of the 2″ wood blinds. The use of one monochromatic patterned fabric helps to keep the style uncomplicated and adds to the simplicity. The top and bottom scalloped edge are trimmed in a coordinating colored cording adding a perfect finishing touch. The valance is mounted to a board with hook and loop tape, to allow for easy removal of the window treatment for cleaning purposes.

by Susan Dorbeck

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Posted in roman shades

Roman shades are a fabric shade offering a decorative yet elegant appearance compared to other shades.  There are basically two different types of roman shades, a flat or hobbled roman shade. The flat roman shade allows the fabric panel to lie flat against the window when extended yet offers a neat evenly folded stack when raised. The hobbled roman shade has a series of overlapping folds when extended, creating a cascade look. Both types of roman shades are opened with a cord mechanism that uses a series of rings, sewn into the back of the window treatment. Both types, the flat and hobbled roman shade, offer excellent light control for sunny windows. However, the flat roman shade is a perfect choice when using a large patterned fabric.

by Susan Dorbeck

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  • Angela YankaskyJanuary 27, 2016 - 1:49 pm

    I am interested in 3 different romans blinds exactly like the one on this website/ the red with the heart like print.

  • Susan DorbeckMarch 23, 2016 - 10:50 pm

    Thank you for visiting my website and contacting me. This is a lovely roman shade and almost looks like art up on the wall when it is closed, but unfortunately this fabric has been discontinued. The manufacturers do not keep a fabric pattern very long anymore – they seem to make one or two runs of it and move on.

    All of my work is custom made to meet the needs of each of my clients. If you are interested in have some roman shades or other window treatments made send along your measurements along with a picture of your window(s) and I can give you the yardage that is needed and the cost for creating it. Of course if you live in South East Michigan I would be delighted to come out for a consultation.

    Sincerely,
    Susan

Posted in cornices,drapery panels

A cornice (from the Italian cornice meaning ledge) is any horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or a building’s feature. The window pictured above is  crowned with a beautiful padded cornice. The decorative black, white and gray color palette of the fabric makes the window fashion stunning.  Lightly curved along the bottom edge, the cornice is corded in black piping accentuating the shape.

Custom drapery panels are made from the same cornice fabric and hung strategically at the ends of the window and the window separations.  The panels are accented with a creative topper made with the black cording fabric color, tied back with a decorative black tassel and elegantly stated.  We chose not to use decorative rods and hardware eliminating finials and keeping the top of the treatment from looking too busy.

By using the same fabric on the padded cornice boards as well as on the drapery panels the two separate window treatments can be successfully used in the same room. This room now has window treatments that are a well designed fashion that do more than simply cover the windows.  They add balance, symmetry and style.

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by Susan Dorbeck

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