From the Floors Up

What's New with Sally Fretwell of Sally Fretwell Paints

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Sally Fretwell has been in the custom paint business for 15 years supplying non-VOC paints and a trusted name brand with quality at heart. Sally owns an international consultancy service and teaches interior design and architectural psychology throughout the United States. Sally has a degree in Psychology and an extensive background in Chinese philosophy. She has wide experience helping businesses, healthcare institutions, and individual clients establish supportive and attractive environments in their homes, offices and retail establishments.

Sally recently participated in a project for the National Green Living Show Home Tour through Sally Fretwell Paint Colors affiliation with MyGreenCottage (www.mygreencottage.com), a Reston, Virginia company.  She worked with the homeowner, Anjoli Hansen, on picking out and creating all the paint colors for this “green remodel”.  It was a fun project for her and one that she is very proud of.  The project was filmed for HGTV’s My Big Amazing Renovation series and the air dates and description are listed here:

Last week, she did another color consulting project and will provide the paint for a second National Green Living Show Home in Arlington, Virginia which we hope will also be featured on HGTV’s My Big Amazing Renovation Show.

It is not certain if she is going to get any of air time on the upcoming show, but will have the satisfaction of seeing her colors that are on the wall.  She worked with Ed Begley, Jr., the environment activist, actor and star of Planet Green’s, Living with Ed.  Ed is the is the spokesman for MyGreenCottage.  Earlier this year, she consulted with Ed and his wife, Rachelle Carson and created colors as well as provided paint for a remodel that they did to their home in Southern California.

For more information on Sally Fretwell Paints, click here.

Window Coverings Design Scenario: What to Do!?!

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In this situation, a homeowner needed some guidance about which type of window covering would be best for his contemporary downtown loft.

Here’s how it went down. The customer called and asked for a price on Silhouette window coverings for his home. He also asked for samples of other vertical products or products that would be good choices for large windows also keeping in mind that he would like some shading from the sun without completely blocking his city view.

Having  already seen the space, Skyline gliding window panels from Hunter Douglas were an immediate consideration. Skyline has plenty of designer fabrics to choose from (187 color/material combinations), has the option of 11″ or 17″ veins and can cover the wide span of windows he has across the front of his home. Skyline also offers heights up to 168″ for his tall ceilings. (note: widths can go up to 384″)

After seeing the Skyline product, he fell in love. Skyline gave him a more contemporary feel for his loft than the Silhouette and the fabric and color choices left plenty of options for the accent wall he wanted to coordinate with.

Next came the details. He wondered whether the hardware could match the dark fabric he liked. The answer: YES! He wondered if the shadings offered any UV light protection for his fine furniture and artwork. The answer: YES! He then asked about the warranty only to be pleased to learn that like all Hunter Douglas window coverings, they are backed by Hunter Douglas’ exclusive lifetime guarantee. The best part – when he learned that he could operate the whole wall of windows with one single remote control. A bachelor’s dream!

Once again, Hunter Douglas was able to meet the needs of a client with multiple issues. Stay tuned for photos of the product installation!

Consideration for Window Coverings

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When considering the purchase of window coverings, there are several things to keep in mind. Hunter Douglas provides everything you need to make your windows a beautiful expression of the way you live.

Considerations:

  • Light Source – different products are designed depending on which direction your windows face
  • Privacy – Do you need privacy from people such as neighbors or from objects outside that are not something you want to constantly view?
  • Style – Traditional, contemporary, relaxed, formal, country warmth or urban sophistication. No matter what your style, Hunter Douglas has a product for you
  • Color – Hunter Douglas stays on top of all of the latest color trends to offer you all of the color choices you could want
  • Shapes – Have a difficult shape? From arches to angles, circular to Palladian, there is a Hunter Douglas product to fit your shape
  • Special needs – need special assistance operating your window coverings? Hunter Douglas offers a variety of lifting options such as remote controls
  • Energy efficiency – Hunter Douglas window coverings are impressively energy efficient
  • UV Protection – Built in ultraviolet protection gives you the power to reduce harmful rays that can fade carpet and furniture
  • Safety – Kids, pets or loose cords can spell trouble. Hunter Douglas offers operating systems and special features that are designed to keep your home safe

For more information and picture of specific products, visit the Hunter Douglas website. There’s a variety of tools and a wealth of knowledge to be discovered!

Did You Know That Window Coverings Can Be Green?

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And no…..we don’t mean the color green although you can get many Hunter Douglas window covering products in shades of green!

Hunter Douglas is the worldwide leader in creating innovative, energy-efficient window fashions that save valuable energy resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Significant energy efficiency improvements at the window began for Hunter Douglas with the invention of the Duette Honeycomb shades back in 1985. Air contained within the honeycomb cells proved to be an effective insulator, keeping heat inside in the winter and keeping it out in the summer. The huge success of the Duette brand has spawned other energy saving innovations including Silhouette window shadings, Vignette Modern Roman Shades, Luminette Privacy Sheers and Pirouette window shadings.

A new creation called Duette Architella honeycomb shades takes energy conservation to a whole new level. The patented honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb design forms 3 air pockets to dramatically reduce heat flow at the window. If installed in every window of every American home, these shades have the potential to cut our annual energy consumption by 2 1/2%! That may not sound like much, but it’s the equivalent of a 33% increase in fuel mileage for all passenger cars on US Roads – which would save about 450 million barrels of oil annually and reduce CO2 emissions by almost 200 million tons.

Hunter Douglas also has a corporate commitment to minimizing their own impact on the environment through an aggressive plan to reduce energy consumption by 15%, water usage by 40% and overall carbon emissions by 20% over a three year period.

Other green efforts from Hunter Douglas include financial support of the Arbor Day Foundation in its efforts to replant trees lost in US fires and to preserve dwindling rain forest lands. Their investment is expected to result in 15,000 new trees and help save over a million square feet of rainforest.

From products to processes to philanthropy, environmental responsibility is a core Hunter Douglas value. For the future of our children and our children’s children, they are indeed “Hunter Green”!

Call your local retailer today to find out how you can have Hunter Douglas “green” products in your home!

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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