Draperies By David For A Home In Rancho Palos Verdes Estates

Pictured above and below are just some of the 24 drapery panels I made for two very good friends of mine in Rancho Palos Verdes Estates, California. As you can see, they have an incredible view, especially with the cliffs situated right across the street from them! This was an enormous undertaking, from the planning and measuring and waiting for fabrics and trims to arrive. I basically hauled my sewing gear and stayed with them for several days at a time until the project was finished. With my own guest room, a huge kitchen, a pool & a hot tub, it was rough.

Each panel included an inside stripe in poly that faced out to the sun, a white cotton liner, and a front facing stripe in silk. I then had to sew a 2" flange in solid faille on the inside of each panel, followed by a wood tassel trim down the inside and a fringe along the bottom of each panel. I then pleated each and every panel, and fitted each pleat with a drapery hook to hang from the rods.

I often look back at some of my larger projects and shake my head in disbelief at the amount of time and energy I've spent and was still able to complete/survive each one. Looking at these photos takes me right back to the literally hundreds of yards of fabrics and trims that I had to measure, cut & sew. Like my big shell project, all I find myself saying to myself is "
yikes!" and "wow!"

David's Ideas For A Nursery

These photos show a nursery I designed, and is an example of how great a few coordinated elements can come together to create a clean yet fun atmosphere for the family's new addition. The clients expressed that they liked blue and white, and wanted a fabric that had some sort of animal theme depicted. I searched new fabric houses and this animal print jumped out at me, and I thought the fact that the names of the animals written underneath would eventually become a learning tool.

Here I had a very small budget to work with, and when this is the case the most important thing to remember is to do as much of the prep work yourself. I took an existing chest of drawers, repainted it white and found some simple ball finials, and recovered an antique rocking chair from the mom-to-be's mom and recovered it in a solid royal blue canvas. There were two windows on opposite walls from each other, and we decided to have 2 different types of window treatments. For one I had two roller shades made with blackout liner, and on the opposite window I painted a wood dowel, finials, brackets and rings all white, and pleated the curtain panels which were also lined with blackout.

Measuring the inside of the crib, I created a quilted bumper with cotton filling and ties for the corners. As accents to bring everything together I made a set of six pillows, each with a different animal, framed in the same solid blue canvas as the chair. The couple was very happy with the results, and I was pleased another 'little one' would grow up sleeping amongst and learning the names of such cute creatures!

david k.'s background in brief...

we'll go further back later...i'm from hawaii, love my family. after graduating kamehameha in 1986, i went to uc santa barbara and studied art and art history, from early on felt a lot of creative juices flowing through me. great art history program there, i learned a lot about art from many different times and places, and i'm thankful to have gotten that educational foundation. after graduating i lived in santa barbara and had a great time. nothing too wild and crazy, only just starting to think about who i was as a person. i had visited l.a. several times, my uncle and his wife lived here, and in 1991 they invited me to move and work with them in the beginnings of their antique business. there are certain element i'd rather not spend too much time reflecting on, such as waking up super early to work the weekend flea markets; that combined with clients coming to their house to look at items was how we did it in the beginning. at least i can say with a chuckle that i did it, waking up in the pitch of night to head to the rose bowl is no picnic.

it was at this time that i discovered sewing. the unusual element to my aunt & uncle's business was that she was from france and not only knew a lot about french/european antiques, but also about antique textiles and fabrics. little did i know then but it would open up a whole new world to me. i had mentioned somehow to my grandmother back on maui that i would be interested in learning how to sew, and it was at this same time that she bought me my first singer machine. i had no idea at the time how i was going to learn other than jumping right into it. that i was learning about and being exposed to antique fabrics at the same time created the perfect opportunity to learn how to sew. it started with very simple pillows working with scraps of 1950s fabrics (which i love!), and led to, well, you'll see... we're talking 1991, so wow this will be all sorts of crazy "flashbacking" over the last 17 years. this will i think, also be a good starting point to 'put myself out there.' as we are building our business i'm thinking that doing a blog at the same time will share what i have designed and made over the years. i hope for it to gain attention across the web and connect other creative minded people to us, and to what we have to offer.

my next several posts will revolve around my picasa portfolio of my designs. these are separated into six major categories:

1. pillows & bedding
2. window treatments
3. upholstery
4. mosaic & tilework
5. lampshades
6. bags

you can preview the portfolio here by clicking each category, and i will also go over each one in the following posts. keep in mind that this is a major sampling of what i have both designed and made, from all the sewing and tiling and upholstering etc. lovers of antique textiles will hopefully find some of this interesting, and i'll talk about several other very special projects as well, including an amazing shellwork commission!