New French Doors and Shades
Replacing doors and adding elegant and functional shades can really transform a room.
In my last blog, I talked about the latest project at my Bedford, New York farm - the renovation of a kitchen in my guest house, so it could be used for video and print shoots. Among the changes, I replaced the French doors to the terrace with new ones from Pella and added beautiful sheer rolling shades by Erik Bruce Inc. These updates really completed the space, and I am so pleased with how everything came out.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Outside this kitchen is a beautiful stone terrace looking out onto one side of my allee of fragrant lilacs and roses. As part of this kitchen project, I wanted to replace the doors that had deteriorated over time. The old doors were removed and the opening was prepared for the new doors to be installed.
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- The doors are carefully carried to the opening and fitted perfectly level and plumb. These Pella hinged French doors allow true light into the room while maintaining exceptional energy efficiency.
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- The doors are secured and ready to be fully attached and insulated. Whenever installing doors, be sure to always measure the radius of the swing and ensure there is adequate space for the door to open and close. Pella doors can be either in-swing our out-swing.
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- Next, the molding around the doors is matched to the rest of the moldings in the room and installed.
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- Here are the finished doors. Look how much great light comes into the kitchen. These doors will also allow fresh breezes in and out. This house has three sets of French doors – all of them were replaced in the same way.
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- To go along with the rest of the kitchen’s decor, the doors were painted black. They look great with the brass hardware.
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- Next, I called on Erik Bruce Inc., to install shades on all the doors and windows in this house. The company’s owner, Eric Bruce, did all the shades for my Winter House, Summer House, and Tenant House – I’ve known him many years. Because everything was pre-measured, all the shades are delivered labeled with the room name.
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- Each shade was removed from its plastic wrapping and placed by its assigned window or door. Appropriate brackets are also placed next to each shade. Putting all the supplies near the designated work spaces make the process more efficient.
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- These shade mounting brackets hold the shade securely in place and allow it to move smoothly without falling out.
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- Tony carefully screws in the mounting brackets – one slightly above each side of the window or door being covered.
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- And then Tony paints the heads of the screws the same color as the bracket – in this case, black.
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- The paint is kept in nail polish bottles and brought to every installation.
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- These are manual roller Husk II shades in granite. They work perfectly with the room’s black color scheme.
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- Look how sheer they are – they let the light in, but not the glare. I love them.
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- Here they are fully installed on the French doors from Pella. What do you think?
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- I also added the same shades on the kitchen windows.
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- And to the adjacent cookbook library windows and doors.
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- These roller shades stay down with a handsome and weighted hem bar at the bottom of each shade.
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- The same shades are also on this large window in the sunken living room. After each shade is installed, Tony tests the rolling tension several times to make sure it is perfect.
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- I also wanted to replace the shades in the other rooms of this house. Jay prepares the shades for installation. I chose a combination of Breezy off-white and Daybreak Dove for these rooms.
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- Everything is measured twice, sometimes three times, to ensure everything is lined up perfectly.
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- The same types of brackets are installed and the screws painted white.
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- This shade is in one of the guest bedrooms – it is more opaque for privacy and light control for sleeping, but still keeps the room looking bright and cheerful during the day.
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- All the shades look so crisp and clean. Shades are not only decorative, but functional, keeping heat out in warmer months and keeping warmth contained inside during winter. Adding window treatments is a great finishing touch to any space.
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