Window Treatments, Window Treatment Ideas, Window Blinds, Home Decor Ideas

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Jamie Drake was inducted in the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2003, is a graduate of the Parson’s School of Design, and is this year’s keynote speaker at the International Window Covering Expo.  Jamie was generous to lend us some of his time to chat in an email interview.

You have designed interiors for some pretty high profile people including Madonna, Michael Bloomberg, and many others known for their flair and flamboyancy.  How do you use your clients’ lifestyle for design inspiration?

My style is bold, confident, polished and urbane, and that pretty much describes my clients’ personalities. My work is all about reflecting the interests, passions and tastes of my clients, filtered through my eyes.

At what point in your design process do you consider the direction and impact of the window treatments?

I first start with establishing the floor plan, but often I envision the window treatments upon first seeing a room. The architecture and fenestration often tell me what will be perfect. 

In your extensive career, is there any particular window treatment you have designed that still stands out to you, considering price, use of materials, use of color, or source of inspiration?

The curtains in my own weekend house in the Hampton’s posses a clarity and strength that in many ways have become a signature of mine. They are center opening lined and interlined panels 17 feet long, hanging from a massive ebonized pole on gilt rings with matching finials. They are finished with a 3” bias border on all 4 sides in a contrast texture, but the same color, as the bright blue silk body. Bold and confident, they are the perfect picture frame for the double height window framing a view of the garden. 

Is your book, Jamie Drake’s New American Glamour, intended for weekend amateur decorators and professional designers alike?  Who is your intended audience?

I wrote my book for both the professional designer, and the laymen, who like to be inspired by high end design.

You are the keynote speaker at the International Window Covering Expo coming up in a few days.  Are you involved in any other upcoming lectures, seminars, or presentations?

I am participating in the Kips Bay Showhouse opening April 23, celebrating the launch of my fabric collection for Schumacher in NYC on April 24. I will be the keynote speaker in Atlanta at ADAC’s spring market on May 3. I will be a  host of the The Derby Day Breakfast in Kentucky on May 5.  The keynote speaker at the Houston Design Center’s market May 8. Participating in a NKBA sponsored panel at KBIS in Las Vegas May 9.

 Thank you, Jamie.  You can learn more about Jamie Drake at www.drakedesignassociates.com

FREE TO SUBMIT YOUR PORTFOLIO!  Now is your chance to showcase your online design portfolio to the world, and your local area.  One designer from each state will be selected, and each day for 50 consecutive days we will feature a different design portfolio from a different state.  We are creating our list, and it is first come, first serve per state (if your online portfolio meets our criteria).  Don’t Delay!  Contact us now and we will send you more information and all criteria.

Later today I will be trekking across the Allegheny River via the 9th Street Bridge to the annual Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show. 

I will be bringing you the best of "What’s New" from national and local window treatment dealers and retailers, as well as sitting down with design experts from JC Penny’s and Budget Blinds to glean inspiration for our Top 10 Window Treatment Ideas for Under $50 Dollars.  We always invite our readers to contribute ideas and advice as well.

They say that if you walk every row of the expo to see the 1500+ exhibitors, you will cover more than 8 miles.  That sounds like a challenge!  Add the 2 mile walk there and back, and I will be ready for a Pittsburgh’s famous Primanti Brother’s sandwich, complete with a half pound of corn beef, french fries, cole slaw, and a tomato slice all artfully stuffed between two slices of french bread.

We get many questions on how to repair worn out or broken blinds.  Well, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Mike Yanke, owner of FixMyBlinds.com, and wanted to share his website with our readers.   He sells complete kits and spare parts to re-string or repair window blinds yourself.  They have been doing blinds repair and re-stringing since 1995 and provide all the parts and easy to follow instructions on how to take your blind apart, and replace the components.