The Window Design Studio

This is a lovely old farmhouse in Redding, CT and one of the most beautiful properties I have ever seen! There is a guest cottage attached to the home, and this is work we just installed: a pair of tack-top pleated drapes in the bedroom on an iron rod with French returns, plus soft-fold roman shades in 2 windows; the entry shade is my favorite - a beautiful embroidered linen, also a soft fold shade. These treatments were such a pleasure to create - the very talented designer, Jennifer Morvan, has an amazing talent and picks perfect fabrics for each project I am lucky to be a part of.

A very pretty young lady's room.....just completed the canopy to compliment the other work that was installed a while back. Very pretty fabrics and styles!

I was anxious about doing this project - the house is a very large, beautiful and quite old property here in CT- I believe built in the 1700's. There is not a straight line to be found! My good friend and the talented designer who designed this, Jennifer Morvan, has faith in my engineering skills, altho I was unsure about this one. Ceiling mounted straight valances on walls that are not straight, with 2 windows with soffets that I had to work around were the sources of my anxiety. It was another job that I held my breath until the work was installed. And I was quite pleased with the final outcome! The fabric had a heavy glaze (which you cannot see in these pics) which made it quite elegant, and then a hand sewn small silk brush fringe along the bottom of the valances which helped to define the lines. Very simple and perfect for this lovely older home.

Just finished this order for straight cornice boards. I think it has been a good 10 or 12 years since I had an order for cornices. Back in the day, it seemed like cornices were the bulk of my work! And I made all shapes and sizes, and lots with trims. I am wondering if perhaps they are making a comeback! I so enjoyed this project. These are quite simple but will be the perfect addition to a contemporary styled family room here in Guilford.

This is one of my most favorite designs for this lovely bay window in my client's kitchen. She is an amazing designer and challenges me with every design, which I love! She is into trims and manages to find beautiful and whimsical styles. I look forward to doing her work, always!

This is a newly renovated Master bath in Stamford, CT. This is a bay window with working roman shades. Since the shades were to be outside mounted, the designer and client wanted a valance to finish the look and add an extra bit of design detail. The shades are mounted to the angled ceiling so one cannot tell where the top of the window actually is. While it is a simple design, the detail - for me - was rather extreme! The small cord that defines the shape of the valance had to be hand sewn. It came as a cord with a "lip" to be inserted between the fabric and lining. However, the fabric was so sheer that the "lip" would have created a dark shadow. So, I removed the "lip" and hand sewed the cord to the finished edge of the valances. While it was time consuming, it as well worth the effort. The fabric has a very definite geometric design so it was another engineering issue to make sure all the lines of the valance matched the shades. The client is pleased and that is what REALLY matters!

This is a small sample of some of the work I completed for a very large whole-house project in Fairfield County. I did 20 rooms of window treatments in this gorgeous (new construction) home. This designer is quite talented and had her hand in every bit of the architectural design and all the interiors. It is quite an amazing place!

I love the simple style of this valance and side panel for a home in Darien, CT. The valance has a slight scallop and pleats, and the bottom edge is trimmed with a small solid gimp and helps to enhance the shape but does not add too much "fuss" - keeping it simple makes this treatment perfect for this traditional dining room.

More "London" shades in this lovely dining room. I guess you can tell we do love this style!

This bathroom in Weston, CT is almost too pretty to use! The ceiling was hand-painted by an amazing local artist, and "London" shades were installed in each window. It is quite a stunning design.

A very pretty Balloon valance with a ruffle trim at the bottom is the perfect look for this lovely master bath in Westport, CT.

Designer Linda Lupulio designed this modified "Empire" valance for a lovely kitchen in New Canaan, CT. She wanted a more casual look so the treatment is mounted on white wood poles and rings rather than a board, and there are just a couple of loose pleats in each scallop. It makes for a very pretty casual look.

I love the hand-painted wall paper insert in the entry to this N. Virginia residence. The panel is a beautiful wool and the leading edge has the scalloped edge trim used on all the panels in this lovely home. The property is a horse farm, and the house is filled with pictures, books and artifacts all having to do with horses. Even the finials on the Ralph Lauren brass rods were chosen for the horse farm theme.

This powder room was so small I had to capture this picture at a rather awkward angle, but I could not resist using this photo. This "Empire" valance has so many pretty details I just had to post!

Being a glutton for punishment, I agreed with designer Shelly Noble to kick these diamond-top panels up a notch by adding small pearl beads to each diamond point. My old boss from the workroom I apprenticed in many years ago used to say to me "Kristen - this is what separates the men from the boys"........yes, it does!

This is the LR treatment Linda Lupulio designed for the Embassy apartment on Park Avenue. These swags were mounted around 3 walls of windows! It was quite an engineering feat for Linda, myself and the installers!

The very talented Interior Designer (and good friend!) Linda Lupulio just passed these pictures on to me. She and I have always been fans of the "London" shade, and here are 2 examples of "London" shades that Linda designed and I fabricated. We always use interlining to give the fabric a nice full look (also required when it is silk or the sun will rot the fabric in a matter of a few years), and trim just adds that final custom detail.Her work is exquisite, and she always picks the perfect fabrics and trims.

This job in Litchfield, CT is one of my favorites! The fabrics worked perfectly together. These are working "London" shades, the valance is shaped and pleated and was made to follow the lines of the bay window - I love engineering treatments for bay and bowed windows. They are always a challenge, but also well worth the time and effort. And the side panels are a very unique design - what we call a "Woven top" panel. This style only works for a stationary side panel - it cannot be drawn closed - but it is so special. A lot of work goes into it, but again, no complaints when the room comes together so nicely!

A lovely breakfast nook with simple but oh-so-pretty "Kingston" valances in a beautiful home in Weston, CT.

This is one of my favorite styles of swags - a panel on one side and pleated jabot on the other. This is quite formal - the designer, Shelly Noble, and her client wanted it formal because of the fabric. (it's "twin" is on the other window - I was not able to get both of them in the same picture!). I have done this same style in a more informal way, using a pole to mount all, and shirring the ends of the swag rather than pleating it. But this one turned to be quite elegant - we were all pleased with the final look. Great job, Shelly!

This was quite a project for me and my good friend and most talented Interior designer, Linda Lupulio. We were asked to do the window treatments for the renovated apartment on Park Ave in NYC for the Ambassador from South Africa. This is the dining room. We designer the "pole swag" to be slightly above the windows, and drape slightly into the windows. When we arrived for the first series of installations, we realized that the architect had NOT told us about the sconces that were put in! So - we installed the swags quite high, added some tassels and it actually came out quite nice! Thanks for the save, Linda!! You knew this would work out......

A lovely bedroom in Westport - "Italian Stringing" panels have a series of rings sewn to the back of the panels and a cord is pulled through and caught on a cleat at the outside of the drapery to hold the draw-back in place. The dust ruffle is shirred with 3X fullness. This client has quite an eye for beautiful silks!

I love this designer's eye --her fabric choices, styles = she has such wonderful, classic taste with a touch of whimsy (especially the kitchen). And she loves trims.......hard to see in this photo, but the trims on the bay window treatment are really fun!

I used 2 rows of diamond tape on the top of these panels. Once the strings of the tape were pulled to size, I hand tacked each point of each diamond to create this truly custom header! One of my favorite looks. Enhanced by the addition of the tassel trim along the leading edges - love it!

A simple but elegant panel for a home in N. Virginia. All are installed on large brass rods, and a simple scalloped edge trim is running down the leading edges of the panels.

This was a difficult engineering feat, but well worth the effort! There is both an inside and outside valance, side panels and a trim band. The front of the canopy is suspended from the ceiling with large hooks, covered with ruched fabric. It was truly a team effort to complete this beautiful project.

"The Window Design Studio" is a custom window treatment workroom, offering high end design and workmanship to both Interior Designer's clients and our own personal clients. The business was established in 1987 by owner Kristen Ryan. And we enjoy longstanding relationships with many designers and clients. Our strength is the importance we put on really understanding each client's needs, and putting the time and effort in at the beginning of a project to ensure its success when all is finally installed. Engineering is also something that sets us apart from many of the "assembly line" workrooms out there. When there is any question regarding how a style might look, we do not hesitate to make a "mock-up" to be sure you have a true visual of the style, or create a "to scale" drawing so you can imagine how the treatment will present in your particular space. Kristen is a skilled seamstress, using many time honored tailoring techniques to assure your job is truly custom. We hope you will enjoy seeing some of the beautiful custom jobs we are posting that we have been fortunate to be a part of.

The Window Design Studio

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