Celebrating 15 Years
May 2016 
  
 
  
Margaret Blunt, Owner,
Sew Beautiful
Our April showers turned into May showers, and after more than two weeks of rain in Maryland, we finally welcomed the sun! I took the opportunity to tidy up my porch and then put my feet up to enjoy the fragrant spring air. As I relaxed, I appreciated how comfortable I was, and realized it was thanks to my cushiony couch! 

Cushions are the focus of this newsletter because they are so important, yet they're easy to take for granted. Because we're headed into a season of summer gatherings - graduation parties, showers, weddings - now is the perfect time to spruce up your seating by recovering or restuffing your cushions to give your indoor and outdoor living areas a whole new look. Our Feature Article outlines what to consider when ordering custom cushions. For our Feature Project we have displayed photos of a beautiful custom-built banquette that we recently helped design for a local family's newly remodeled kitchen. It looks fantastic, and really completes the room. 
  
If you're looking for the perfect window treatment to meet your light control and privacy needs, ask us about Hunter Douglas' Celebration of Light savings event, now through June 27th.

Have you "liked" our Facebook page yet?
 
 
All the best -
 
 
Margaret
SewBeautiful
In This Issue
The Banquette, a New Twist on a Classic Favorite
Did You Know...
Cushion Your World
Hunter Douglas Rebate
 Services We Offer
Designer Fabrics
Like us on Facebook
 

The Banquette, a New Twist on a Classic Favorite

It's a dining set that thinks it's a couch! Of course we are talking about the banquette, the newest, oldest, trend that is right on point with today's families who crave functionality and comfort. The banquette is a great way to seat a crowd with ease, even if that crowd is your family! 

In this newly renovated kitchen we added a custom-built banquette to follow the shape of their bay window wall. It not only adds additional seating at the table, it completes the room. Of course, a custom-built banquette calls for cushions custom-fit to the shape of the bay. The five cushions that make up this bay are fabricated in a Sunbrella textured solid. Boxed and welted, they provide the base layer for colorful pillows that tie in with the window valance. The coordinating dining seat cushions are also fabricated in a Sunbrella fabric - a beautiful window pane plaid. Boxed and welted with Velcro-wrapped ties and a firm foam insert, these cushions provide comfortable seating at the dining table. Best of all, they're removable and washable - we know, because this family has already put it to the test!



Did You Know...
We've all heard the adage, "A penny for your thoughts," but how about "A penny for your tulips?" There's an old wives' tale that says placing a penny in the bottom of the vase will keep your tulips standing tall and looking beautiful for days.  

According to a flower seller at London's famous Columbia Road Market, who was recently interviewed for a Good Housekeeping article, "The copper on the coin - an important micronutrient for plant growth - helps to keep the flowers strong and healthy and stop them from drooping." 

So, the next time you bring home a bunch of tulips, why not toss a penny in the bottom of the vase before filling it with water? You have nothing to lose for trying it because, after all, you'll get your penny back! And just maybe, like in another old adage, that penny will bring you good luck!

Cushion Your World

With the revival of the kitchen banquette, built-in benches and window seats, we see the need for custom cushions all year long. However, just as predictably as the May flowers bloom, many more cushion calls start rolling into our studio as soon as the weather warms up. As attention turns to outdoor spaces, homeowners often ask us for help replacing or sprucing up their weather-worn outside seating.

If you're thinking about having custom cushions made for your home, the most important considerations are where and how they will be used. The answer to this will drive the rest of your project and help you determine the style, fabric and insert needed for a functional, fashionable and comfortable cushion. Following are the three most common types of cushions, along with options to consider for each:
    
Outdoor Furniture: Whether your cushions are on a covered porch or outside on an open patio, you'll need a fabric that can withstand the elements. We recommend fabrics like Sunbrella, a solution-dyed acrylic designed to resist fading and repel moisture. They're completely washable with a mild soap and water, making them ideal for indoor or outdoor spaces. For foam you may want to consider a drain-through foam that will withstand moisture, resist mildew, and is antimicrobial, so as to inhibit the growth of microorganisms like bacteria. The style of outdoor cushions ranges from a bullnose to a deep boxed cushion with welt. In most outdoor cushions we see a bullnose style with a layered dacron insert. If you want a firmer seat and more stylish look, consider a 3"-4" foam, boxed, with a contrast welt for a pop of color. 

Dining Chairs: Undoubtedly your dining chairs bear the brunt of most indoor cushion abuse, with unintended embellishments including stains from Thanksgiving gravy, red wine, and chocolate icing, as well as punctures from your toddler niece's Sunday shoe buckles! A gracious host cannot police these common misfortunes, but there are ways to design your chair cushions for maximum stain repellency and durability. Whether your seats are upholstered or have a removable cushion, consider a fabric that is soil- and stain-resistant, and is rated for upholstery, with "double rubs" as a measurement of the fabric's abrasion resistance. The double-rub test, which is a back-and-forth motion that approximates daily wear and tear, will predict the durability of the fabric you choose. (Hint: 3,000 double rubs equal one year of use.) For banquette and kitchen chairs, which endure daily use, indoor/outdoor fabrics are a very popular option because of their washability.

For inside use, we find polyurethane foam with medium density works best on dining chairs. However, depending on the desired firmness of the cushion, your density choice may be higher or lower. The thickness of the cushion also affects the firmness (think the thicker the firmer). Most seat cushions are 3"-4" thick, with back cushions having a 2"-3" thickness.

The style of your cushions can be dictated by chair and table height, but is mainly a matter of personal taste. If one needs to sit higher to the table, then thicker, boxed-style cushions would be appropriate. For upholstered dining seats, a welt or decorative cord is an added detail that outlines the shape of the seat. If you're looking for cushions for a banquette or dining chairs that are washable, steer clear of a decorative trim and opt for a welt. 

Upholstered Furniture:
Does your living or family room seem old or drab? You don't need to invest in a lot of expensive furniture. Consider having your seating reupholstered to give your room a facelift. Repaint to coordinate with your new fabric, and you won't recognize your own room! There are plenty of high-durability upholstery-weight fabrics to choose from. Here you can really have fun with the style of the cushion, adding decorative trim or a contrast welt. If you're replacing the fabric, chances are you may want to consider "fluffing" or replacing the cushions ("innards"). If you have a down/feather insert that has "settled," run it through the dryer on an air-dry cycle with a tennis ball to fluff up the feathers. If your foam cushions are worn down or misshapen, ask your upholsterer for recommendations for replacement options that meet your comfort criteria.

Author Henry David Thoreau wrote, "I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than to be crowded on a velvet cushion." We would like to add that you can also sit on a velvet cushion and have it all to yourself. It's all about choices, and you have an infinite number of them!
If you, or someone you know, are looking for help with a decorating project please contact us for an in-home consultation. We help homeowners dress their windows and complete their rooms with well designed and beautifully made custom window treatments, pillows, cushions, bedding, upholstery and more. To schedule an in-home consultation, call (410) 544-3300 or email 

Hunter Douglas Rebate through June 27