The following editorials were written by Alan Wyatt, the owner of DOTI Duluth for AboutU, a community magazine that serves the Johns Creek/Roswell/Alpharetta area.

January 2008

Are You Ready For Green Design?

A couple of years ago I was asked to contribute some comments to a magazine article about the ability to do eco-friendly home interiors.  I did a little homework and called my friends at some of the well known fabric houses as well as a few vendor reps to find out if they had products readily available for someone who wanted to decorate their home and save the planet all at the same time.  The general response ranged from something resembling a snort to a raucous belly laugh, however I did have one person mutter something about new California emissions standards that limited pollutants generated by furniture finishing.  All that did was make California furniture take longer to order and cost more.  The fabric houses told me that the only thing they offered that could be considered ‘green’ was plain muslin.  I couldn’t imagine that becoming all the rage in Hotlanta.

My, how times have changed.

A recent article in Architectural Digest interviewed top designers around the country and one of the common responses to anticipated industry trends was in the area of environmentally friendly design.  The latest High Point market confirmed that sentiment as many manufacturers were trying to put their best foot forward in showing their efforts to go ‘green’. Just the other day I was looking at a cabinet for a client and the rep was boasting that it was now made out of mango wood from India, harvested after it stopped producing fruit.  “Eco-kinky” was the term I think she used.   All this enthusiasm is buoyed by surveys that suggest an ever increasing number of consumers would choose to buy eco friendly home furnishing products if available, but quickly torpedoed by the fact that most are not willing to pay more for them.  It will be interesting to see if this trend helps provide a niche to save what’s left of the American furniture industry as I am not sensing that the exploding numbers of Chinese manufacturers are yet jumping on board the enviro-train.

What can you buy now that will put your conscience at ease?  Check out Southcone, which is a company from Peru that has been a standard bearer in earth stewardship while making stunning furniture.  Robert Allen fabrics recently introduced a ‘green’ line, as did one of my favorite US furniture manufacturers, Vanguard.  

Your designer can do the product homework for you, just ask them, and they can make recommendations for lighting and window coverings that are energy efficient.  So, you don’t have to worry because, thanks to current manufacturing trends, you can now be fashion forward and eco kinky.
  

December 2007

Nice stuff VS. Kids 

We see it in our store all the time, the wishful look of a homeowner crushed by the thought that they can’t have a beautiful home until the kids are off to college… where they can destroy someone else’s property.  My wife and I understand this notion completely since we have three boys and every day, despite our cries of protest, they bounce down the stairs, slingshot off the railing and vault off the back of the sofa like a pommel horse.

Is that the way life is supposed to be?  We already devote an enormous amount of time and resources to provide our kids with a great life, do we really need to sacrifice good taste, too?  No!  Life is too short for cheap furniture.

Certainly with a lot of activity in the house you should secure the crystal and faberge eggs, but you don’t need to raise the white flag and live with a broken sofa framed by the end tables you made in college.  Discussing a room plan with a talented designer will really open your eyes to the fact that you can have quality and a great look, and in the long run save money, by designing with kids in mind.  Buy right the first time and you won’t be forced to replace upholstery over and over because it can’t take the punishment.  

Fabrics are rated for durability, they call it “double rubs”.  The more double rubs, the more abuse it can take.  Quality top grain leather will age gracefully and is many times more durable than ‘genuine leather everywhere the body touches’ (read the fine print on some furniture store ads sometime).  A solid hardwood frame that is glued and screwed is going to be guaranteed for life by the manufacturer in most cases and withstand junior Olympian use. 

Casegoods made from solid wood with a distressed finish can absorb punishment and add character all at the same time.  Ha ha, take THAT kids!  Sturdy storage ottomans, covered in your favorite fabric or leather, can provide seating and places to quickly hide toys.

A last note to the guys out there who still have no idea what to buy their wife for Christmas.  Talk to a designer about anything from a tasteful little gift off the showroom floor to a certificate for a new keeping room or custom bedding.  You’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.

November 2007

Window treatments, from a guy’s perspective.

Long before I got into the design business, my wife mentioned how much she spent on some nice little toppers above the windows in our breakfast nook.  After I got up off the floor, I sputtered “you spent how much?!”  I couldn’t believe that a little fabric above the window could be so spendy and felt that the designer must have been laughing all the way to her bank in Monte Carlo. 

Fast forward a lot of years and now I am on the other side of that transaction and I see that familiar look, mostly from the husbands, when we talk to our clients about window treatments.  The truth of the matter is, you get what you pay for, and I’ll tell you why.

When you walk into a home that takes your breath away, you may not know why but I’ll bet it has a lot to do with the window treatments.  Whether they are simple and elegant or rich and luxurious, window treatments add a depth and sophistication that make a house a show home.  Furthermore, in this difficult real estate market, I can assure you from personal experience that nicely appointed windows can be a difference between a home selling quickly or not, and provide a nice negotiation point with a prospective buyer.

So, why the cost?  Can’t I get some sheers at Val-U Barn for fifty bucks and call it good?  Sure, if you want to be the hot topic at Bunko night. 

A quality window treatment has an enormous amount of labor involved including professional measuring, installation, design, and construction.  Mounting hardware can be dramatic and costly depending on your taste.  Fabric can run from ten dollars to a couple hundred dollars a yard.  We’ve seen trendy European fabric that retails over a thousand dollars per yard!  Don’t forget the lining and the inner lining that give a rich full texture and protect the fabric from the sun.  How about trim?  Tiebacks?  See how easily it adds up?

Here’s a couple of tips for a great looking home and a harmonious relationship.  Every house has a signature window.  Let it make a dramatic statement with a fully custom treatment.  Other windows can be more budget minded with simple toppers or semi custom panels.  Talk to a designer about what you want for your home, your priorities, and establish a budget up front to give a guideline so there are no surprises.  

Lastly, if you are at an impasse, make a deal where she gets her window treatments and he gets the custom recliner and a copy of Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.