Month: April 2018

The Emerald Coast boasts many beautiful communities and they are all within proximity to the most beautiful beaches in the world.   Watersound Origins is one of our favorite communities which is nestled between Santa Rosa Beach and Panama City, FL.   Every time we visit a client on the property we love seeing the lush landscapes and new homes being built.  Watersound Origins offers golfing, an amenity club, and all of the perks of living on the Gulf Coast.  Many current clients have selected window coverings that fit the natural esthetic of the homes and community while offering functionality.   Lovely roman shades and light filtering sheers are a good choice while incorporating coastal fabrics.

Another area on the Emerald Coast that McNeill Palm frequents often is stunning is Rosemary Beach.  It is a 107-acre, Gulf-front town designed in the style of “New Urbanism.”  A town square sits at the center and nothing is more than a few minute walk.  Rosemary Beach is predominantly custom designed single-family homes.

According to the Rosemary Beach Land Company, “Each home in Rosemary Beach is not only architecturally unique, but also custom designed to subtly reflect an owner’s tastes, needs, and lifestyle. Consequently, every house becomes an inextricable part of the fabric of the town, reinforcing its character.”   The window coverings in these homes must match the design of the community and we often use motorization, fabrics that filter out harsh sun-rays…while aligning with the overall feeling of beautiful and unique Rosemary Beach.

Hunter Douglas recently installed in a Watersound Origins home:

In the May issue of Building Savvy Brenda lays out the importance of color in your designs.

What’s Color Got to do with it?

By: Brenda Hamrick

When clients are trying to make perfect choices for window treatments in their new home, they often base their selection on the color that best fits with the overall design scheme.  While that’s certainly one consideration, an equally judicious consideration is how the color of the window coverings will change the hue of light and shadow coming through the window.

I like to begin the process with one important fact.  When working with windows in a location flooded with brilliant sunlight (like our beautiful Gulf Coast), and you want to maximize the view (which most of us do), stark white is the last choice.  Why?  Because white actually enhances the glare.  Good rule of thumb?  The darker the color, the better the view.

I like to begin with the darkest color that will work in the overall design and fine tune toward a lighter tone adjusting hue, value, and intensity until arriving at the perfect choice.  You don’t have to use black, although that can work.  Shades of grey and beige work well.  Keep in mind blue, green, pink, purple and so on, will tint the incoming light.  The best analogy is to think of sunglasses – the better the tint the clearer the vision of what you see.  Likewise, all colors will cast their tint on the incoming light skewing your view accordingly.

Choosing the right color is another reason to find a skilled window covering specialist who can direct the homeowner.  Also, encourage clients to put intentional thought into their window treatments.  Remember, they will frame the homeowner’s view of the world for years to come, and that matters.

Here at McNeill Palm we are always receiving the newest product lines and when we opened this book we fell in love!  The Passementerie found in this collection are stunning.   There are so many lovely options when working with fabrics and trim and we’d love to guide you in selecting the window coverings for your home.  The textiles within a home add warmth, color, patterns, and layers and are a important component of any design.