Two Interior Design Problems and My Solutions! Parts 1 & 2

Hi Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving Eve. Guess what? My son Cale came down with a bad cold, and so we decided I should stay put. Yes, I’m bummed, but it’s for the best as I very much needed some additional rest this week. I’m feeling much better now. And, Cale is coming next month– definitely.

Okay, today is part 2 of the two interior design problems that I began last Sunday.  Can you guess what it is? It’s been the thorn of all thorns in my paw.

I’m happy to say that I’ve finally worked both of them out.

So, if you’ve read part 1, please click the link below to read part 2. If you’re just landing here, please read from the top of the page.

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Hi Everyone,

Today is a relatively short post.

I have two interior design problems.

 

Only two, Laurel?

 

Well, at the moment, two that are pressing on me.

The first one, you already know about. It’s the entry wall covering.

I have a lot of ideas, but let’s put that one on the shelf for now.

 

The second one is the Roman shades for the living room and den.

 

 

Some of you may recall that I got the beautiful shades last summer, and they don’t work because the cord is at least six feet too short when the shade is all the way down. The cord does not need to come to the bottom of the shade when the shade is down, but it should be easy to reach for someone who’s five feet tall.

 

In addition, I decided to have the shade made shy of the bottom of the window by 22 inches.

 

That was my mistake because when the sun is low in the sky, it does come pouring in for an hour or two in the late afternoon. In the summer, it isn’t an issue because the sun sets in front of my house, and I’m in the back. (with the dumpsters and rats).

Other than that, I love the shades.

I explained to Dianne, and she immediately insisted that she should do them over.

It took me a few weeks to sort out the lining, but she received everything last September.

 

Dianne contacted me a few weeks after to tell me she had been ill and it was taking longer than expected.

 

No problem, I told her.

I received the shades about ten days ago.

Immediately, I opened the box and took out one of the shades.

To my horror, I instantly saw that the trim was wrong this time.

 

 

Below is the diagram I sent her, and on the left, you can see what she sent me for comparison.

 

 

Above is the current den shade. The living room shades are different. That doesn’t bother me so much because both look good. But this new version, the pieces on the ends are way off.

 

See the piece that measures 6-3/8″? If you scroll back up, you’ll see that it’s supposed to be 3.5″. I would’ve been fine if it were 4″, but it is almost 3 inches longer than specified.

 

Below is a graphic of what I received.

 

I wrote Dianne, and she got right back to me and said that she’s sorry I’m not happy. She said I didn’t send her the width of the trim.

No, of course not, because we already know that it’s 5/8″. I sent her the dimensions of everything in between the trim. Of course, for the longer pieces, I’m fine with a slight variation.

This is why I sent her precise dimensions.

 

I also asked if it was possible for me to take part of the trim off, or if it is glued?

It’s glued, and she doesn’t advise it. She also reminded me that she’s now retired.

Yes, I knew that. I wasn’t asking her to do anything.

 

However, instead of 3 dowels, she only sent 2.

 

She swore she packed 3, so I sent her a photo of the two dowels that are necessary to weigh down the bottom of each shade.

I sent her this image and asked if she was still in business.

No response.

 

I decided to sleep on it. Maybe I was just tired and would feel differently about the change in design in the morning.

 

 

Well, lo and behold, I did feel differently.

I hated them even more, but thought I should give it a few more days.

 

A few days later, I decided to see if I could take some of the trim off.

 

Yes, I can, and yes, there’s glue, but I can get it off.

It is slow, tedious work, but I notice these shades every day, and if they look like this, it’s going to bug the crap out of me.

So, I did another graphic to see if I could make the trim better.

 

 

Oh, my! That’s so much better.

 

Below, you can see on the left side the pieces that would need to be changed.

 

 

Below is another option, which is only to do the ends, but then I can’t fix the horizontal pieces, which weren’t spaced properly.

 

 

It’s subtle and I could live with it, but I prefer this one below.

 

Below, in a side-by-side comparison, you can see what I specified on top, and on the bottom what I got. The one in the middle is the fix that I like a lot.

 

 

This would be a lot of work, but I think it’s something I can handle. The trim is glued and sewn on. The tough part is undoing the tiny stitches without ripping the fabric.

 

In the meantime, I reached out to Dianne a couple of days later and said that I was worried about her.

 

Still no response.  I hope she’s okay!

 

Of course, the trim on my Roman shades should be my worst problem. And I bet some of you won’t have any idea what I’m talking about.

But, if you were a client and complained, I’d have to concede that it needed to be taken care of.

Ugh. This is a painful reminder of why I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with stuff like this. Over the years, there were dozens of problems like this one.

 

Okay, for those with experience putting on trim without sewing. What do you use?

 

Some of you, I know, don’t like Stitch Witchery. There are other products.

Also, I don’t mind having to put in a few hand stitches. But maybe it won’t be necessary?

Thank you, I really appreciate any help you can provide.

 

Okay, now for the serious business. The entire world is already immersed in the real Black Friday sales. 

 

Please do check out the all-new Holiday Shop!

I have given it a HUGE over-haul.

 

There are many links to dozens of decorations of all kinds, and the gift guides are updated, too. I’m still adding more things nearly every day.

And also, there are some killer sales on the HOT SALES page. 

 

xo,

*********************************************************

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Before I get into today’s part 2, which concerns the unfinished entry to my home, a few words about the window treatments.

Thank you for the many kind comments. However, a few read into the post and offered advice I wasn’t seeking.

My only point was to find out what product would be best to reapply the trim.

I am not trying to conjecture why the mistakes happened, as the diagram was sent again.  Also, to be clear, I am not asking Dianne to do anything, and I did express my gratitude for her taking this on, which was entirely her idea.

I also offered to pay her, but she refused. Yes, she was being more than fair. However, I do wish she had followed my diagram. I can be grateful and disappointed at the same time; just like I can be happy and sad at the same time.

 

The good news!

 

The areas to be fixed are only a few inches. The most challenging part is removing the delicate stitches without wrecking the fabric, but so far, so good. Plus, I just received a kit with a proper seam ripper. I was using tiny, sharp scissors, but this is better.

 

Anyway. I’ve figured out the solution, and here is what I think is the best combo of what looks best + will be the easiest on me.

 

The pieces in green are what needs to be taken off and adjusted. I also purchased some new grosgrain ribbon– just in case.

Below is what the finished shade will look like.

 

 

If only it were as easy as fixing it in Picmonkey. haha.

 

Okay, part 2 is the entry wall covering.

 

For important background information, please check out this recent post.

While I love the tapestry, I decided that making what I have work is too fraught with challenges.

 

 

Therefore, I went back to the drawing board.

I searched and searched for a paper with a beautiful verdure tapestry pattern.

In the name of time, I won’t bore you with minutiae. Let’s just say I couldn’t find anything that worked in terms of a verdure tapestry. The closest was Watts 1874, but ever since this brief encounter with a rep, I’d rather not work with them. Besides, their prices are going up in January, and I already found their prices to be quite high.

 

Sooo, I went back and re-visited all of the previous choices that had been rejected.

 

It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s that I liked the idea of the tapestry print better.

 

In the end, there was one that clearly stood out. And to give you a clue, it was the last one I shared before it changed to the tapestry. So, for the adventurous, please feel free to do a search for entry mural in the search box.

 

OR, for the busy, can’t be bothered, or anything else, please select which one of the murals below I selected.

 

 

The numbers are below each image.

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

No, not this one. I wish! This is an antique Dufour wallpaper that was painstakingly installed and refurbished.

 

Which one, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, do you think I chose?

 

A special shout-out to the Mural Source! This is a wonderful company that I highly recommend.

xo,

 

***Please check out the recently updated HOT SALES with some of my favorite Black Friday Sales! 

 

***AND, the all-new 2025 HOLIDAY SHOP with new things added since Sunday!

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Thank you so much!

I very much appreciate your help and support!