An explanation of ‘custom’ decorating

Kelly R., from San Martin, had a great question for this week’s column. She asks, “What do you mean by ‘custom’ decorating?”
Custom decorating is all about you!  Custom furnishings help express your decorating personality. Wood furniture is available in an amazing variety of paints, stains and finishes ranging from a smooth white finish to a hand-applied highly textured and pigmented one.
In addition to selecting the fabric for your upholstered chairs and sofa, you can choose the arm style, leg style, and degree of cushion firmness. Custom draperies are designed to coordinate with the style and colors of the room and fabricated to fit the size of the windows. For a couple, custom will blend their tastes and bring the wishes and styles of each into a room they both can enjoy.
“Each sofa and love seat you order is upholstered in your personal choice of fabric, the finish of every table and chair has been specified by you, and your draperies are designed to coordinate with the style and colors of the room and fabricated to fit the size of the windows,” writes Carol Bugg, ASID, vice president of design for Decorating Den Interiors, in her book “Decorating … the professional touch.”
“Furnishings play a vital role in setting the mood and atmosphere for everyday living … a woman’s home is an extension of herself,” said Bob Mackie, the designer of glamorous gowns for the likes of Cher and Tina Turner. Mackie has turned his talents to the home.
Custom does not mean starting from scratch. It may mean working around your existing furnishings, supplying you with what you want to add that perfect touch that makes the room yours.
Window fashions are often a focal point of a room and it’s easy to see the benefits of custom-made drapery. They will have extra fullness because the fabric is usually two and one-half to three times the width of the window.
If it’s pleated drapery, the pleats are closer together at the top, allowing for the extra fullness to fall gracefully in elegant folds. The pleats of ready-made drapery, on the other hand, are further apart, and since less material is used, the drapery can actually appear rather skimpy.
A custom window treatment will use corner weights to allow the fabric to hang straight and prevent flaring at the hem. Special linings can also be used to avoid sun fading and add additional body to the treatment. Linings contribute to the energy-efficiency of the treatment, providing an insulating layer between the fabric and the window. The lining should be chosen with the type of fiber used in a decorative fabric in mind. There are even blackout linings available to darken the room for daytime or late morning sleepers.
The extra touches you get from a custom treatment are endless.
Detailing, such as banding, cording, trims and coordinating colors and fabrics, makes custom treatments truly individual and reflective of your style and taste. Designing the perfect window treatment for your home says a lot about you and your lifestyle. Perhaps nothing adds more drama and pizzazz to your home’s overall design plan than custom designed window treatments.  
Custom bedding is another example. In addition to coordinating with what you already have, or what you are changing in the room’s décor, it will fit your bed the way you want it to fit. No more bedskirts that are too short or that don’t coordinate with your comforter. You won’t have to settle for only what you can find online or in a catalog.
Let’s not forget color, the canvas of your room.
“Color is like beauty,” writes Bugg. “It’s all in the eye of the beholder. There are no bad colors, just bad decisions about using them.”
A designer can help with those choices.
In the end, custom should be affordable, says Bugg. “The goal is to provide beauty, comfort and good design within a realistic budget.”
So, Kelly, custom decorating is all about you.
Pamela Ryalls-Boyd is an interior decorator who lives in Morgan Hill. She is a Decorating Den Interiors business owner and enjoys working together with Janet Cunningham. Reach Pamela at (408) 776-1412,

de******@gm***.com











or visit www.decdens.com/decdenmh.