Modern, Functional Elegance on Ocean Blvd
Light filtering, large roller shades overlook the beach in Long Beach.
“Looks amazing, but what are you doing for window coverings?” Is about how I was told the conversation went down by realtor broker and long time friend Spencer Pabst of Pabst Kinney & Associates, a premier property management and real estate company in Long Beach.
I see it all the time, a project is nearing completion, or a home buyer is nearing their move in date and all of a sudden they realize their windows are completely open, leaving their interior space entirely exposed. I find it curious, but when a home is remodeled, the owner isn’t left to add their own cabinets after the project is “complete,” or step into a place that is “move in ready…” except for the flooring.
Somehow window coverings are like that, though. Which I’m okay with as they require a certain certain combination of functionality and design that many contractors can’t seem to be bothered with and most home owners simply don’t have enough exposure to to dig into what can be an overwhelming amount of nuance and choice. That’s where we shine. Oh, and you’re on a super crunched timeline, too? No problem, thanks to our relationships with our suppliers, local production, and a “get sh** done” philosophy, we’ll make it happen.
With a tight timeline, installation went well past the typical “construction hours.” It was worth it.
Project Overview
The design of this space is very coastal contemporary - spearheaded by the owners who did an exceptional job. As it will ultimately be used as a rental (a damn fine rental), budget was taken into consideration at many junctions - though you might not know it. That being said, the owners stayed true to form and spent good money where it mattered, with window treatments for example, on nicer, subtly textured fabrics for the roller shades, blackout in the bedrooms, and very nice ripple fold style draperies on large glass sliders.
Key Considerations
Light - With the property being ocean front, and the general aesthetic being pretty light and airy, we wanted the window coverings to both promote light transmission and carry on that same light and airy aesthetic. For this, on the common area windows, we went with a white, slightly textured light filtering roller shade. The texture was “just enough” and also brought in a more “natural” than synthetic feel.
Large Windows - Many of the windows we covered were large, over 90” and some over 100”. This alone limits what type of covering will work (and look good), which made roller shades the best option without having to do things like build “2-on-1” treatments, combining for example two blinds onto a single headrail, which generally just don’t look all that nice.
Glass Sliders - Covering large sliding doors really requires a consideration of both function and aesthetic. Though roller shades are an option for covering doors, we tend not to like to use a treatment that moves vertically to cover a door that moves horizontally. Thankfully, the owner was on the same page. We decided that an unlined linen fabric would continue the theme of light transmission while providing the privacy desired with such large glass sliders, and that a ripple fold style drapery had that contemporary feel with enough warmth to offset the more utilitarian aesthetic of the rollers. In the end, the combo of rollers on most windows, complimented by a few large draperies felt perfect.
Oceanfront - Because the property is oceanfront, we wanted to make sure this was taken into consideration in our materials selection. This is the level of detail we bring when guiding a client through the design process. For example, in this case we opted for stainless steel controls for additional rust and corrosion resistance. A slight upgrade, but will pay dividends in the long run.
Our Personal Wishlist
Top treatments - Though collectively we decided that the “open roller” roller shade look worked great in the space, if this was an owner-occupied unit, and / or budget was of no concern, I would have loved to make custom, fabric wrapped top treatments to conceal the roller shades. It would have added an additional touch of warmth. This is not a matter of right or wrong, but given the window construction themselves, the space was a perfect candidate to do this (enough mounting space and window trim inset, clean mounting surfaces, very square and true construction - which is not always the case). It would have also been considerably more work, which would have driven cost, so we’ll leave that for the next one!
Light Gaps - Light gaps with inside mounted roller shades are inevitable. You can read more about various roller shade considerations in this previous post. In the case of this project, aesthetic was prioritized over function, particularly in bedrooms where the owner wanted to maintain inside mounted roller shades throughout the house. The top treatments discussed above would have helped with light gaps, and in the bedrooms, where blackout fabric was used, an outside mounted roller shade would have ensured true blackout.
All in all, this was a super fun project to work on with a great team across the board, from owners, to contractors, to realtors and agents - we love the result, and in the spirit of shameless self promotion, from the owner, “Thank you so much for everything, it looks so great and we are really happy with your work!” Mission accomplished.