White blinds .

What type of white blind? Mini blind or shutters? Wide or narrow slats?

Thank you, Visualizemaven! I am having a lot of trouble getting back to you..tried three times now to post. I would love your help! When I post a photo, poof! The whole comment disappears! I can be found at meberry@bmts.com if thiis doesn't work.

Anyway, the whole house interior is painted Sherwin Williams Worldly Gray and trim is S/W Alabaster. The front room could be a den or a bedroom. I have new drapes sent to me as a gift called Meadow Blue from Pier 1 Imports. The background is more an aqua blue with a rich floral of reds, etc. I would like to use them as side panels. The windows are all tall transom ones. The living area is an open plan great room. White kitchen, black hardware, black wrought iron door handles on all interior doors. We live in London, ON Canada.The window interior image shows a car in the drive...it is there as the garage floor is not poured yet. No one will be parking outside this room once the driveway is fixed. Below is the paint colour...trim and floor still unfinished. Thanks again for your imput!

your welcome EmBee - your persistence worked!

The curtains are suggesting a woven shade or roman shades or honey comb. Do you have a preference? I think any of them will be very compatible with the exterior style of your home.

My personal preference would be a natural stick roll up. But let me know if you need me to send you suggestions OR better yet, if you can, send me blinds you like and I'll give you my opinion!

Best.

Visualizemaven, you are so right! I looked at plantation shutters today...but they're not right. The slats are many and run horizontal, while the window has thick vertical supports holding the glass. Too busy looking. I love the idea of bamboo tortoise-shell roll-ups or woven woods. I would leave them half down and the side drapes with the pattern would look good with them. I think the bamboo would look good on the garage windows too, do you agree? Thank you in advance you for advice...it is very much appreciated.

Sorry for the typos. Arrggh. Lol

YES<YES<YES! Glad you agree - I think the same bamboo/woven/etc. on all the front windows will look awesome.

My personal preference is blinds which go from the bottom up- so you can have privacy while still getting light into the room.

your welcome, my pleasure!

I'm a big fan of woven wood flat Roman shades, so there is my vote.

Thank you, Oasis D&R and Visualizemaven... I prefer the blinds to hang from the top of the window due to the transom design as I see that people often attach their window coverings below the transom and I think this looks odd. I think the woven woods will suit the wood entry door and garage doors and make for a good classic look. Now to look at blinds...stay tuned. :)

Your welcome Em Bee - I'm just thinking that the color of your blinds should not be too honey or yellow as I think they will stand out too much on the exterior - meaning you don't want your eye to go to the window coverings as the first thing you see when you look at your home from the curb.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/casablanca-sien-tropical-family-room-miami-phvw-vp~87581 

All windows should look the same from the outside that is why most custom drapes are lined. But today the styles are different so that is why I have Hunter Douglas Silhouettes on all my front windows. The inside fabrics are different but the linings are white so that is what you see when you look at house from the outside. But you have beautiful dark trim on your outside so I would make sure you have something that coordinates with that trim. Beautiful house BTW

Thank you JCK910! You are correct!

Visualizemaven: I love the link you sent me! Perfect! I want to be able to see through the blinds but to also let in light...and the lined curtain panels can close in the evening for privacy. I will look for roman woven shades such as those in the picture. Not too orangey or yellow; got it. :)

it would be a shame to lose the East light ....I would like to suggest if you use the shade part way down look, that you hang shade and panels at ceiling height. this would maintain the look you want, make the room feel larger, and maximize the light in the room....[we're talking Canada here -- not mexico, the land of year-round sunshine:) ]

While I have all this attention...what sort of table would look good in this narrow front hall? The foyer inside sets the tone for the rest of the inside and I think I need a place to set mail on, a lamp, some sort of floral arrangement and a mirror. I have a cherry finish mirror, very old, with real gold leaf on the hand carved ornate top. It came from an estate in Connecticut. It is 38" high by 28" wide. I wince when I tell you I replaced the mirror part as the silvering was bad and might offer bad Feng shui... :/

Good idea, Katinthehat! The ceilings are 9 feet high.BUT, with the shade being translucent, won't the dreaded upper wall space between the window trim and ceiling show through as a solid? Will this look weird?

sure - did you send pictures of this area?

Yes...this one. The trim is on the baseboards now...they are wider than standard. The flooring goes in this week. I chose a heavy duty Mannington vinyl floor for this foyer, and adjacent laundry room behind the door that is propped up so no grout issues, or slippery-ness.

The mirror...

The thing that strikes me is that, with side entry garages, you will need a wide area of pavement off to the left (south) of the house to allow you to either pull out left and back into the garage, or back out of the garage and then turn right to exit the driveway. Be sure you try it with any family vehicles before the driveway is finished being planned. Then plan some plantings to put in that area, too.

yes, the reflection in the mirror would be of the facing corner if it was centred on the wall by the closet. I think you will need 'swing room' [purses, jackets etc.] on the left of the closet door so you could move the mirror close to the corner to reflect the light instead, creating an alcove near the closet....perhaps accommodating a boot bench, ornate chair or whatever you taste.

re: the shade....I must have misread....I thought you were considering a reed/grass/bamboo style blind, not sheer. although, even with a 'silhouette' type product, the eye will read the blind, not what is behind it.

Hi Felizlady! You are very very correct. We are having the driveway filled out more and retaining wall added. It hasn't been able to be finished yet due to the rainy weather and mucky snow mix here in good ol' southwestern Ontario. The dozer should be grading everything out very soon as the garage is being poured in the next couple of weeks. We will be able to drive in the garage and pull out onto an area in front of the garage so will enter the municipal roadway front first.

Hi Katinahat,
Yes, I am seeking a reed/bamboo/woven wood blind for all three windows. I saw the silhouettes, looked at the "zebra" ones too, but my decor is more traditional/transitional...they really aren't my taste for this house. Having said that...hhhmmmmnnnn...
Anyway, the door to the left of the corner is a guest washroom (had it insulated for privacy and a solid door on it). The laundry and another closet and entry from garage is where the door is leaning against the wall.
I can put this old mirror on the wall to the right of the foyer entry door (looking at view from when inside) and a narrow bench under it, but on the long shallow alcove wall I wonder what style of table would look good for an entry table? I could hang a nice painting over top, two tall skinny lamps...etc. But I am stumped as to what colour table and style that goes well with the antique mirror... You can see the open plan great room in the background. The newel posts are in...railings to go in this week. Black wrought iron with every second spindle decorative.

If I were you I'd wait on addressing this area. Wait until everything is installed and painted and your living room furniture is in place.

From what I can tell, the mirror is a bit fussy and overpowering for this nook. I don't consider the style to be transitional and you may not like it hung there. Sometimes in utilitarian walk through areas it is better to resist the urge to put anything there. Maybe a print/painting you love that coordinates well with the rest of your decorating?

You are right, VM. I will wait. At the least, the windows are sorted! Thank you again!

You seem like a very nice person Em Bee! Always so sweet in showing your appreciation - I wish you much happiness in your beautiful new home!

Aw shucks...I try.... And so are you! :)

Kindred spirits then - glad to be of help!

if that alcove is the entry from the garage....think of function before form. what do you want to do when you walk in the door? do you want to walk around a table, check yourself out in a mirror, dump your junk or.....? those things (and more) tell you WHAT to put there. if it also serves as your front entry, how you want your guests to feel will tell you what style/aesthetic is appropriate. what tugs at your heart/soul will tell you if it's right for you. these 3 steps will stand you in good stead for all the choices in your lovely new home.

remember, it doesn't have to be right....for anyone but you and your family. it's never wrong if it meets all your criteria.

Thank you so much, Katinthehat! Yes...this is the main entry and where I want to set the tone for the rooms beyond. I used to collect lovely furniture antiques...and I LOVE china still, and have a fair amount but have parted with most of the furniture, very reluctantly. I kept a few nice accent pieces. Things that suited my old Edwardian three story home quite a few years ago isn't the right look for this new home. However, I do like this mirror, and hoped it would somehow fit into the scheme in the foyer. It came from a Connecticut estate and is elegant...at least to me, lol. So I am seeking a long narrow table to put under this mirror, and a nice entry carpet and perhaps an oil painting... I feel you can successfully marry old and new together, providing the colours relate, do you know what I mean. It used to be called "eclectic"...now it seems to be called "transitional". Pottery barn does this well...new things with Olde Worlde things. Barn board with chrome or crystal accents. That is me...And I love bling! I am a girly-girl! The worldly gray paint looks a little light at this point, but we will see once we move in, whether we will paint this alcove wall with an accent colour.maybe a couple shades darker gray. I am going to the house today to check on the kitchen installation...let's see what resulted from the teeny tiny samples we chose from...yikes!

I think your mirror is stunning and appreciate the history too- I also like a piece in the entry that says a bit about who lives in the home. You mentioned black wrought iron accents in hardware and railings - I've picture a console with a black marble top under this mirror, either wall hung or simple elegant base so as not to compete with the mirror- which speaks the same design language. My in laws have a very old (150+) piece, plus I've seen smaller half round console/cupboard from the early 20c that could be painted black without committing a sin against antiques.
Also sometimes even The Bombay or online sources can come up trumps. Enjoy your new home!

Hi Potter99! You have NAILED it! Thank you so much for understanding my design aspiration and for your kind advice! That is exactly the table that needs to be in that space! I need to source one now...off to Bombay...the store that is, lol.

Oh Dear, Potter99... Well...I am afraid we will to un-nail it. I went to my house under construction and the mirror isn't going to work so well...unless someone has a good idea how. To me, formal woods are mahogany and cherry...and of course pine is and always has been known for being the cheapest wood due to being so soft, so it speaks of primitive, rustic decor. Ash or oak, depending on the stain is somewhere in the middle of these two obvious styles...a golden oak to me looks informal. Medium stained ash or dark ash with a grey undertone which I have on my floors is still in the informal slot and doesn't quite jive with the cherry and gold leaf formal look of the mirror. So what to do?
Forget the mirror...use it somewhere else ...I can do this. I can put it in my craft room in the lower level.
The chandeliers and wall sconces either side of the fireplace will be black wrought iron. Here are the latest images of this open plan room as of today. The island will have glass doors on the front...the wrong ones were made. The countertop is Cambria quartz and was measured but is needing to be cut still. The grey stone will go around the fireplace front. It is called Grey Wolf. The floor is ash, the walls are Sherwin Williams Worldly Gray, the trim is S/W Alabaster, the kitchen cabinets are Pearl, the island is charcoal. A sofa and love seat are being made in a cream colour material. It is all starting to come together! Any suggestions for a mirror style and console for the entranceway? Colour and shape?? Thank you for any advice!
Em :)

The Cambria Quartz counter top sample, the sofa materials...although the picture makes it look yellowy but it's not, the foyer light and the dining room area wrought iron chandelier. There are matching sconces above the fireplace mantle and over the island and kitchen sink area.

Em Bee you are just tooooo charming! You're my idol!

After reading all your posts, you have a real penchant for the past as well as an ability and desire to meld the past and the present in an eclectic way. So, what is your reaction to the mirror in the link below? I think it says, "antique while trendy" and would make for an amazing focal point.

https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod2410010&categoryId=cat2730007

VIsualizemaven...you are such a dear soul!! You make me feel so humble. Thank you for the lovely words.
YOU nailed it! REALLY! I LOVE this mirror for my front hall! The black is nice, as is the greyed brown. I can see a greyed barnboard sort of table top with metal legs in a Union style, if you know what I mean. My husband can weld...very well..and he could make a table for me...even wth a live edge slice of walnut as the top. But we have all our stuff in storage currently. It would be months..But what impact this mirror has. I love Restoration Hardware's things....but being in Canada, with Funny Money not worth much and shipping costs and customs duties...this is a pipe dream for now. UNLESS I can buy one in Toronto...but the price will surely change. You are on the right path for my taste for sure. So...what would the right sort of console table be?? Hhhmmmmnnnn...... While I am at it, I will show you what talent my husband has making tables. Here is one out of a cedar root base and cherry wood slice top. There is a hole in between the roots. We dragged it to the lake and chained it under water for a few months. The water made the wood variegated...stripey. We used to have a 20 foot wood mill back at our circa 1860's grey round log cabin on the lake. We would run the logs through and made our own lumber and this is how we got the cherry slice for the top. We had five acres of deadfall or windblown trees at our disposal. My husband misses it...but the property was getting too much to maintain. :I

Oh no please don't "un-nail" me like you did poor Potter! LOL - that was so funny

What a talented team U2 are! I'm sure you will be able to mimic the mirror somehow.......and come up with a table to compliment it perfectly. I bet you and your hubby can find some reclaimed wood trim and make a mirror!

Congratulations to both of you and best wishes in your new life!

Lol!!! You are sooo funny, MV!! My next trip to The Big Smoke (city of Toronto) will have me checking out Pottery Barn and Rest. Hdwe for ideas that hubby and I can scoop! We have Urban Barn which is neat...industrial meets rustic. What state do you reside? And no, I won't un-nail you! Lol!! :)

Hello MV...did you notice the tab top burlap curtains I made by the table? I mounted them on dead ash tree limbs that I had sprayed with a burnished colour paint. Now THAT was one of my more ambitious projects and I can say, in earnest, I most likely will NOT sew with burlap again. (Shudder...)

Yay!!! I think I might have found a console table for my entrance hall...trouble is...it is in the ficticious house set called The Holiday...in England.

Well I bet your husband can make the console table for you! (And for a minute there I thought you were interested in that man in the photo! )

We have visited Canada many times and loved all of it! We do have shorter and usually easier winters here on Long Island, NY!

And now that we are fast friends, you should know my name is Brenda :-)

Well, I am very pleased to have met with your acquaintance, Miss Brenda.
(One of my daughters lives in Mississippi, and every lady is naturally addressed as a "Miss". I think it is a nice pre-fix).