Friday 18 March 2011

Sharing our experience with interior design students

Yesterday we were delighted to be interviewed by the National Design Academy for their "Interior Design News" blog.

This was the result of a kind invitation by the NDA to share our business exerience with their current students.  Please follow the link above to see the full interview. 

(Grasshoppers Interiors are proud to be past students of the NDA's Diploma in Professional Curtain Making and Soft Furnishings).


Our interview can also be found on "The Design Hub" blog.



Friday 11 February 2011

Easy decisions with our 'illustrated design' service

When choosing new soft furnishings most of our clients know what they want in terms of colour, style and mood. BUT many have difficulty visualising the different options available and therefore struggle when it comes to making a decision.

Our free 'illustrated design' service has proved very useful and has enabled our clients to 'see' what their room will look like after their curtains or blinds have gone up.

We use a  computerised illustration tool to literally design ontop of a photo of the clients room. The results are amazingly realistic and clearly provide a representation of the finished result. For example it enables our clients to better consider different styles of curtains; whether to have curtains or blinds - or both; whether to choose patteren or plain; whether to have a dark or pale fabric etc.

So, we thought we would show a real life example from one of our recent commissions. Our clients had a lovely dining hall with a large window to dress. They had seen a window treatment that they liked in a show house but wasn't sure if it would work in her own home. The show home design consisted of plain taupe coloured satin curtains with a contrasting dark floral pelmet.

Here is our client's room :




We were able to show three different design options:









  • plain taupe coloured curtains on a pole












  • plain taupe curtains with the contrasting floral pelmet in the exact fabric they had seen.
  • plain taupe curtains with the floral fabric used as a contrasting integrated valance - which gives the same effect as the pelmet when closed, but is more contemporay when open.






These realistic illustrations on a photograph of their own room  helped our clients to consider the options and to be confident in the decision they would make .......

Here is the finished room:



We think they made a great choice!

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Timeless classical elegance - from Scutt & Coles

 
We have just received the latest fabric collection from Scutt and Coles and wanted to share these beautiful images with you.

The classic damask that you can see used in the curtains, left and below, is a design that is timeless and adds a sense of elegance to any setting.  











 


The collection also includes colour coordinating stripes and floral prints that enable you to easily achieve a designer look with matching accessories.